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Gambia News : Prosecution Responds to No-case Submission in Ex- Gamtel Boss Trial

The Inspector General of Police on Monday responded to the no-case submission made by defence in the ongoing trial of Mr. Omar Ndow, former Managing Director of Gamtel.

In his submission, ASP Bojang, the prosecutor, stated that when the matter was mentioned before the court, the accused pleaded not guilty, thus requiring the prosecution to prove their case. He noted that in discharging that burden, he called four witnesses who all gave sworn evidence before the court. He said that the defence in their submission pointed out that in count two, which is about abuse of office, the prosecution did not obtain the consent of the Attorney General. In response ASP Bojang submitted that the consent of fait written comes in two, namely that instant “where no written document from the Attorney General is required and where the written consent is expressly required. He adduced that Ousman Jallow, PW2, has testified that he was the Compliance Manager at the Gambia Public Procurement Authority (GPPA), adding that he had received the valuation report, which preceded Gamtel’s negotiation with Huawei Company. But, he went on, Gamtel never gave GPPA feed back and consequently there was no approval from GPPA to Gamtel.

Turning to the evidence given by PW3, Abdoulie Bah, an Auditor at Gamtel, ASP Bojang recollected that the witness told the court that the payment was referred to their office but that they declined to pay on the grounds that it was not approved by GPPA, conceding that he was however instructed to effect the payment later on.

On the evidence of Sarjo Ceesay, PW4, he said Ceesay also told the court that there was a project but could not say whether approval had been obtained from GPPA.

The prosecutor further said that PW1, Detective Sgt. 904 Badjie, also told the court that he had obtained the cautionary statement from the accused, which was admitted as an exhibit by the court. He finally argued that based on the points raised, the prosecution has discharged its duty and therefore urged the court to disregard the no-case submission made by the defence and allow the accused to open his defence. The hearing was at that point adjourned to 3rd December 2007.

Src: Point, The