Trial of Ex-KMC Mayor: Lawyer Badou Conteh Grills Witness

The Defense Counsel for the embattled former mayor of KMC, Lawyer Badou S.M. Conteh, had subjected the financial commissioner of the Gambia Scout Association to a rigorous academic exercise as the trial of the beleaguered erstwhile mayor gathers pace.

At the resumption of ex-mayor Momar Njie’s trial over allegation of embezzling D4m, Lawyer Conteh took on the former Gambia Scout Association’s Financial Commissioner, Alhaji Gibriel Njie, on extremely vital issues of relevance to the trial.

At the take off of the cross –examination, Counsel Conteh wanted to know from Mr. Gibriel Njie whether he was aware that an audit report was released in 2003/4 and that this audit report was signed by one Momodou A. Cham alongside Augustus Prom in the presence of the police. In response, Mr. Njie who is also the first prosecution witness said he was aware that those accounts were signed.

Lawyer Conteh went on:“ I’m putting it to you that you are not speaking the truth to this honourable court because you were not the financial commissioner of the Gambia Scout Association from 2003/4 during which Mr. Njie is alleged to have mismanaged D4million. Do you know that Mr. Cham is the right person to come to this court to shed light on issues and not you. You only come to lie against Mr. Njie because he was appointed acting mayor of KMC  . I’m putting it further to you that Mr. Njie had refused to sign the accounts because there were certain queries raised by the auditors and you have refused to surrender certain documents.”

But according to Mr. Gibril Njie, he had not refused to surrender the documents in contention. Mr. Njie maintained that he had not meant that money had gone missing in the scout association when he made mention of D3.4million paid by participants for their jamborees because participants were refunded their monies except two people who had their monies in tact in the association’s account. 

Mr. Njie admitted that all the accounts for 2003/4 were correct.

Continuing his cross-examination, counsel Conteh enquired from Mr. Njie as to who used to sign the cheques when he took over as financial commissioner in 2005. He also wanted to know whether there was any financial impropriety in between.

According to Mr. Njie, he and Mr. Cham were responsible for the signing of the cheques and that there were irregularities. At this juncture, magistrate Richards then intervened to say Mr. Njie too could be charged for complicity if he was sure of what he was saying but Njie was quick to recant that part of his testimony.

Still responding to lawyer Conteh, Mr. Njie said no money had gone missing and when asked why if everything was intact since 2003/7 why then Mr. Momar Njie is being accused of financial impropriety. However, according to the witness, it was not him who preferred the charge against the former acting KMC mayor but the police. He responded to lawyer Conteh that he harboured no ill-feeling against the former acting KMC mayor and had in fact felicitated him on his appointment.  He added that he did not bring the charge against the accused because he was plotting his down-fall.

Mr. Njie acknowledged that it was correct that it’s Momar Njie who first reported the matter to the police querying about mismanagement of funds.

On the continuation of the cross-examination on Tuesday of this week, the first prosecution witness informed the court that Mr. Alieu Momar Njie was responsible for the maintenance of the vehicle and that he did not know the durability of the fleet. He said he was only given statement of account, adding that he was not aware of any occasion on which the vehicles were hired without undergoing maintenance because he only received invoices as expenditures and he did not verify the cost of any maintenance.

“Then I’m sorry but I’m putting it to you that you are not speaking the truth to this court by talking about high cost of maintenance without verification.
(To be continued).