Boat case reaches court

One Tom Powel was recently dragged to the Kanifing Magistrates’ Court by one Dodou Sisoho, claiming ownership of a boat.

The defendant, Tom Powel, in his testimony, told the court that he became a friend to the plaintiff since the year 2000.

Powel added that the plaintiff told him there was a boat for sale from a company called Gamec, stating that the boat they were selling was the old safety boat.

He said he was told that the boat would cost D100,000 and he asked the plaintiff to negotiate with the people for a reasonable price, because there was a lot of work to be done on the boat.

He revealed to the court that they agreed at D75,000 for the price of the boat, adding that he gave the plaintiff the said amount to give it to the seller, but he did not receive any receipt.

Powel further testified that he then took the boat for renovation and it took over six months, adding that he also took it to Banjul harbour for inspection by the harbour master.

He further revealed that after using the boat for about six years, it needed major repairs and he took it to his warehouse, where he asked some men to work on it.

“That was the time the plaintiff saw the boat,” he said. “Since we bought it, Mr Sisoho never said anything about the boat until I sued him for another case before he started claiming ownership of the boat.”

It was 8 years after the purchase of the boat that the plaintiff said he owed him the money for the boat, he said, adding that the boat was still in his compound unused for a long time.

The defendant said that if there was any truth in what the plaintiff was saying, he would have asked him for some money for the repairs of the boat.

He said the plaintiff told him that the boat’s worth was £32, 000, which could buy six of these types.

The case was then adjourned till 17 January 2012.