The case involves Ridwan Othman, the registrar of the Kanifing Court, and Mariama Jankey Tamba, a clerk at the Kanifing Court. The three accused faced five counts of criminal offences, including theft, fraud, breach of trust, dealing with prohibited drugs, and neglect of official duty.
According to the Bill of Indictment, the state law office has charged Ebrima Janko Colley and Ridwan Othman with conspiracy to commit a felony, contrary to Section 368 of the Criminal Code. The prosecution alleges that in October 2023 at the Kanifing Court, Colley and Othman conspired to steal 45 blocks of cocaine submitted as exhibits in a criminal case.
Additionally, Colley and Othman were charged with theft under Section 245, punishable under Section 257 of the Criminal Code, for allegedly stealing 45 blocks of cocaine. Other charges included fraud and breach of trust under Section 112 of the Criminal Code, dealing in prohibited drugs under Section 33 of the Drug Control Act, and neglect of official duty against Mariama Jankey Tamba under Section 113 of the Criminal Code for failing to mark 52 blocks of cocaine that were also submitted as exhibits.
The first prosecution witness (PW1), Abdoulie Ceesay, testified that he works as a drug law enforcement officer and a resident of Kerr Sering.
He testified that he recognised the three accused as a magistrate, registrar, and a clerk at the Kanifing Magistrates’ Court.
Ceesay recounted that on October 13, 2023, he was assigned to prosecute a case involving DLEAG and a defendant named Babucarr Muhammed Sallah. He said that after the case was mentioned, it was adjourned for the prosecution to establish its case, and upon resuming, they presented their evidence and a witness testified. Ultimately, the accused was sentenced to a fine of 5,000,000 dalasis.
The witness indicated that the fine was fully paid, adding that 25% went to DLEAG as stipulated by the Act, and 75% to the judiciary.
He testified that after the case was concluded, DLEAG submitted an application to Magistrate Colley to transfer the drugs into their custody, but the request was rejected. Ceesay stated that he was instructed that when DLEAG wanted to retrieve the drugs, they had to write to Chief Justice Hassan B. Jallow.
He said the office wrote to the Chief Justice, and their application or request was granted, and he was tasked with collecting 52 blocks of cocaine from the Kanifing Court.
Upon arrival at the Kanifing Court, the witness said he met court officials, and the drugs were pulled from the store, he said they noticed that the seal was tampered with and that the drugs were not in their original packaging. He added that court officer Othman told them that the original packaging or cartoon tyre was destroyed, and they replaced it.
Ceesay further testified that they conducted a preliminary test in court, but the results were inconclusive. He said they then took a sample for further examination at their lab, which returned negative results.
“We then left the drugs in the custody of the court and wrote to the Chief Justice,” he narrated.
He concluded that the drugs remained under court custody because they were tampered with and decided to leave them there for further investigation.
During his cross-examination, defence lawyer L.K. Mboge inquired whether the witness was aware of a case in 2009 in which the Director of DLEAG, Bun Sanneh, was charged with tampering with exhibit drugs. The witness responded, "I’m not aware of that."
Lawyer Mboge then asked if the witness had the analytical report of the 52 blocks of drugs. The witness stated he did not have the report, but the analytical result would be available with the lab office at DLEAG.
Asked how the 52 blocks were packaged, the witness explained that each box contained 26 blocks, and they were labelled.
Lawyer Mboge reminded the witness that he had testified that after the prosecution of the case, he wrote to have the drugs returned to DLEAG. The witness confirmed, "Yes, through the instruction of my senior."
"I’m putting it to you that there is no law in this jurisdiction that instructs the magistrate to return the exhibit," Lawyer Mboge stated.
The witness responded that there was no law, but they learned that there were breaks in the Kanifing court store, and DLEAG was due to conduct drug destruction, adding that DLEAG was responsible for that, which was why they requested the drugs to be returned to DLEAG custody.
The witness was then asked when he wrote to the Chief Justice. He responded that he could not remember, but the letter would be available with DLEAG.
When asked if he could produce the letter written to the Chief Justice, he replied he could not but the copy of the letter was atthe DLEAG and Chief Justice offices.
Regarding whether he had the receipt for the 25% payment to DLEAG, the witness said he had taken a picture of the receipt but did not possess the physical copy. When asked if he could produce the receipt, he stated that the receipt was at the DLEAG office.
Lawyer Lamin Mboge requested the letter to the Chief Justice, the receipt for the 25% payment, and the 75% payment to the judiciary.
Director of Public Prosecution A.M. Yusuf, in his submission, said they could provide the receipt for the 25% to DLEAG and 75% payment to the Judiciary and the letter to the Chief Justice. The presiding judge, Justice S. Aryee, ordered the prosecution to provide the documents.
The case was adjourned until 3 February 2025.
