Trial of former PS Petroleum commences

The prosecution called their first witness, Gora Njie, a police officer, to testify.

Officer Njie told the court that on 24 June 2015, he was at his office when his instructor told him to accompany the former permanent secretary at the Ministry of Petroleum, Mr Sallah, to his residence in Senegambia to conduct a search.

He said the team comprised himself, Kebba Secka as team leader, and one Lamin Bojang, and they left the office along with the suspect, Mr Sallah, for his residence in Senegambia.

“Upon arrival at his residence, the suspect went upstairs and opened the door and we commenced the searching. During the searching, we discovered three computers, CPUs, in the box. Photographs were taken to that effect, at the end of the searching exercise.”

He added that the marks of the CPUs were HP, which the team recovered.

Asked by the prosecutor, Sub-inspector Badjie, whether the accused person has ever told the team who owns those CPUs, officer Njie told the court that the accused person told them the CPUs belonged to the Ministry of Petroleum.

He recognised them as the one they recovered at the accused person’s residence in Senegambia.

At that juncture, the police prosecutor, Sub-inspector Badjie, applied to tender the three CPUs in court as evidence and they were admitted and marked as exhibits.

Under cross-examination, defence counsel Lubna Farage asked the witness how long he had been in service, and the witness said he had been in service for two years within which time he could not remember the number of searches he had conducted.

He said the team he mentioned included himself, Kebba Secka as the team leader and one Lamin Bojang.

The defence counsel asked what was his qualification, prior to being an investigator.

However, the question created some debate between the prosecutor and the defence counsel.

Officer Njie later told the court that he is an investigator, but prior to that he was a high school graduate.

At that juncture, the case was adjourned to 6 August 2015, for continuation of cross-examination.

The charge sheet presented in court in count one stated that Muntaga Sallah, sometime in November 2014 whilst serving as permanent secretary at the Ministry of Petroleum, instructed without approval from the Minister of Petroleum at the time, the purchase of three computers marked HP to the tune of $25,400.45, which he later stole and took to his house in Senegambia.

Count two stated that Muntaga Sallah, sometime in November 2014 whilst serving as permanent secretary at the Ministry of Petroleum, stole three computers marked HP to the tune of $25,400.45 belonging to the Gambia Government.

Count three stated that sometime in November 2014, he abused his functions as permanent secretary at the Ministry of Petroleum, when he instructed without approval from the Minister of Petroleum at the time, the purchase of three computers marked HP to the tune of $25, 400.45, which he later stole and took to his house in Senegambia.