The ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany to The Gambia is currently at the centre of intense allegations of “attempt at judicial interference” as the Deutsch diplomat reportedly met this week top Gambian police officials in an effort to peddle his influence in an active court case involving two Austrian nationals.
Ambassador Klaus Botzet was at the Gambia police HQ in the country’s capital,Banjul to present a motor vehicle to the national police force, but he reportedly capitalized on the moment to confront the Gambia’s police chief Seedy Touray and his deputy over the ongoing trial of Austrians Manuel Di Stofleth Mitterer and Angelika Mitterer on a charge of disobeying a lawful order.
The Austrians have spent the greater chunk of last year in and out of the Gambian courts, hopping from one legal issue to another.
The Gambian police sometime last year began a criminal investigation against the Austrians after Gambian national Ebrima Solomon Tamba and Dutch Marcel Lambertus Teunis van Andel filed a criminal complaint against Manuel on suspicion of diverting for personal use millions of dalasi from their investments.
The trio partnered around 2021 to build holiday apartments. The land on which the apartment tower was built was provided by Mr. Tamba while he and Marcel also provided the capital. Manuel provided his expertise in construction and marketing as he had no money at the time. Tamba and Andel then allowed him to own 30% shares in the business.
The partnership soured sometime down the line when Solomon and Marcel discovered that Manuel was withholding vital information about financial transactions.
Despite giving several strong assurances to his partners that the holiday apartments were selling well on the European market, Manuel was unable to show the whereabouts of the proceeds. The subsequent police investigation led to his admission that he lodged the money, which could be into millions of dalasi, into his cryptocurrency vaults. He refused investigators from the national police access to his cryptocurrency wallets and was consequently charged with disobeying a lawful order. The case is expected to resume at the Banjul Magistrates’ Court early March.
According to information reaching JollofNews, the German embassy in The Gambia has now weighed in on the matter, despite the Austrian consulate in Banjul reportedly distancing itself from the matter.
“Ambassador Klaus Botzet was at the police HQ to present a car to the force, but he went outside the scope of that engagement to meet IGP Touray in his office in an attempt to exert undue influence on the police to drop forthwith the charges against the Stofleths over their refusal to allow investigators to open their laptop to access details of his cryptocurrency transactions,” one source said.
The Gambia’s deputy police chief and a certain assistant inspector general of police were also reportedly in attendance when the German diplomat met the police chief.
The alleged confrontation has already drawn condemnation from some quarters. While some described it as an affront to the office of the inspector general of police, others saw it as a flagrant judicial interference, egregious violation of diplomatic etiquette and an assault on Gambia’s sovereignty.
“The Deutsch diplomat has acted outside the remit of his diplomatic assignment and this raised more questions than answers,” another source commented. “What compelled the German ambassador to meet the police officials over the Stofleths is anyone’s guess. Did he have any vested interest in the matter? Why should he believe that the white Europeans should not be held responsible for violating national laws and citizens’ rights? Are we seeing another form of white supremacy and resurfacing of a disturbing colonial mentality? I think Mr. Botzet should be summoned for consultation,” commented another source.
The Gambian police have acknowledged that ambassador Klaus Botzet was at the police HQ.
“I can confirm that the ambassador was at the police HQ, but I can’t say whether he had a meeting with the IGP and other police officials, regarding the Austrians,” ASP Sisawo, the spokesperson of the national police, explained to JollofNews.
The German embassy was also contacted.
