Hon. Paul Mendy, the National Assembly Member for Kombo South, on Monday testified in the criminal trial involving five accused persons at the Brikama Magistrates’ Court before Magistrate Babucarr Secka.
Sherrifo Bojang, Soto Bojang, Musa Bojang, Dembo Bojang and Alasan Sanneh were charged with criminal trespass and disobedience to a lawful order.
Testifying as the second prosecution witness, Hon. Paul Mendy told the court that he knew all the accused persons, except the fifth accused person, Alasan Sanneh, and that he also knew the complainant, Baba Mendy.
According to him, between 2005 and 2006, he received a complaint that a group of people from Sanyang village had tampered with the farmland of one Baba Mendy.
He said, upon receiving the complaint, he himself went to the said farmland and found that the foundation of a mud block house was being put up.
Hon Mendy adduced that he went back home, and told the complainant’s wife to instruct his son to go to the said farmland, and watch out for those who put up the mud blocks.
“I did my own investigation, and found out that the accused persons were the ones that tampered with the complainant’s land,” Hon Mendy explained.
According to him, he went to Tamba kunda family in Tujereng village to report the matter to them because, in 1946, they were the very people that gave the land to the complainant’s parents for them to settle on,” Mendy further explained.
He said the Tamba Kunda family told him to go and report to Tujereng Police Station, which he did.
Hon. Mendy revealed that when the problem happened, he wrote a petition to the Office of the President, which issued a directive, that nobody should tamper with that land, and this was in 2008.
He said the accused persons did not heed that warning, and he wrote a second petition again to the Office of the President, which again issued a strong reply stating that its instructions should be implemented to the letter. He said the warning was copied to the Governor’s office, the Ministry of Local Government and Lands and the Inspector General of Police.
He said after receiving the reply from the President’s office, there were no more activities carried out on that said piece of land.
The witness was asked by defence counsel Borry Touray, during cross-examination, whether he was aware that there was a case at the district tribunal concerning that piece of land, during the time of the late chief, Borry Darboe.
In reply, Hon. Mendy said: “Yes, but it was not this case.”
The case was then adjourned until 28 March 2011.
