The witness, Lamin Darboe, who was led by ASP Jahateh on behalf of the IGP, told the court that he is a businessman and he knows the complainant, Bully Nemaga. He stated that the accused is working at the Sheriff Division. He posited that he once saw the accused person who showed him a plot of land.
He said he went to visit the land at Brusubi. He adduced that the accused told him that the Sheriff Division office was selling the land, which measures 40m X 75m. He testified that the land is an empty plot with cashew trees. “When I visited the site I told the accused to call me. I later told him that I had somebody to come and see the land. I went to the complainant and told him about the land,” he stated.
He narrated that he told the complainant that the accused was working at the Sheriff Division and it was the accused who told him that they were selling the land. He added that the complainant told him that they should go and visit the site.
“I took the complainant to the land and he said to me that he liked the land. He asked me whether we could see the accused and I told him that it was not a problem. This was between 2019 and 2020. I then called the accused to speak to the complainant and handed the telephone to him,” he revealed.
He noted that the complainant asked him how much the accused was selling the land and informed him that he was selling the land for D2,000,000. He posited that the complainant told the accused that the price was too high so the accused later reduced it to D1,500,000. He stated further that the complainant told the accused that he would later pay for the land.
“We met the accused at Tabokoto and the complainant paid a deposit of D500,000 at the Elton Petrol Station to the accused. The accused gave him a note as a receipt. We then boarded a car and left. The complainant again paid D250,000 to the accused at the Kanifing Court premises,” he told the court.
He adduced further that after paying D250,000, the complainant called him and informed him that he had gathered some money. He, the witness, then called the accused to meet at TK Motors. He added that the complainant paid to the accused another D250,000. “The accused then gave me D20,000 as a kickback. The complainant told the accused to prepare a document for the land since he had paid some money to him,” he revealed.
He noted that he called the accused to prepare the documents for the land in the name of the complainant because he did not want to have any embarrassment with the complainant. He said that although the complainant had paid some money to the accused for the said land, he did not have the title deed for the land. “The complainant knows where the Sheriff Division office is but because he trusts me a lot, this was why he got into the transaction,” he testified.
He stated that the accused prepared some assignments and brought them to him and he took him to the complainant’s home. He added that the accused was with someone whom he said is a lawyer.
The witness is expected to continue his testimony on the 21st October, 2021.
