Miss Oley Sey, former nominated member of the National Assembly and the first accused person in the ongoing criminal case of conspiracy to commit felony and theft, filed in by the state against her and Abdouraman Bah, coordinator of James Junkung Jammeh Nursery School in Abuko, yesterday told the court that there was total confusion and confrontation between Abdouraman Bah and the community of Abuko over the D500,000 gift from the President of the Republic.

"The meeting, which was held at the Department of State for Basic and Secondary Education between the community of Abuko and the second accused person (Abdouraman Bah) was characterised by heated confrontation and confusion, but the accused, Abdouraman Bah, later confessed to having taken D100,000, out which he spent D20,000. He  alleged that he gave me D400,000, which is not true, he only gave me D200,000 for safekeeping,"Oley Sey told the court.

The ex-nominated member of the National Assembly, recalled a meeting  convened at the office of the Mayor of Kanifing Municipal Council (KMC) between the community of Abuko  and Abdouraman Bah. According to Oley Sey, at the meeting, the lord Mayor received a phone call and was instructed, together with the community of Abuko and herself, to report to  the office of the SoS for Basic and Secondary Education in Banjul.

She added at the meeting in the SoS’s  office were the mayor of KMC, the Alkalo of Abuko, the head mistress of Abuko Lower Basic School and  Abdouraman Bah. According to Miss Sey, the second accused “Abdouraman Bah” was asked about the whereabouts of the money. He insisted that the money was in safe hands and urged members of the meeting to give him time to enable him to come back with Oley Sey, but his request was not granted.
 Instead he was pressed to produced the D500,000, immediately without leaving the place.

"I  emphasised  that I received only D200,000 from Abdouraman Bah for safekeeping instead of D400,000 as claimed by him. It was from there that the Mayor said Abdouraman Bah would have to be  dealt with. Some time later, an NIA officer called Victor came in and went with Abdouraman Bah, the Alkalo of Abuko, and the headmistress of Abuko Lower Basic School.

She said she was also  invited to the NIA headquarters, where a  cautionary statement was obtained from her but  according to her, she  wrote her own voluntary  statement, which was later summarised by one Omar Tunkara "a police officer attached to the NIA".

“I was refused bail till the following Monday. I spent the weekend at the NIA Headquarters," she explained to the court.

Lamin Camara, counsel for Oley Sey applied for the said voluntary statement written  by his client to be produced in court. "My lord, I am applying in pursuance of Section 127 (1) of the CPC for the said statement written by my client and summarised by officer Tunkara to be produced in court in order to tender and mark it as an exhibit," he said.  

Inspector Keita, prosecution officer for the case,  strongly objected to the submission of the defence  counsel. According to him, such a statement does not exist in the records of the prosecution.

"The only thing we have is the cautionary statement obtained from the accused, which was tendered and marked as an exhibit without objection from the defence. It was tendered in pursuance of Section 127 of the Evidence Act. The counsel’s application lacks merit and therefore, I urge the court to dismiss the submission of the defence counsel," the police prosecutor told the court.

 Lamin Camara countered the objection of the prosecution office, saying that his application had nothing to do with Exhibit D but the statement made by his client. He repeatedly referred to Section 127 (1) of the CPC. The presiding magistrate, Lamin  George, later overruled the submission of the prosecution and urged the NIA  to produce the statement written by Oley Sey. He subsequently adjourned the case to 6th October for continuation.

George Town Trust, a registered charitable organisation based in the United Kingdom on Tuesday, September 24, donated D150,000 to the Armitage Senior Secondary School for the payment of school and examinations fees for 122 needy students at a ceremony held at the school grounds in Janjangbureh.

Richard Leon, chairman of George Town Trust, speaking at the presentation ceremony, said the objective of his Trust is to help needy students in their educational careers.  Mr Leon asserted that he believes in long-term sponsorship and that the sponsorship will be based on merit.  He called on the students to make the best use of the opportunity.

The deputy governor of the region, Lamin Darboe, thanked the philanthropists for their generosity and urged the sponsored students to make the best use of the chance and take their education.

Baboucarr Suwareh, CRR Regional Education director, said education is very expensive and government alone cannot do all and needs support from philanthropists.  He pointed out that assisting the needy students would go a long way in complementing government’s efforts in their Education For All campaign.  He urged and challenged the students to have discipline, make their books their friends and work hard.  He commended the George Town Trust for their benevolent gesture.

The principal of Armitage Senior Secondary School, Ebrima Joof, encouraged the beneficiaries to be committed to learning and urged them to take up the challenges.

The Board chairman, Kaunding Tambedou, handed over a certificate of appreciation to the chairman of the Trust.  The head box of the school, Foday Jawla, delivered the vote of thanks.

Principal Magistrate, Edrisa Mbai of the Banjul Magistrates Court, on Wednesday, convicted and sentenced Mr Abdul Hamid Adiamoh, proprietor and managing editor of the Today newspaper to pay a fine of D10,000,  in default to serve six months imprisonment.

Mr Adiamoh was charged with failure to renew his business certificate with the registrar of companies at the AG Chambers contrary to Section 3 (1) and punishable under Section 2 (a) (1) of the Business Registration Act 2005.

The Today newspaper boss pleaded guilty to the charge, thus his subsequent conviction and sentence.

