By Sainabou Sambou
A police witness, Binta Manneh Monday testified in an on-going false pretence case involved Sheriff Jallow who is answering to four count charges of offence, which included false pretence and fraud, before the Kanifing Magistrate Court presiding over by Magistrate Mam Samba Jallow.
Testifying before the Magistrate Court, Binta Manneh explained that it was a land transaction between her and the accused. She said the accused person informed her that they have an empty land measuring 20 x 25 for sale and she (Binta Manneh) wanted to buy it, and that the accused employee brought out a document to show her, while she was told that the land is located in Tanji, a place she chose.
According to her, the driver of the accused person took her and the husband to Tanji under the instruction of the accused person .When they reached Tanji, she said, she was told by the employee of the accused that the land is D375,000.00 and that she need to make a payment of D100.000,00, an amount she said she paid and the employee later told her that she need to pay half of the money and if she complete the payment she will be issued the land documents.
She stated that every month sometimes she can pay D20,000.00, D22,000.00 and even D27,000.00 and each monthly payment she made they issued her a receipt.
After completing the full payment and asked the accused to give her the documents of the land he always tell her stories that she said she cannot understand and that also the accused is not picking her call when she call him. But one day, she said, she went to his office and told his employee that she needs her land documents.
However, Binta Manneh added that she went back to the accused office whereby she met a lady who was also looking for the accused. In her narration, she said the lady informed her that she gave a car and money to the accused in an exchange for a land, while she too explained her own problem to the lady too and this prompted her and the other lady to report the matter at the police station.
Meanwhile, extract from Sheriff Jallow’s four counts of charges stated that on 22nd January 2019 Sheriff Jallow pretended with intent to defraud and obtained an amount of D280,000 from one Fatou Barrow for the sale of a plot of land situated at Farato Jamburi.
Also, sometimes in 2016 with intent to defraud he obtained an amount of D375,000 from Binta Manneh for the sale of land situated at Tanji and on count three of his offence in November 2018 with false pretence with intent to defraud as well he obtained D275,000 from Mamadou Saidou Sowe for the sale of a plot of land situated at Farato and Jamburi and also he obtained an amount of D153,800.00 from Muhammed Ceesay for the sale of a plot of land situated at Farato and Jamburi.
More so, Sheriff Jallow sometime in the mont of April 2020 with false pretence and intent to defraud also obtained an amount of D35,000.00 from one Sainabou Sowe for the sale of a plot of land located at Nyofelleh village.
However, the case was adjourned to 19th August 2021 for continuation. 2231 L Gibba represented the IGP.