The ongoing legal battle between GACH Global and defendants Khadijatou Kebbeh and Saikou Drammeh reached its pitch during the cross-examination.
Defence Counsel B.S. Conteh battled against plaintiff witness Abdoulie Saine in a session marked by accusations of fraud, professional misconduct, and personal betrayal.
This trial involves a multi-million dalasis legal dispute centred on petroleum transactions and allegations of fraud against Saikou Drammeh and Khadijatou Kebbeh
Abubakary Jawara (Gach Global) alleged that over D58 million intended for fuel supplies was misappropriated by the two
Cross-Examination of Abdoulie Saine by Counsel B.S. Conteh
Counsel B.S. Conteh: I am putting it to you, and to this court, that you are not being truthful about my presence at the Kairaba Police Station. I was never at the Kairaba Police Station; I was only present at the Banjul Police Station.
Abdoulie Saine: With due respect, Mr Conteh, I was standing right there with you at the Kairaba Police Station.
Counsel B.S. Conteh: Mr Saine, do you want this honourable court to believe that I, Counsel Badou Conteh, was present at the Kairaba Police Station during your statement, and that I tore that statement up and nothing happened to me?
Abdoulie Saine: I never said it was at the Kairaba Police Station; I said it was in Banjul, at the SIU Office.
Counsel B.S. Conteh: I am putting it to you that you are lying to this honourable court. Do you want the court to believe that I, as a counsel, stood in front of the SIU office, took a statement that had been given, read it, and tore it up in front of the police, and was neither arrested nor charged? Who do you think I am?
Abdoulie Saine: At the Kairaba Police Station, I was standing with you, Mr Conteh, at the time Khadijatou had a major argument with the IGP. The IGP left the office and you went to calm him down.
He was wearing sweatpants. From there, you and I went to Saihou’s house in my car. From there, we went to the Banjul Headquarters. When Khadijatou was making her statements, I was there with an officer named Joof and another named Kebbeh.
I was the independent witness; I signed as the independent witness on Khadijatou’s statement. When you entered, you read her statement, you saw what she wrote, and I was sitting there. I will never lie, I hold the Quran, and you tore it. It wasn’t done angrily, and even the police accepted it; it wasn’t treated as a big deal.
Counsel B.S. Conteh: Mr Saine, look at me. I am putting it to you that you are definitely lying. No police officer, regardless of who you are, would allow anyone to tear up someone else’s cautionary statement in a police station and let them go scot-free. You are not telling the truth.
Abdoulie Saine: Well, it happened in front of everyone.
Counsel B.S. Conteh: Mr Saine, is it correct that the first defendant, Saihou Drammeh, is your good friend?
Abdoulie Saine: Yes.
Counsel B.S. Conteh: Is it true that you used to handle money from Malian businessmen who wanted to purchase fuel?
Abdoulie Saine: That never happened.
Counsel B.S. Conteh: I am putting it to you that it did happen and that you are lying to the court.
Abdoulie Saine: Show me the evidence. That never happened.
Counsel B.S. Conteh: Mr Saine, I put it to you that the second defendant took you to the Sukuta Police Station for defrauding him of 1.3 million Dalasis.
Abdoulie Saine: That never happened.
Justice Jaiteh: Counsel Conteh, I suggest that you use their names instead of “the first defendant” or “the second defendant.” These are technical terms for the court, and the witness may not understand them.
Counsel B.S. Conteh: I am putting it to you that the reason your relationship with Saihou Drammeh fell apart is that you took 1.3 million Dalasis from Khadijatou Kebbeh, his ex-wife, claiming you were going to a marabout named Muhammed Sima to “kill” the case for her, but you failed to do so.
Abdoulie Saine: That is entirely false! I never had a problem with Saihou. The only issue was that I was telling my best friend the truth, as we all did including you and me. We told him the truth about returning somebody’s money.
That was the only problem I had with Saihou Drammeh: advising him to return the money. I was doing my best to ensure that; I even went as far as asking people for money so he could repay the individual. I have evidence of all of this. He was my best friend for seven years; I will never deny that.
