Pa Ebrima Colley, the Alkalo of Jabang village in the Kombo North district of the West Coast Region, yesterday testified in the trial of Moses B Johnson Richards at the Banjul Magistrates’ Court before acting-Principal Magistrate Alagba.
Richards is being tried on charges of giving false to a public servant and sedition contrary to the laws of the
Testifying as a defence witness, Pa Ebrima Colley told the court that is the Alkalo of Jabang village in Kombo North district.
Mr. Colley recalled that, sometime last year, he received a phone call from someone at the High Court in
“Upon arrival at the High Court, I was asked to go to the office of the Sheriff, whom I later came to know as one Alieu,” the Jabang alkalo told the court.
He added that at the office of the Sheriff of the High Court, he found the Sheriff, who asked him whether he was the alkalo of Jabang village, and that he said, “yes”. He told the court that the Sheriff further asked him whether as the Alkalo, he could remember what had happened in the village in 2007, and he again told him, “yes”.
“The Sheriff informed me that the government had intervened, and asked me to stop all what we are doing in the village. He told me that in order to stop this execution, I needed to get a lawyer who will write a letter for me, and that the matter was under investigation, that this was why he called me, to informed me earlier, before they come again,” Colley told the court.
“As the alkalo, I was scared, and I then asked him what I should do. The Sheriff asked me to get a lawyer to write on my behalf. I further asked him which kind of letter should I ask the lawyer to write, and the Sheriff asked one Alieu to photocopy one paper from the file to show it to my lawyer,” he said.
He pointed out that after photocopying the paper, he took it to the accused person’s chambers, and inform him all what he discussed with the Sheriff, and asked him (the accused) to help him otherwise they would evict the people and their properties from his village.
He said after the discussion with him, the accused told him he could not write for him, as he had lots of work load, and later referred him to lawyer Kebba Sanyang.
He added that when he went to meet lawyer Kebba Sanyang, he also told him that he was aware of this case when he was the Minister of Justice, and said he cannot write a letter for him because they may see it as bias.
He said lawyer Kebba Sanyang advised him to report the matter to service chiefs such as the police.
“I went to the police headquarters to report the matter. I found the Inspector General of Police had travelled out of the jurisdiction, and I later went to meet the Deputy Inspector General of Police, who told me that it was good that I informed him about it,” he further testified.
He added that he also went to the Physical Planning to meet one Junkung Colley, the Director, who was part of the taskforce that investigated the matter.
“I informed him that I am going to report the matter to the NIA, but the Director of Physical Planning told me that the taskforce had submitted their investigation report to the NIA already, and that there was no need, but to just wait.”
He pointed out that, three days later, he received a phone call from the same Alieu informing him that the Sheriff asked him to come again.
“On my arrival, Alieu told me that the Sheriff had travelled, but we went to the Office of the Solicitor General, Pa Harry Jammeh’s office,” he said.
Richards was being represented by senior counsel Antouman Gaye and lawyer Assan Martin.
The state was represented by Simeon O.B, Deputy Director of Special Litigation.
The case was subsequently adjourned till 11 April 2011.
