One
Lamin Ceesay, a police officer attached to Old Yundum Police Station, recently
testified as a defence witness in the civil suit involving Mama Njie and
Bubacarr Dambele, before Magistrate Jarju of the Brikama Magistrates’ Court.
In his testimony, officer Ceesay said some time in April 2015, he received a case file pertaining to land dispute between K. Jobe Kunda family and one Muhammed Conneh, for investigation of a land issue.
Upon receiving that file, he was assigned by his boss to go and take a statement from the Alkalo of Busumbala village.
Upon arriving at the alkalo’s place at Busumblala, he showed him the transfer of ownership document pertaining to the said land in dispute, issued by one Saibou Sanneh to Mahammed Conneh.
When he showed the said document to the Alkalo, the alkalo told him that the document from Saibou Sanneh to Muhammed Conneh was false, because what was written on that document was 2004 Western Division and the alkalo’s stamp was 2014 West Coast Region.
He said the Akalo further told him that the K. Jobe family some time ago went with the Busumbala people to court, pertaining to the said piece of land, and judgment was entered in favour of the K. Jobe family.
Under cross-examination by the plaintiff, Muhammed Conneh, the witness told the court that when he was going for the investigation, he went with a photocopy document, because normally the police go with the photocopy and not the original document.
The case was adjourned until 28 June 2016.
