Former Governor of the West Coast Region, Abdou FM Badjie, was the sixth prosecution witness to testify in the trial of Omar Faye, the alkalo of Busura village, who was charged with abuse of office.
Abdou Badjie, testifying on Monday before Magistrate Ababucarr Secka of the Brikama Magistrates’ Court, told the court that he knew one Malang Jarju and Modou Jarju in Marakisa village, and he also knew the accused, Omar Faye.
According to Badjie, there was a land dispute between Marakisa and Busura village in the year 2004. “In the same year, I meet with one Alhagie Dembo Jarju, who told me that he was negotiating the disputed land problem between Marakisa and Busura,” Badjie added.
He said Dembo further told him that he had a discussion with the two villages during which the two villages agreed that the disputed land belonged to Marakisa village.
Further testifying, Badjie told the court that Dembo and himself went to Busura village, where a meeting was summoned and all the four villages, namely Marakisa, Busura, Seyone and Jalanbantang, including their Alkalos, were present.
He said, during the meeting, Dembo Jarju told the four village representatives that the land dispute should not be a problem between the two villages, because they are all related.
He said the accused himself spoke at that meeting and said that what they have agreed on earlier was that the land belonged to Marakisa village, and let them all be one.
He told the court that during that meeting, everybody in attendance agreed that the land belonged to Marakisa village, adding that the brother of the accused person, Yunusa Faye, went and bought cola-nuts and shared it among the people at that meeting.
Badjie said he later received a letter, which was written by the accused person to apologise to the people of Marakisa, adding that since the accused has tendered his apology letter everything had come to a conclusion.
He said he later gave his statement to the police.
At that juncture, the case was adjourned till 24th February 2011.
