The High Court of The Gambia has formally accepted the written testimony of Khadijatou Kebbeh, the first defendant in the civil suit filed by Gach Global Trading Company Limited.
The suit centres on an alleged D58.9 million fuel fraud, which names Saihou Drammeh, the former Managing Director of Gam Petroleum, as the second defendant.
In an expansive and detailed account accepted by Justice Jaiteh, Kaddijatou Kebbeh detailed the inner workings of a fuel transaction that went sour, alleging that the D58.9 million at the heart of the suit was converted into foreign currency and hand-delivered to the second defendant, former Gampetroleum Managing Director Saikou Drammeh.
According to the sworn statement adopted in court, kaddijatou Kebbeh testified that after a payment of D58,965,150 was made to the Kuringo account, the funds were converted into US Dollars and Euros.
She described receiving the cash at her home from Kuringo staff before personally packing it for delivery.
“I packed the money into a Louis
Vuitton duffle bag and toiletry bag, handed it over to my younger brother Harouna Kebbeh and driver Mbye Ceesay to deliver to Saihou Drammeh (2nd defendant) at his home in Brufut,” the statement reads.
Kaddijatou Kebbeh further testified that the money was handed over in the presence of witnesses, including Abdoulie Saine and Ibrahim Jobe, and that GACH owner Abubakary Jawara later drove to Mandinary to physically confirm with Drammeh that the funds were received.
Kaddijatou Kebbeh detailed the aftermath of Saikou Drammeh’s arrest in November 2021. She alleged that Drammeh and his legal team “pleaded” with her and her family not to mention his name, assuring her that a fuel vessel was waiting to dock at Mandinary to recharge the supplies GACH had taken on credit.
Kaddijatou Kebbeh alleges that in November 2021, following Saikou Drammeh’s arrest, she was pressured to protect him. Kaddijatou Kebbeh claims that Saikou Drammeh and his Counsel Badou B.S. Conteh pleaded with her to protect him.
“They told me not to mention the 2nd defendant’s name (Saikou Drammeh). He mentioned it was all a witch-hunt against Saikou Drammeh and that he is innocent. I believed him,” Kebbeh stated in her affidavit.
Explaining why she initially omitted Saikou Drammeh’s name in her first police statement.
She claims that Saikou Drammeh’s lawyer at the time, Badou Conteh, took her first written statement and “ripped it up” in the presence of a police officer because he “did not like some of the contents in the statement and Saikou Drammeh’s name. “They told me not to mention Saikou Drammeh’s name. He mentioned it was all a witch-hunt,” she stated, adding that she initially complied out of a belief in his innocence.
The statement details a turning point during the police investigation when Kebbeh realised that a supposed “Dubai supplier” she believed was involved did not exist. She noted that GACH eventually received fuel worth D32.7 million through Jah Oil, leaving an outstanding balance of D26.2 million.
However, she alleged that during police interrogations, she discovered there was no “Dubai supplier” as previously claimed. Instead, she asserts that the fuel supplied via Jah Oil was negotiated by Drammeh and paid for in cash (USD and Euros) by his legal representative.
Kaddijatou Kebbeh also told the court that Saikou Drammeh attempted to settle this debt by offering property documents for land in Dakar, which Abubakary Jawara declined. She also noted a payment of D1,000,000 made through her uncle to the police, which was reportedly rejected for being “too small.”
She further alleged that Saikou Drammeh received additional payments from her on Abubakary Jawara’s instructions, including $221,000, €749,965, and $240,000.
Closing her testimony, Kebbeh struck a defiant tone, claiming that after several years, it is clear the second defendant has no intention of repayment and instead seeks to use her as a “scapegoat”.
Kebbeh maintains she did not benefit from these transactions and has called for the court’s intervention to prevent her from being punished.
“Unless this Court intervenes, I will be punished for a wrong I do not partake in,” she stated.
The plaintiff, Gach Global, continues to seek the recovery of the principal sum, along with $221,000 for petroleum products, commissions, and D1 million in legal fees
To continue with the cross-examination of Kaddijatou Kebbeh
