Nice reflections!! Pa Sallah Jeng Acquitted Courtesy of FOROYAA Newspaper NEWS 25 October 2007 Posted to the web 24 October 2007 By Bubacarr K. Sowe The suspended Mayor of Banjul, Pa Sallah Jeng, has been found not guilty by Justice Sanji Monageng, sitting at the Brikama High Court on Tuesday, October 23. In a judgment spanning over two hours, Justice Monageng found Mayor Jeng not guilty of all the pending four counts of economic crimes. He was initially charged with six counts some months ago. He was acquitted on two counts by the same court following his submission of no case to answer. The pending four counts he has just been acquitted of are intentional act or omission detrimental to the economy of The Gambia, contrary to section 5 (f) of the Economic Crimes (Specified Offences) Decree 1994; abuse of office by a public officer contrary to section 90 of the criminal code and economic crime contrary to section 5 (e) of the Economic Crimes (Specified Offence) Decree of 1994. According to the particulars of the offence on count three, Mr. Jeng as Mayor of Banjul City Council between the months of January and February 2005, in breach of section 45 of the Gambia Public Procurement Act and Section 12 of The Gambia Public Procurement Regulations intentionally singly sourced and directed the purchase of a second hand towing ambulance for a sum of D340,000 to the detriment of the economy of The Gambia. On count four, he had allegedly, between the months of September and November 2003, intentionally single sourced and directed the purchase of three comparators for the sum of D1,500,00 in violation of section 45 of The Gambia Public Procurement Act and Section 12 of The Gambia Public Procurement Regulation to the detriment of the economy of The Gambia. The particulars on count five stated that between the months of October and December 2004, in abuse of the authority of his office, personally single sourced and forcefully directed the BCC to pay the sum of D50,000 for a second hand 25 KVA generator. Count six indicated that on or about the 29th September 2004 in the City of Banjul in abuse of his office entered into a leasehold agreement with one Pape Faal for a period of twenty years without the consent of the Secretary of State and thus in contravention of section 84 (2) of the Local Government Act 2002. Justice Monageng found that the prosecution had failed to prove its case beyond all reasonable doubt. She said the seller of the second hand towing ambulance, Mr. Ndure, would have been a better and reliable witness for the court since the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of BCC distanced himself from the transaction which the mayor also denied in his testimony Justice Monageng giving the analyses on count four said the blame should be put on Mr. Othman (the CEO), who was the accounting officer and the mayor was just facilitating for a supplier. Here again she said Secka, the supplier was not called to court by the prosecution, and Secka would have known who authorized him to supply council with the comparators. Justice Monageng also said the Cleansing Service Department of The BCC would have told the court who authorized it to use the comparators before payment was done to the supplier. On the purchase of the 25 KVA generator, the judge said there is no evidence of single source or direction for council to pay D50,000. She said the seller was not called as a witness to prove the act of single sourcing. On the structures at Primet Street, the judge said all the witnesses agreed that the toilets were dilapidated, but Marie Dalliah was the odd one who was adamant that council was not informed about the leasing of the area. Justice Monageng added that the offence was not done by an individual but the council and the act was done on behalf of the council. She said the mayor was acting on councils interest and she has no power under section 84 (2) of the Local Government Act to punish the mayor for that. The judge found that the standard of proof was not met by the prosecution. She accordingly acquitted and discharged him of all the charges against him. いいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいい To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L Web interface at: http://listserv.icors.org/archives/gambia-l.html To Search in the Gambia-L archives, go to: http://listserv.icors.org/SCRIPTS/WA-ICORS.EXE?S1=gambia-l To contact the List Management, please send an e-mail to: [log in to unmask] いいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいいい