The criminal trial of conspiracy and stealing involving Kalifa Biovogue and Akio Biovogue continued recently at the Bundung Magistrates’ Court before Magistrate Foster.
Testifying, the second prosecution witness, Sheikh Faal, said he is a businessman who resides in Banjul.
He told the court that he knew the accused persons and could recall what happened on 9 November 2010.
PW2 added that he had a friend by the name Ebrima Giggo, who resides at Tabokoto, and had a shop opposite that of the 1st accused, Kalifa Biovogue.
“Ebrima and the 1st accused are doing business for more than one year now,” PW2 revealed.
He further testified that one day Ebrima told him that he had a friend, who had money in dalasi and wanted to convert it to about $30,000.
“I told Ebrima that I have a friend who has an exchange bureau called Tumana Exchange Bureau. Ebrima asked for my help and I went and took $30,000 from the friend called Alieu Lamara, the owner of the Exchange Bureau,” he said.
Faal further told the court that before he took the $30,000 to Ebrima, he went to one Yaya Faal and took D500,000 and gave it to Tumana Exchange Bureau.
“I gave the money to Ebrima Giggo and myself and Ebrima took the money to the accused persons and handed it over to them,” Faal told the court.
He narrated that the accused persons asked him to wait for a while, that the dalasi would soon come.
“The second accused, Akio Biovogue, wanted to go out and I told him that nobody will move an inch unless and until I receive my money,” he explained.
According to PW2, the 1st accused, Kalifa, intervened and told him that his shop is opposite that of Ebrima Giggo and he would not go anywhere and let him allow the second accused to go.
He said he told the 1st accused to call and confirm where the 2nd accused was, adding that the 1st accused said he was on his way to the place.
“I asked the 1st accused to tell me the location of his office so that we could go there to collect my money,” Faal further told the court.
“The 1st accused told me that the 2nd accused’s office was located in Senegambia,” he added.
“As we were going to Senegambia, the 1st accused asked the taxi driver to stop and he pointed at a house where he said the 2nd accused lives,” he said.
The 1st accused, the witness added, told him to let him go and collect the money from his brother, the 2nd accused, but he refused on the grounds that he could also run away.
He said he later reported the matter to the Wellingara Police Station and the 1st accused was detained, adding that the 2nd accused was later arrested at Jabang village, in Kombo South, West Coast Region.
He said he later made his statement to that effect.
