Camara, alongside former Chief Executive Officer Mustapha Batchilly, testified in a session that exposed deep-rooted irregularities, abuse of power, and mismanagement of public resources within the BCC under the leadership of Mayor Rohey Malick Lowe.
According to Camara, Sanneh held a web of unofficial and overlapping roles, including adviser to the mayor and council, trade license overseer, market overseer, steering committee member of the Ostend project, contract committee member, storekeeper, and even participant in all council management meetings.
Sanneh was reportedly so influential that Camara admitted he felt powerless in his presence. “He was more powerful than even the CEO,” Camara said, revealing that Sanneh’s actions went unchecked, including breaking down the door to his office in a dispute.
Sanneh reportedly earned a monthly salary of D37,000, but Camara estimated he took home over D750,000 per month due to additional allowances from nearly every council committee he sat on.
“It was the Mayor’s decision,” CEO Mustapha Batchilly confirmed Sanneh’s multiple appointments, attributing them to the mayor’s direct orders, even though he acknowledged many were unauthorized and unlawful.
“The market overseer position does not exist, and I had no authority to create or pay for such a role,” Batchilly admitted under questioning. Despite his awareness, he said it was difficult to challenge the mayor’s decisions, even when they clearly contradicted the law.
Lead counsel questioned the mayor’s role in awarding contracts, highlighting conflicts of interest, such as her interference in contract decisions, including a documented case where a contract initially awarded to Fatima Trading was redirected to Kebba and Sons after mayoral intervention.
Camara also raised alarm over the Mile 2 Dumpsite, where he said he had successfully set up a revenue stream that generated over D2 million, only for the mayor to remove the officer he had assigned and replace him with her brother-in-law, Bakawsu Kanyi.
Camara alleged that his own authority as signatory to dumpsite funds was revoked without his consent. “They used me to open the account, then went behind my back to withdraw money,” he said.
Batchilly defended the decision at first, claiming the appointment came via the Establishment Committee, but later admitted that the committee had no legal authority to award contracts.
The inquiry also revealed that D1,500 was deducted monthly from the allowance of Isatou Njie, the REFELA National Coordinator, as part of a “pledge” to support the mayor’s Women and Girl Empowerment Initiative.
Camara and Batchilly both admitted to approving the deductions, despite legal advice that allowances cannot be transferred or redirected, as they are strictly allocated for official use.
“It was wrong,” both witnesses ultimately conceded.
Camara testified that many payments, including honorariums and overtime, were made without proper justification or documentation. The payments were processed as motivational packages, despite lacking support in council regulations.
Batchilly also admitted to approving D1.8 million to a consultant, Mamulie Jasseh, a cousin of the mayor, for a restructuring contract that didn’t go through due procedures.
Fueling further controversy, the council reportedly funded fuel for four vehicles used by or linked to the mayor, although only one was officially allocated. Batchilly acknowledged that funding unofficial vehicles is improper but justified it by noting the cars were part of "initiatives."
A damning audit report listed over D5.1 million in financial irregularities, including unstable loans, missing revenue collections, duplicate and unapproved payments, and unauthorized performance commissions.
A particularly contentious case involved Mustapha Abe Sarr, who suppressed council funds of over two hundred thousand and was allegedly paid for a year without working. Despite this, no disciplinary action was taken. Batchilly admitted Sarr was close to the mayor but denied any favoritism. When asked why actions were taken against other staff for lesser offenses but not against Sarr, he had no answer.
