Rejoinder: Re-Gambia Immigration Department Scandalous Economic Crime Case Is Being Undermined By State Counsel

Morning forward, I hate to see justice being denied to take it’s full shape and form wherever and whomever is concerned. Gambia belongs to us all and we must change ourselves for the honesty, integrity, development and our National identity to thrive if we need progress. When we’re wrong we ought to come out again, apologize and open a fresh page. This is somehow lacking in our political discourse as Gambians but it’s the right thing to do.

Honestly, some Gambian journalists home and abroad cherry pick what story they publish simply because of family ties and friendship rather than what matters to Gambia as a Nation. Due deligence is lacking in the profession and this goes against the ethics of the profession that most of you are practicing in today in the spirit of so called fair and Balance.
It could be recalled that a Dutch cruise ship has aanchored in Banjul on the 23/04/2018 with 724 passenger tourists of which 434 tourists paid visas X D3,000 = D1,302,000.

D700,000 check was directly addressed to the Central Bank of the Gambia while the remaining D602,000 was fraudulently shared amongst 30 Personnels of Gambia Immigration Department at the Banjul Seaports headed by Superintendent Sulayman Colley, Assistant Superintendent Momomodou Jammeh and Cocommissioner Omar Badjie of internal Audit and statistics unit at Headquarters. Not many papers wrote or want to follow this money.

The D602,000 was shared on a 50/50 basis between Seaports immigration personnel and shipping agency in the area. The rationale behind this 50/50 shared basis was said to have been a long bullcrap tradition that happened at Seaports for the past half a century in a dubious manner.

Any money collected from both Sea and Airports respectively are considered to be state resources and therefore should be used in the best and most judicious way.

Immigration Department has had so many pressing needs that required money than financial malpractices amongst all the ranks and files of this noble institution. They have obsolete computers, printers and horrible staff offices in the provinces and low staff morals. These moneys could have been used for those purposes than sharing government cash amongst themselves.

As of 04/24/2018, the Minister of interior had invited the police to do their own independent investigation surrounding the immigration Seaports scandal.

The EL-CHAPOS of Gambia immigration department Namely Sambujang Badgie, Omar Badjie, Sulayman Kolley, Momodou Jammeh, Sarjo saine,and Omar Ceesay had been all indicted to that effect.

After the Police investigation
Four Gambian Immigration officers have been charged with theft, abusive of office and massive corruption web at the Gambia Immigration Department seaport office amid allegations of officers stealing visa fees collected from a visiting Dutch tourist boat. Again, among the officers charged include: Sulayman Colley of the GID seaport office, Omar Ceesay, seaport Cashier, Sarjo Saine, Momodou Jammeh seaport, Sambujang Badjie and Omar Badjie of immigration Headquarters respectively.

The accused officers have been indicted by the police for allegedly stealing visa fees totaling over D1.302,000 and thus arraigned before a court of law. But since then, almost 4 sittings have gone and not all the fraudsters reported to the court at the same time and thus, the case kept dragging and adjourning.

As of Monday the Officers had been removed from Police prosecutors bail list and now in the hands of the State Counsel one Mr Badgie have not been doing good jobs in this case as he had intentionally removed the case files so that it will likely be thrown away this past Thursday, November 22, 2018.

We have gathered information that the first magistrate has recused himself from the case and now a female magistrate took over the case and she is very strict and workingso hard within the ethics of the law. She was very angry and furious to hear that the State Counsel Mr Badgie a relation to the Badgie Brothers tampered with the case file thus bringing only an empty file folders to the court regarding this important case. The Lady Magistrate had ordered the State Counsel to go back to Attorney General chambers to access copies of the files to avert tampering with the case files in the first place.

Many people at Gambia immigration department who attended the court hearing were so upset that they have lost confidence in the State’s Counsel effort to undermine these proceedings as he ordered the officers to be removed from police prosecutors bail simply because his interest is to let go his Jola hegemony Brothers instead standing for justice. We will now see if this case will be tampered with come Thursday November 29th, 2018.

Nobody is too powerful not to face the brunt of the law, not even president Barrow.
Both the magistrate and police prosecutors will do us disservice by setting bad precedents and opening the gates of corruption to rein in The Gambia if they don’t prosecute these bandits within the security service sectors.

Therefore Mr President, these sort of things are what should keep you awake at night to finding solutions to real issues than busy trying to consolidate yourself to seeking UDP flag bearer candidature, Barrow Youth movements(BYM) and the First Lady Fatou Bah Barrow Foundation(FaBB) respectively which undoubtedly are a trash replica of Ex- Dictator Yahya Jammeh styles of governance system.

Your Government should be firmer to set an example not only to Gambia Immigration department but to all the Service sectors as well as the Civil Service. Where is the Service sector reforms that you have been claiming? And where is the Anti corruption slogan that you have yearned for Mr President? We cannot afford to wallow into retardation just because few elements of our institutions see self before country. Shame on the police for carelessness, inefficiency and bribery in the way and manner they are handling this ongoing trial.

ENSA A.B CEESAY
EX- CADET INSPECTOR
GAMBIA IMMIGRATION DEPARTMENT