Sainabou Martin-Sonko was the CEO of KMC before her transfer to Kerewan Area Council as current CEO.
Mr Alieu Danso's company is Almot Real Estate Company.
In his explanation, Danso said he wrote letters to institutions, including the KMC. He got a response from the KMC and was invited for a discussion.
He testified that the mediator between him and the KMC was Bolong Badjie, an employee of the Directorate of Services in the KMC.
He explained that he met with the acting CEO Jaja Cham and talked about the land in Kachume, adding he later went for a site visit with KMC staff and he was asked to wait after that.
He said one day he was called by Jaja Cham to go to the KMC to sign an agreement.
He added that Sainabou Martin was still not involved. He explained that the agreement was for D60,000 for a plot of land and the total number of staff was 167. He stressed that the KMC began deducting from the staff and paying him monthly.
As time passed, he said, Jaja Cham called him to the KMC and introduced him to Sainabou Martin-Sonko, former KMC CEO.
Danso testified Sainabou Martin-Sonko told him that the land was agricultural land and should be changed to residential. He added that he complied and changed the land from agricultural land to residential.
He stated that he took the papers to the KMC and showed them.
Moreover, the witness said one day Baboucar Sanyang informed him that Sainabou Martin-Sonko wanted him to give her a milion dalasis so that she will process the D4 million.
“Sainabou did not call me. She did not request the D1,000,000 directly from me. Baboucar was the one who told me that she requested D1,000,000,” Danso testified.
Lead Counsel Patrick Gomez asked if Sainabou Martin ever requested or solicited payments from him as bribes, but Danso said he could not remember. "She never requested it directly. Baboucar was the one who told me."
Regarding the D30,000 saga, the witness said he gave her the money as loan because she was going to Senegal and was without money.
However, the lead counsel confronted the witness that he left the money in her office after she declined to take bribe (Sainabou's testimony). Danso denied.
Witness Danso did claim he owned the land and was confronted by the lead counsel that his evidence was false and misleading.
Danso then said he had an agreement with the landowners for D2,000,000 but he made an advance payment of D350,000. He was quick to add that the agreement was later cancelled because three estate companies claimed title over the land area.
“The land owners sold the land to three (3) companies,” Danso testified, adding he later moved the KMC staff to another place, which they liked.
Lead Counsel Gomez told the witness that the agreement was terminated because he did not fulfil the payment obligation.
