By Isatou Sarr
The Banjul Magistrates’ Court has ruled in favour of one Alimatou Badjie in a litigation over a gold chain she entrusted to jeweller Alagie Jah, ordering Alagie to either reframe the chain as agreed or pay D26,000 in compensation.
In delivering the judgement, Magistrate M. Krubally stated that Alimatou had proven her case on a balance of probabilities, establishing that there was an oral contract between her and the defendant to craft gold jewellery, which was not fulfilled as expected.
Alagie was given a two-week deadline to complete the work, failure of which would result in the monetary penalty, along with an additional D5,000 in costs.
The case stemmed from a transaction in 2021 when Alimatou approached Alagie to reframe a gold necklace, earrings, and bangles ahead of her child’s naming ceremony. She claimed she paid him D2,500 for the work and later an additional D1,500. However, upon receiving the jewellery, she was dissatisfied, stating that it was silver rather than gold and did not match her specifications. When attempts to resolve the matter informally failed, she took the issue to the police and later to court.
During the trial, Alimatou testified that Alagie kept giving excuses and delays, which led her to seek police intervention. She called three witnesses, including her cook and driver, who supported her claim that the jewellery was not made according to her request.
Alagie, in his defence, denied any wrongdoing, stating that Badjie had agreed to pay him D5,000 for his work but had not yet done so. He insisted that he had crafted the jewellery as requested and that Alimatou was simply unhappy with the outcome.
The magistrate, after reviewing the evidence and legal principles, ruled that Jah had failed to fulfil his contractual obligation. Citing Sections 141, 142, and 143 of the Evidence Act, Magistrate Krubally emphasized that the plaintiff had successfully demonstrated that she was entitled to either a properly reframed gold chain or monetary compensation.
With the court’s verdict, Alagie Jah now faces the choice of correcting the jewellery within two weeks or paying D26,000 plus costs to Alimatou.