Lamin Camara, counsel for the defense, urged the court to temper justice with mercy on his client stating that the accused is a family man with a wife and children of school going age in addition to being a first time offender and a responsible man.
Lamin Camara further urged the court to impose a fine on the accused instead of a custodial sentence. “Imposing a custodial sentence may have serious consequences on the young family of the accused and his business, the Today newspaper. The accused has shown remorse in court,” he said.

Handing down his sentence, the principal magistrate, Edrisa Mbai, said he had heard the plea of the defence but it was the duty of the court to dispense justice.

Aja Dr Isatou Njie Saidy, the vice president and Secretary of State for Women’s Affair, yesterday received in her office a cheque amounting to D123,000 from the Open Society Organization in UK, on behalf of Sulayman Junkung Hospital in Bwiam.

The cheque, according to officials, was meant to support the hospital’s solar energy project.

Presenting the cheque, Sam Forster, the coordinator of the organisation in The Gambia, said the donation was as a result of the visit of 25 members of the organisation to the hospital, last year, when they learnt about the solar energy project, which this donation is meant to support.

Mr Forster told the vice president that the organisation, which is a charitable one, was formed by Gambians and UK citizens some four years ago, with the objective of looking after the health and education of children. "Since 2004, we had a series of projects in the country, notably, in the Western Region, where we have a goal project in Bwiam, which aims at supporting child nutrition in hospitals," he said.

The Open Hand Society Organization country coordinator believed that the donation would go a long way in supplementing the efforts of the solar project, and he expressed his organisation’s resolve to support the health and education sector of the country.

Receiving the gesture, Aja Dr Isatou Njie-Saidy, hailed the donors for the gesture, noting that investing in the health sector is the responsibility of every concerned citizen. She described the organization as  a genuine one, since they stand to support the health and education of children.

The vice president commended the nutrition project of the organisation, noting that nutrition is very important to the health delivery system.
"Improving the nutrition status of people is very important, especially to the vulnerable children in hospitals. Our hospitals are not only in need of drugs and other facilities, but nutrition as well," she said, noting that her department, through the National Nutrition Agency (NaNA), addresses issues relating to good nutrition.

Madam Njie-Saidy urged the organisation to network with other organizations in the UK in a bid to mobilise more resources for the Sulayman Junkung Hospital.

For his part, Dr Malick Njie, secretory of state for Health and Social Welfare, commended the donors for the gesture. He told them that the installment of electric facilities for the Sulayman Junkung Hospital was a cause championed by an American medical student who, after what turned out to be an impressive visit to the hospital, decided to raise funds for the solar project.

According to SoS Njie, the American medical student has gone far in the process, noting that she has raised funds for not only the solar project, but other medical equipment, which are awaiting shipment into the country. He expressed gratitude to the Executive of the organisation for the support to the country’s health sector, adding that such gestures would make a difference to the project.

Kebba Badjie, the chief executive officer of the Sulayman Junkung Hospital, assured the donors of the prudent utilisation of the funds. He noted that the money would soon be handed over to Gamsolar for upgrading of the solar facilities at the hospital.

The hospital’s CEO was quick to inform the donors that his hospital had already acquired the amount of money needed to ensure 90 per cent of the solar energy requirements of the hospital. He stated that the amount currently stands at $300,000 (three hundred thousand dollars).

CEO Badjie described the organisation as a genuine friend of The Gambia, and he saluted them for the magnanimous gesture.

Organisation Operation No Back Way to Europe
In a separate engagement at State House, Vice President Njie-saidy also received in her office the executive members of the Organisation Operation No Back Way to Europe.

Led to State House by the secretary of state for Youth and Sports, Sheriff Gomez, the association’s visit was meant to brief Madam Njie-Saidy about the reason behind its composition and objectives, which is mainly to curb illegal migration to Europe through the Atlantic Ocean.

Speaking at the occasion, Lamin Drammeh, the secretary general of the organisation, told the vice president that his organisation was born out of a desire to discourage the youths from venturing into dangerous routes to Europe.  He noted that their objectives, among other things, include curbing of illegal migration, the creation of awareness campaign about the dangers associated with illegal migration, as well as provision of professional training opportunities to young people.

Drammeh expressed his organisation’s resolve to curb illegal migration, noting that the phenomenon has "drained the cream of Africa’s human resource base."

Sheriff Gomez, SoS for Youth and Sports, commended the organisation’s commitment to address illegal migration.  He noted that young people should be empowered to achieved their dreams and aspiration, and he expressed his department of state’s commitment to championing the cause. He urged the organisation to be committed to their objective and acknowledge the government’s investment in youth development.

Reacting to comments, Vice President Njie-Saidy hailed the organisation for such a "noble initiative" and implored them to ensure the sustainability of the organisation. She noted that the organisation was not the first of its kind in the country, and as such, the members should work towards achieving their set goals and objectives.

She asserted that many efforts were put in place by the government to discourage youth from venturing into such risky ventures, stating that despite all efforts, the youths continue to venture on dangerous routes to Europe.

While assuring them of the government’s support, Vice President Njie-Saidy urged them to decentralise their programmes and activities to all regions of the country so as to attract wider membership.

Other speakers included Ousman Sonko, secretary of state for the Interior, and Mambanyick Njie, permanent secretary, Department of State for Youth and Sport, amongst others.