One Dawda Jallow,
a Senegalese national, charged with obtaining money by false pretence, opened
his defence at the Bundung Magistrates’ Court before Principal Magistrate
Ibrahim Kijera.
In his defence, the accused told the court he lives in Cassamance and he is a disciple who sometimes works as an apprentice.
When reminded by the court that he was alleged to have obtained D15,000, a silver bangle valued D2,000 and finger ring valued at D15,000, from one Lamin Manneh, on the pretext that he would give him a bag full of money, the accused explained his side of the deal.
The accused explained that he came from Serrekunda and met the complainant at Tipper Garage, while he the accused was going to Sukuta, and he then begged the complainant fare, who gave him D15.
“I told him that I work as a disciple, and I write in Arabic for people. The complainant told me that he was working at Bijilo but he was facing some difficulties. I told the complainant to pay me with two guinea fowls, but instead of the two guinea fowls, the complainant paid me D600, and I wrote for him,” he said.
After some days, he added, the complainant came and requested for some juju; he also brought a paper for himself. And he the accused asked him to pay him D400.
“The complainant asked me to write a script for him, for which I charged him D500 for. I later went to Gunjur, and the complainant called and asked me to meet him at West Coast,” he narrated.
At West Coast, he told him the landlord said he saw a boy taking a bag out of the house of the complainant, and he suspected that he was in the same boat with that boy, which he the accused denied at the police station.
