Fatoumata Alamy, a complainant, on 4 November 2010 testified before Magistrate George of the Kanifing Magistrates' Court against Sulayman Jarra and Bunama Mangasuba, who were alleged to have been accomplices to one Isatou Corr who stole a jewellery box worth more than two million dalasis.
Isatou Corr, who was convicted earlier following her plea of guilt, was arraigned along with Sulayman Jarra and Bunama Mangasuba for allegedly stealing a jewellery box, the property of the complainant, Fatoumata Alamy.
In her testimony, Fatoumata Alamy told the court that she lives at Fajara and she is a businesswoman. She stated that she knew Isatou Corr and recognised the accused persons.
She adduced that on 19 June 2009, Isatou Corr stole her jewellery box from the wardrobe in her bedroom.
"On 18 June 2009, I got a container that was to be cleared and I went to the port, but I was asked to produce my receipts," she told the court.
She added that she went back home and started searching for the receipts but could not find them. "I called my two maids: Isatou Corr and Mariama to help me to repack the wardrobe," she explained, saying that was the first time Isatou Corr had the opportunity of entering her bedroom and that was when she saw her jewellery box. "I then locked my house and went to
She added that she was busy unloading the container when her granddaughter came and asked her to give her the room key to take out her shoes from the room. "Everybody was at the front (entrance of the house) and there was no one at the back and this was when Isatou Corr went behind, entered the room and stole the jewellery box," she testified.
"I later realised that the jewellery box was missing. After I have prayed at 7p.m I called her (my granddaughter) to check in my wardrobe to see if the jewellery box was in, but my granddaughter told me that the jewellery box was not there," Alamy told the court. She adduced that she went to the room to confirm whether the jewellery box was there but did not find it.
She narrated that she phoned Isatou Corr but could not reach her because she did not respond. "I reported the matter to the police and they started searching for Istaou," she adduced.
She told the court that after a month or two of searching, she was told that Isatou Corr had a boyfriend called Bunama Mangasuba, who lived in
She added that she went to look for Bunama Mangasuba but could not find him and was given his phone number. Alamy further revealed that she then phoned him and told him that she wanted to see him and he directed her to where he was.
She said she went to see him at Bambo and they got into her car and he told her that Isatou Corr had gone to
She further narrated that the man told her that Isatou Corr did not tell him anything about the theft. "I told him to help me apprehend Isatou Corr and I will gave him a reward of D10,000 and he accepted the offer," Alamy revealed.
She said that after a while, the man told her that Isatou Corr was in
"One day he told me that Isatou Corr came back but had gone to Brikama to stay with her aunt," Alamy told the court. She further adduced that she phoned him and gave him fare to go to Brikama to look for Isatou Corr but later told her that he could not see her.
She testified that after few days, the man phoned her to tell her that Isatou Corr had phoned him from
She said she asked the man to go to her house and phone Isatou from there to ask her to bring back the jewellery box and the documents. The man, Alamy explained, did so but said Isatou Corr denied stealing them.
She added that she then asked him to go with her to
She adduced that they went straight to the Interpol in
She revealed that when Isatou Corr was confronted, she confirmed at the police in The Gambia that she gave the jewellery box to her Senegalese boyfriend who had gone to
The complainant said it was Isatou Corr who also said that Sulayman Jarra and Bunama Mangasuba shared the jewellery among themselves.
