By Dawda M Jallow
Muhammad Sheriff Jallow, PW1 who is also the complainant in an ongoing matter before the Magistrate Sallah M’bai of the Kanifing Magistrate Court has given an account of transaction between him and the alleged accused Sainabou.
The PW1, a businessman (money exchanger) and a resident of New Jeshwang, yesterday, 5th September, narrated his encounter with the accused Sainabou, saying he could remember the 16th day of August 2024 when he was asked by the Prosecution Inspector Baldeh about the day and date.
He said on that said date the accused – Sainabou came to his workplace around 5 pm telling him that she had 300 euros to exchange for the Gambia dalasi. He said he asked her for the money and she replied that she did not come with it thus she left it at home, “I told her that I could not go to her house with her because it was almost late.”
He continued that, the accused replied to him that she would take a town trip taxi because her house is just around Pipeline mosque.
According to PW1, they went up to the petrol station and she told the taxi driver to borrow her money and the driver refused, then she now asked the witness to borrow her money to buy meat, “I replied how because you don’t give me any money. And she replied ‘I’ll return it to you when we reach home. Then I agreed and said no problem. When we got to the meat seller (butcher) the meat seller was about to close.”
At this juncture, the prosecution officer asked PW1 “When you were in the vehicle did the accused ask you to borrow her money,” the witness replied in affirmative and said “Yes at first I borrowed her Money to buy the meat, I gave her the money when the meat seller placed the meat on the table. That’s when I gave her the money.”
He asked him again how much money he gave the accused, and he said D6,000, while PW1 went further in his narration that “she asked me again to borrow her another money that she wanted to buy some bags of Rice Then I gave her D10,000 and she bought two bags of Rice.
In total, the prosecution asked, how much he gave to the accused and he replied “D16,000”
“What happened next after she bought all her needs,” the prosecution officer asked.
He answered that when they went up to Westfield she said she was going to buy cash power at the petrol station when we stood there for so long the PW1 said he called her and told her that they had been standing there for a while then she replied to him that there are a lot of people on the queue to buy Cash power.
So, the PW1 continued, She told the driver to take him to her mother’s house so that her mother would give the money to the PW1 who replied to her that he did not know her mother and that she was the one she gave money to.
However, he said the driver bought the cash power and they left for her house, and at the junction of her house was the mosque but she said they should take another different road from there “I told her that she did not tell me that your compound is just behind the mosque.”
Then prosecution officer Baldeh asked the witness which mosque and he replied Pipeline Mosque.
He told the court that when they were going the accused told him to be afraid of anything because there was nothing that was going to happen to him and that she’s a straightforward person.
Prosecution Baldeh went on to ask if she gave him the 300 euros to change into Gambia Dalasi but he replied that she didn’t give him.
Instead, PW1 said, she took my phone and the mother was inside the mosque to call her or let me wait for her to go and bring the mother because her mother walks with a walking stick.
The witness said the accused entered the mosque and left him standing outside for so long waiting for her to come. But he said he entered the mosque later in search of her but that he could not see her.
At this juncture, the matter was brought to a halt and adjourned till 8th August 2024 for continuation.
