Babu Ndour, the witness, began his testimony by giving a comprehensive overview of his journey with the Kerewan Area Council, which began in 1999 when he decided to offer his services to the Kerewan Area Council as a volunteer. On this voluntary basis, he served as a market and ‘Lumo’ collector and was subsequently hired in 2007.
Delving into the time when he was a volunteer, Mr Ndour said he was paid no salary but only given a daily D15 token as commission.
As the session advanced, Deputy Counsel Patrick Gomez quizzed Ndour on how much they usually collected.
Mr Ndour responded: “At that time, it was somehow hefty and somehow small because then tickets were around D2 or D3. Sometimes, we collected D1000 or D2000.”
“Why would you do that for seven years?” the deputy lead counsel asked. “But what could D15 do for you?
The witness cited a lack of employment opportunities. He said: “It is all because of a lack of job. At least when you have nothing to cling onto, at least you could seek refuge in this.”
He acknowledged that there was a time when the D15 token was increased to D30.
The witness further explained their mechanisms and mode of operation as revenue collectors. He explained: “We had a Lumo supervisor. We would meet in the morning and disperse in different ways. Around 12:00 to 13:00, we would go present the money to the supervisor. The money presented was reconciled with the number of tickets that were given before it was eventually deposited.”
Progressing to testify on his role as a market master, Ndour explained that the practice is that revenue collectors would collect, and hand the revenue to him and he would make the deposit.
Asked why, he held that this was the norm they found in place.
