In Bun and Co trial, motor mechanic cross-examined

Alieu Sanneh, a motor mechanic, who earlier gave evidence in the criminal trial of Ibrahim Bun Sanneh, ex-Executive Director of the National Drug Enforcement Agency and four others, was on Wednesday cross-examined by defence counsel, L.K. Mboge.

Under cross-examination, the witness told the court that he knew the fifth accused person, Seedy Bojang, for almost four years now at the NDEA, as an accountant.

He testified that the fifth accused person once gave him his personal vehicle to repair and the other one was the official vehicle of the NDEA.

"I gave D22,000 to the 5th accused when I off loaded the truck in Basse and returned to Banjul, but I did not issue him a receipt because I was not given any receipt and he did not ask for it," the witness explained.

He alleged that since he started working with the NDEA, they had never issued him with a receipt, but he was always issuing receipts to the 5th accused person, because the 5th accused was the accountant and was accountable to the NDEA.

When further asked by Counsel LK Mboge whether he knew the importance of the receipts, the witness responded, saying the receipts helped him to know the price of the items that the 5th accused sent him to buy.

PW11 further adduced that at the time he was delivering the money to the 5th accused it was in the presence of one Fakebba Darboe and the wife of the 5th accused, and Allah the Almighty.

"Fakebba Darboe was sitting at the door facing us smoking cigarette, this was why he could not enter," the witness added.

Counsel Mboge then put it to him that Fakebba Darboe was therefore not a witness because he did not see him paying money to the 5th accused. But the witness maintained that Fakebba Darboe saw him when he was giving money to the 5th accused.

"I gave him about D21,500 to D22,500, in hundreds and fifties denominations," he said, adding that he was not sure of the exact amount because it was a long time.

Counsel again put it to the witness that he did not give any money to the accused; that was why he could not remember the amount.

The witness adduced that he was given D20,000 for the fuel and he bought fuel for D11,000 in Banjul and the remaining D9,000, he gave it to the chief car attendant and the Gambia Transport Union.

He added that he did not eat the money but spent it in the transection of the vehicle and he had a receipt for the fuel.

The witness went on to say that he was employed by the NDEA in March 2008 as a mechanic but he later resigned in 2009.

PW11 revealed that he was not accountable to the NDEA, as they gave him a job to do which he carried out and submitted the receipt to the 5th accused person, who gave him the clearance which was stamped, signed and endorsed at the NDEA office.

He concluded by maintaining that the money was given to the 5th accused person by himself, because there were many people at the NDEA office and he could have mentioned names of other persons, but he gave the money to the 5th accused.

The case was at that juncture adjourned until 15 February 2011.