The case involving Dr. Isatou Touray, executive director of Gamcotrap, and Amie Bojang-Sissoho, program coordinator of the same organisation, yesterday continued at the Banjul Magistrates’ Court.
It was alleged that the two prominent women’s rights activists in 2009, in
Continuing her defence testimony, Amie Bojang-Sissoho told the court that Gamcotrap has not received any monies from Yollocamba for an international conference and there was no budget for an international conference and a micro-credit scheme.
She added that she met one Daniel in 2010 when the project ended, stating that Daniel was introduced to them by the Executive Director of Yollocamba on a micro-credit scheme to be extended to 2010.
She noted that they later asked them which micro-credit was to be extended to 2010, and there was no document to show that they have received any amount for a micro-credit project.
Ms Bojang added that he come back to their office with one John, adding that when John was going to the provinces, Daniel also requested them to provide him with a vehicle and contact addresses of their facilitators in Basse.
Mrs. Bojang-Sissoh added that Gamcotrap gave him the contact addresses of their facilitators in Basse, but could not provide a vehicle for him.
She said that Exhibit “A” was an email correspondence between Omar Dibba and John in March 2009, and it was never copied to her, neither to Dr. Isatou Touray.
“We happened to know that there was an email correspondence between the two people, when the case started for investigation,” she added.
She said defence exhibit DE3 and DE4 were the email addresses for Gamcotrap, and if there was a new email they used to copy it to all parties concerned.
She added that she personally dealt with the women circumcisers in both the training team and at management level.
Still testifying, she said she was also part of the discussion to make the process based on the activities they were implementing.
She added that defence Exhibit C20 was the project for women circumcisers and AEO, and the amount planned for the whole process amounted to D5,000; but they paid them D,3000 after reducing the cost of “ashobi’’ for the women leaders and Alkalolu, as well as cost of fuel for the distributing of ashobi and tailoring.
Asked by the defence counsel whether circumcisers were treated equally, and she replied that as women’s rights activists they treated everybody equally.
She told the court that each of the women circumcisers came with a delegation of 15 women, whom they identified as accomplices in the dropping of the knife celebrations, and transport fare was given to all of them after the celebration.
She added that Succi attended the dropping of the knife celebration on behalf of Yollocamba, and they were aware of the payments to the women circumcisers.
Afterwards, they prepared both narrative reports and finance reports with all the receipts pertaining to the project.
“The Yollocamba transferred 1000 Euro to our account, and we returned it. We told them that we will not accept the money without getting the contract signed,” she further stated.
The case continues.
