By: Malanding Darboe
The Local Government Commission of Inquiry (LGCI) has reportedly opened investigations into the allegations that Amie Bensouda and her law firm had made double requests from the KMC for payment over a single transaction.
Former principal accountant and debt collector for Amie Bensouda’s law office Alieu Cham, former internal auditor of KMC Ebrima S.K. Fofana and an audit assistant Basirou Njie testified before the LGCI about the bond fees that former Gamcel accountant Juana Hall had to pay to her former employer.
The commission heard that Ms. Hall was hired by the KMC as finance director and by virtue of her hiring, the council had to pay D154,000 to Gamcel. The Commission, however, noted that the bond payment had been effected twice and this was corroborated by witnesses Cham, Fofana and Njie. Alieu Cham testified that he received a cheque from the KMC in respect to that payment on behalf of Amie Bensouda & Co., adding that the cheque was supposedly for Gamcel and it had Amie Bensouda’s name it.
“Amie Bensouda’s name was scratched and Gamcel was written,” said Cham, adding that payments were usually made to Amie Bensouda and Co. and then her law firm would issue a cheque to that institution.
“I cannot recall why our name, Amie Bensouda and Co. was scratched,” he said. He added that he could remember how the transaction ended.
Cham said he could not recollect whether Amie Bensouda & Co. made any payment to Gamcel. The payment voucher accompanied by the cheque and a payment request letter from AB& Co. dated 21 March 2021, was tendered into evidence and admitted as an exhibit. The letter sent by AB & Co. was addressed to the CEO of the KMC.
“You would have received D154,000 as full payment?” Lead Counsel Gomez asked.
“Yes,” Cham replied.
He was then given another payment voucher of 2019 and a letter from AB & Co. The letter was dated 10 March 2019. The D54,000 voucher also contained a Gamcel receipt, a letter of resignation by Juana Hall and a letter from KMC to Gamcel. The amount on the voucher was D54,000.Chamadduced that the cheque in the second voucher, dated 7 May 2019, was paid directly to Gamcel, admitting that at the time of the second voucher, full payment was already made and received by Amie Bensouda & Co.
Cham was asked whether verified the payments to Gamcel but he responded in the negative, testifying that he was instructed by his superior to make the requests and he acted on it, adding that the only payment he was aware of was the one he received. He admitted that Amie Bensouda’s office made two requests for the same payment. He further admitted that at the time of the second request for the same amount (D154,000), KMC had already paid Gamcel the full amount.
Juana Hall was a senior accountant at Gamcel and KMC wrote to the cellular company, informing them that they were ready to pay D154,000 to offset her bond to allow her serve the council. In 2014, D100,000 was paid to Gamcel as evidenced by a Gamcel receipt and in 2019, the balance of D54,000 was paid to Gamcel through a cheque. Mrs. Bensouda’s law firm, however, wrote another request of the same amount of D154,000 for the same Juana Hall and the payment was made by the KMC.
“Are you surprised?” Lead Counsel Gomez asked the former accountant for Amie Bensouda’s law firm.
“Yes,” Alieu Cham said.
“Why?” Gomez asked.
The witness shifted the blame to his superiors at the AB &CO.
“That was not my responsibility,” he said.
Basirou Njie, an internal audit staff of the KMC and Ebrima S. K Fofana, a former internal audit director of the KMC appeared jointly and were asked about the payments made with respect to Juana Hall.
Fofana indicated that he recognised the two vouchers.
“What can you tell us about the payment of the liability of Juana Hall by the KMC?” Lead Counsel Gomez asked.
Fofana said he was the one who endorsed one of the vouchers and the second voucher was endorsed by his assistant Basiru Njie, which meant two vouchers were approved by the internal audit department for the same payment based on the two requests from AB & Co.
“These two vouchers are an indication that there was a duplication of payment. It was an oversight on our side,” former audit director Fofana said.