Nyakassi Gassama, the civil servant at the center of the investigation, was awarded the 850,000-dalasi contract in 2019 and two other contracts despite lacking a registered company.
The inquiry also questioned Lamin A.S. Marena, who made a money withdrawal paid by the council for Nyakassi Gassama.
Marena testified that he had only one bank account with Trust Bank and denied having a joint account. When asked about his relationship with Nyakassi, he admitted knowing him long time ago but denied being aware of any business or contracts involving him.
However, when questioned about financial dealings with Nyakassi in 2019, Marena admitted to withdrawing a cheque on his behalf but claimed he could not recall the amount. The lead counsel confronted him with bank records showing two payments in May totaling D255,000 and D85,000, but he insisted that he only withdrew money for Nyakassi once. When presented with additional bank details, he conceded that if the records stated otherwise, he would not object.
Nyakassi stated that he withdrew money for the first time using a cheque given to him by the CEO, though it was not paid in cash. When shown a D510,000 payment voucher from April 2019, he confirmed it was the first payment he received.
The former CEO, initially denied receiving money from Nyakassi but later claimed the D200,000 he received was for a business transaction. When pressed, lead counsel referenced Nyakassi’s previous testimony, in which he admitted paying D200,000 in kickbacks to the former CEO. Despite this, Touray continued to insist the amount was related to business, not bribery.
Lead counsel, Patrick Gomez grilled Touray about contract awards, particularly those given without due process. Touray admitted to awarding a D850,000 contract but defended it, claiming that Nyakassi appeared capable. When asked about another D395,000 contract, Touray claimed he could not recall the process followed.
The director of planning, Mr. Keita, testified that the contracts were awarded through single-source procurement on instructions from the CEO. When asked why Nyakassi was favored, Keita said the CEO instructed him to consult Nyakassi.
In another contract worth D475,000, Keita stated that three quotations were collected two of which were submitted by Nyakassi. However, contradictions arose when the CEO claimed he did not handle the quotations directly, while Keita revealed they were indeed subjected to the CEO’s approval.
Further investigations revealed irregularities in contracts awarded to Nyakassi, including:
A D6,667,000 contract paid in three installments. A D200,000 borehole project with unclear specifications.
Inflated invoices, including D80,000 for plastic tanks that cost significantly less.
Lead counsel confronted Touray about these discrepancies, pointing out that contract prices seemed inflated to accommodate kickbacks.
Touray denied this but eventually admitted to seeing invoices before contracts were awarded.
Nyakassi was asked whether a D475,000 contract had undergone a survey audit before approval. He admitted it had not.
When asked why repair of 10 hand pumps for D200,000 was single-sourced to Gassama, Touray acknowledged awareness but failed to justify it.
Gassama, in his testimony, stated that bribery requests made it difficult to execute contracts properly.
A major contradiction emerged when Touray’s earlier claim of lending Nyakassi money for business was disproven. Bank records confirmed that funds were deposited into his private account, allegedly sourced from kickbacks.
