#Article (Archive)

Works technical director testifies in Lang Conteh’s trial

Feb 25, 2015, 10:30 AM | Article By: Bakary Samateh

Malang Jammeh, technical director at the Ministry of Transport, Works and Infrastructure, yesterday testified in the trial involving the former general manager of Kanilai Family Farms, Lang Conteh, accused of theft at the Banjul Magistrates’ Court before principal Magistrate Dawda Jallow.

Designated as the fourth prosecution witness (PW4), Mr Jammeh told the court that he resides in Turjereng village in the West Coast Region and is a civil servant attached to the Ministry of Works as technical director.

He recognised the accused, Lang Conteh, as the former general manager of the Kanilai Family Farms, he told the court.

Jammeh said sometime in February 2014, he received a letter from the office of the Inspector General of Police requesting that his ministry sends evaluators to evaluate the work done at the Kanilai Building Complex near the Albert Market.

The exercise was conducted, and he sent two engineers accompanied by Inspector Konteh with the contractor and the accused person himself to show the engineers the work executed by the contractors, he said.

He said the report was compiled and sent to the office of the Inspector General of Police in February 2014.

At that juncture, defence counsel LK Mboge raised an objection on the grounds that the report was never before the court, and asked the prosecutor to lead his witness correctly.

The witness was then asked by police prosecutor whether he would be able to recognize the evaluation report, which he did and the prosecutor applied to tender it without any objection from counsel.

Another assessment was made based on the request by Inspector Konteh, which was also sent to the office of the Inspector General of Police, Jammeh told the court.

Under cross-examination, the witness further told the court that the supplementary report was not contained in the report tendered; instead the supplementary was also sent to the office of the Inspector General of Police for investigation purposes.

He said the total cost indicated in the tendered report was D1,100,084. The case was adjourned to 17 March 2015.