Counsel B.S. Conteh: Mr Saine
Abdoulie Saine: Yes?
Counsel B.S. Conteh: I am putting it to you that you were detained at the Sukuta Police Station for three days because of the 1.3 million Dalasis you took from Saihou Drammeh’s wife.
Furthermore, that matter was later brought to the Kanifing Court, and you are currently being charged with returning that money.
Abdoulie Saine: I was called to the Sukuta Police Station by an officer named Yoro Saidy. He invited me there because he was my friend. When I arrived, he said,
“You came back from Sweden and didn’t even visit me.” I was scared of being at the police station. He asked to borrow my phone, and I gave it to him. He then took my phone to the Banjul Police Station where Saihou was being kept. The phone was locked, so Yoro asked me to unlock it so he could make a call.
I opened it, and then Yoro went to see Saihou at the Banjul Headquarters. They deleted all my conversations with Saihou and Khadijatou. That was where my disagreement with Saihou started. After several hours, I couldn’t find Yoro. I asked the other officers where he was, and they told me they had been instructed to put me in a cell.
I asked, “For what?” They never told me the charges that night. In the morning, to my surprise, I saw Khadijatou come to the station. I was never reported by Saihou, and I never had a problem with him that would lead to him reporting me to the police. That never happened.
Counsel B.S. Conteh: Mr Saine, I am putting it to you that because of that 1.3 million, you will be surprised when we produce the charge sheet from the Kanifing Court.
Abdoulie Saine: I would be very happy if you could bring proof of any instance where Saihou took me to the police station. I never had such problems with Saihou.
Counsel B.S. Conteh: I did not say Saihou; I said Khadijatou Kebbeh.
Abdoulie Saine: But you just said “the second defendant” (Saihou).
Counsel B.S. Conteh: You took 1.3 million from Khadijatou Kebbeh by deceiving her into believing you would “kill” this case by taking the money to a marabout. You are being charged in that case to return the money, and you have already paid back part of it.
Counsel I. Drammeh: Objection. Can we avoid rolled-up questions?
Counsel B.S. Conteh: Let me follow up.
Counsel I. Drammeh: (To Counsel Conteh) Can you sit down while I am standing?
Counsel B.S. Conteh: Yes, let me follow up.
Counsel I. Drammeh: Rolled-up questions are not allowed because the witness cannot address all of them at once. I am simply asking that we follow the proper procedure.
Justice Jaiteh: Let us keep the questions short so the witness can answer them appropriately.
Counsel B.S. Conteh: I am putting it to you that the charge has been made and that you have already paid back part of that money.
Abdoulie Saine: May I answer?
Judge: Yes.
Abdoulie Saine: As I said earlier, Saihou is my friend. I went so far as to use my own money to help Saihou pay back his debts. I have already stated that here.
Counsel B.S. Conteh: That is not my question. Answer the question.
Abdoulie Saine: I will get to your question, don’t worry.
Counsel B.S. Conteh: Why are you beating around the bush?
Abdoulie Saine: May I answer your question now?
Counsel B.S. Conteh: Yes, please regarding the charges.
Abdoulie Saine: Don’t worry, I will provide everything you need. To my surprise, when I saw Khadijatou Kebbeh at the Sukuta Police Station, I asked her what she was doing there.
She said, “The reason I am here is that Saihou told me to come. He said you leaked the video of the money, and that is why he was arrested.”
She said Saihou told her to claim that the money we were gathering was actually money I had borrowed from her. That is what happened, and Khadijatou can testify to that.
When the IGP found out I was being held at the Sukuta Police Station, they called an officer named Pa Alieu Jawara, who instructed Yoro to release me.
However, they took my Swedish documents and my phones and deleted all the evidence. Pa Alieu said I was “dealing with the police,” so they removed every piece of information I had, including information regarding you, Mr Conteh.
Counsel B.S. Conteh: I am putting it to you that another reason you were arrested by the police is that you took Saihou Drammeh’s car and transferred the title to your name. You were later forced to transfer it back because that constitutes stealing.
