By Mustapha Jarju
The former chief driver, Mansa Sumareh, at the State House served as a president driver from 2017 to early 2020 before being alleged of being involved in forging diplomatic passports for an unauthorized individual.
Mansa Sumareh was on Monday, 21st November 2022 cross-examined by State Counsel Patrice Gomez during the ongoing Diplomatic Passport Forgery case held at the Banjul High Court presided over by Justice Ebrima Jaiteh.
During the cross-examination, State Counsel P Gomez asked Mansa how long he has been the chief driver at the state house.
Mansa answered that since the day the president was elected “I was appointed as the chief driver,” Mansa answered.
P Gomez asked “are you currently the chief driver of the president?” he replied “no! I stop working as the chief driver the day Prince Charles (son of Queen Elizabeth) came to The Gambia.”
P Gomez asked further “Why did you stop working as the chief driver at the Office of the President” Mansa again answered that “since I stopped working as the chief driver at State House, the president himself asked me to go into politics because I am a politician. I resigned on my own.”
The Counsel asked further if he can tell the court whether he stopped working when he was called by the police on issues of the diplomatic passport. Mansa responded that “what my opinion give me when the allegation came out was I have to resign until when the matter is clear in court.”
“Did you officially resign? P Gomez asked,” but Mansa answered that he wrote a letter to the PMO, Office of the President, and the Treasury.”
The State Counsel told him that, as far as you are concerned about what he thought was that you should resign. He replied yes.
He answered further that he resigned to stop driving the President and that the issue of the diplomatic passport is different. “When the issue of the diplomatic passport came I am already into politics and I have been paid,” he told the court.
P Gomez asked him if he said he was accused of committing crimes related to the diplomatic passport, and Mansa replied positively.
The State Counsel went on in his question and asked who he said accused him of trying to forge the diplomatic passport. He replied “Bakary Suso and two others, but they call director Jobarteh to the police headquarters, and when he came he said he is the one who approved the names of the two people.” And he named one of the two people – Ndey Njie and said he cannot remember the name of the second person while he noted that Ousman Drammeh was the one that brought them to him and all of them went to the director’s office.