Abdoulie Saine: May I answer?
Counsel B.S. Conteh: Yes.
Abdoulie Saine: How could I steal Saihou Drammeh’s car and transfer it into my name while still driving it around The Gambia? With due respect, Mr Conteh, does that make sense? It doesn’t make sense, My Lord. I cannot steal a car, change the ownership to my name, and then drive it around town. That never happened and it cannot happen.
Counsel B.S. Conteh: Mr Saine, the car was given to you because you were Saihou’s friend. You were driving the car and you changed the registration to your own name. When the police detected this, they forced you to change it back to Saihou Drammeh’s name. That did happen. That was the only time the police forced you to do anything.
Abdoulie Saine: Which police, if I may ask?
Counsel B.S. Conteh: This was in Banjul.
Abdoulie Saine: This is why I say there are many things you don’t know, Mr Conteh. It wasn’t even in Banjul; it was at the Mobile Police Station at Kanifing.
I was driving my car when the police stopped me. This never happened in Banjul, and the situation was not as you described. They checked my documents, and all the documents were in my name. If the officer were here, I would say it to his face. He told me, “Please park your car here; we are conducting an investigation regarding this vehicle.”
Later, the clearing agent who cleared the car, Musa Dibba, came to the station. He told me, “Please, we are having an issue with this car because the person who sold it to you is having problems with Interpol, so we need to keep the car here for further investigation.”
To my surprise, when I returned to the Mobile Police, the car was gone. I asked King Colley, the officer, and he told me they had already taken the car. From there, I don’t know who took it. That is what happened. It was neither in Banjul nor on Kairaba Avenue.
Counsel B.S. Conteh: I am putting it to you that you do not own a car and you are not even a businessman. Saihou Drammeh was feeding you and helping you.
You are angry and aggrieved because he sacked you, removed you from his house, and took back the car you had fraudulently transferred to your name. That bitterness is why you are in court today telling lies against him.
Abdoulie Saine: I would never. I have nothing against Saihou. Saihou just called me recently when he was getting married to his second wife. We have no personal problems. Saihou is my best friend; I just wanted him to do the right thing from day one. I wanted him to return the man’s money because we were in Senegal he, I, and Mr Jawara in a hotel, with only God and us.
Abubakary was very good to Saihou, and Saihou was the same. I witnessed it; Abubakary even gave Saihou a brand new phone. When this conflict started, I was just playing the role of a friend by telling him to follow the rules. That was all.
Counsel B.S. Conteh: Mr Saine, I am putting it to you that a mobile phone given by a CEO is nothing to Saihou. I am putting it to you that Saihou Drammeh helped you a lot, but when he realised you were dishonest and taking money from his wife, he had to evict you from his house and stop dealing with you.
Abdoulie Saine: Mr Conteh, to tell you the truth, I never lived at Saihou’s house. When I was with Saihou, he was driving a C-Class Benz as a taxi driver before I left the country for Sweden. When we were friends, nobody knew Saihou.
Saihou used to eat at my house; we were best friends. Saihou had a salary of only 3,000 Dalasis when I left. I worked hard for my money, and Saihou knew that. That is why he respected me as a friend—because I needed absolutely nothing from him.
Counsel B.S. Conteh: Mr. Saine, is it not true that you recently contacted Saihou regarding a fuel business you wanted to engage in?
Abdoulie Saine: Yes, and let me explain. A friend of mine brought a vessel and needed a customer. I introduced him to Saihou. What is the problem with that? We don’t have a problem.
Counsel B.S. Conteh: I am telling you, Saihou told you he is not dealing with you. He told you to stop calling him because he has no business with you.
Abdoulie Saine: That is not true. If I showed you the conversations Saihou sent me, you would be surprised. He was asking the boy, “How much are you going to pay me for my commission?” I have it all on my phone.
He was asking me, “Bro, how much are you going to give me for my commission?” We were talking about commissions.
Counsel B.S. Conteh: Mr. Saine, I am telling you that Saihou is done with you.
To be continued…
