Counsel K. Jallow concluded her cross-examination of AIG Ebrima Bah in Sambujang Fatty lawsuits against IGP and the Attorney General. Sambujang Fatty, a former Deputy Police Commissioner responsible for the Policy, Planning, Research, and Training Departments of the Gambia Police Force, has sued the Inspector General of Police (IGP) for the unlawful termination of his contract. The IGP is jointly sued with the Attorney General.
According to Sambujang Fatty, he had written a petition to the Gambia Government about the Police Force which brought light to some wrongdoing but that led to the termination of his service. In his statement.
Below is the cross-examination between counsel K. Jallow and AIG Ebrima Bah
Counsel K. Jallow: Did the police at any point recommend that Commissioner Samba Jawo be punished for that act of failing to obey orders?
AIG Bah: I know the recommendation came from the PSC.
Counsel K. Jallow: : Answer the question. Did the police?
AIG Bah: I’m not sure.
Counsel K. Jallow: : What is the duration between the time Commissioner Samba Jawo committed this act and the time the committee recommended a warning against him?
AIG Bah: I can’t remember the duration, but the recommendation came after the conclusion of the investigation panel.
Counsel K. Jallow: Is it correct that if and only if there had been no petition against the senior management of the police which the PMO was investigating the issue of Commissioner Samba Jawo would never have arisen?
AIG Bah: He would have been punished if we had discovered that he did what he did.
Counsel K. Jallow: Is it therefore correct that the police are answerable to the PMO?
AIG Bah: The police are answerable to the PMO.
Counsel K. Jallow: And because the police are answerable to the PMO, the senior management of the police can write to the PMO and ask for action in respect of an act or omission by an officer. Is that correct?
AIG Bah: Yes.
Counsel K. Jallow: Mr Bah, were you at any point working with the plaintiff at the Peacekeeping Training Centre?
AIG Bah: I did.
Counsel K. Jallow: At that Peacekeeping Training Centre, did you have any encounters with the plaintiff?
AIG Bah: No.
Counsel K. Jallow: Mr Bah, do you recall or would you want to remember that you and the plaintiff had a confrontation at the Peacekeeping Training Centre where you had to be separated by officers?
AIG Bah: That has never happened.
Counsel K. Jallow: Mr Bah, is it correct that because of that encounter you had with the plaintiff, you have always held a grudge against him?
AIG Bah: I have never had any encounter with him and I have never held any grudge against him.
Counsel K. Jallow: Mr Bah, tell this court who were the members of the committee before whom you appeared?
AIG Bah: Members of the Public Service Commission.
Counsel K. Jallow: Who were they specifically?
AIG Bah: I can’t remember the names, but they were well represented by the commission and the Judicial Service Commission followed the public.
Counsel K. Jallow: How many were they in number?
AIG Bah: It’s a good number. I can’t remember.
Counsel K. Jallow: Were they up to ten?
AIG Bah: Not ten.
Counsel K. Jallow: Were they up to eleven?
AIG Bah: They are not eleven.
Counsel K. Jallow: Were they up to twenty?
AIG Bah: No.
Counsel K. Jallow: Were they up to twelve?
AIG Bah: They are not up to twelve.
Counsel K. Jallow: Were they up to seven?
AIG Bah: I don’t know.
Counsel K. Jallow: Can the witness (AIG Bah) be shown Exhibit 1, Page 29, the final signature page of the report? How many members can you count on this page?
AIG Bah: One, two, three, four, five. That is what I can count.
Counsel K. Jallow: These were the people you appeared before?
AIG Bah: Yes, they are.
Counsel K. Jallow: Was Mr Mustafa Nyabali present?
AIG Bah: Yes, he was present.
Counsel K. Jallow: Tell this court, from Exhibit 1 did the said Mustapha Nyabally sign the report?
AIG Bah: I have not seen any signature here.
Counsel K. Jallow: Can the witness be shown Exhibit 1, Page 14, Paragraph 4. Please read paragraph four of page fourteen of Exhibit 1, beginning with “Commissioner Jawo further informed…”
AIG Bah: “Commissioner Jawo further informed the committee that they subsequently formed a technical working group and that they have made a lot of impact from 2023 to 2024. Further elaborating on the position, Commissioner Jaw said he generally agreed with the petition.”
Counsel K. Jallow: Apart from Commissioner Jawo, do you know whether the committee invited all members of the police force to confirm the content of the petition?
AIG Bah: From what I saw in the report, the people who appeared before the committee were Commissioner Samba Jaw, Sambujang Fatty himself, Ansumana Sanyang, the IGP, the Deputy Inspector General of Police, and myself.
Counsel K. Jallow: Apart from those five personnel of the Gambia Police Force, were there any other police officers who appeared before the committee in respect of this petition, to your knowledge?
AIG Bah: Not that I am aware.
Counsel K. Jallow directed AIG Bah to read the next paragraph on page fourteen of Exhibit 1
Counsel K. Jallow: Please proceed beginning after the question of whether the current IGP is indecisive.
AIG Bah: “On the question of whether the current IGP is indecisive, Commissioner Jawo stated that he agreed with the assertion that the current IGP is indecisive, and considering that Seedy Mutarr Touray was an immigration officer, he cannot therefore make a good IGP. In his opinion, twenty years of serving as an immigration officer cannot make a good IGP.”
Counsel K. Jallow: In respect of this assertion by Commissioner Samba Jaw were any other police officers called before the committee, apart from the senior management officers, to confirm this assertion?
AIG Bah: I don’t know whether he confirmed it or not, but Ansumana Sanyang was called.
Counsel K. Jallow: Is Ansumana Sanyang part of the senior management?
AIG Bah: He is not part of the senior management.
Counsel K. Jallow: Apart from Ansumana Sanyang, is it correct that all the rest who appeared were part of the senior management?
AIG Bah: Ansumana Sanyang and Samba Jawo are not part of the senior management.
Counsel K. Jallow: Apart from Samba Jawo and Ansumana Sanyang, is it correct that all the remaining persons who appeared before the commission were members of the senior management?
AIG Bah: It’s correct.
Counsel K. Jallow: Mr Bah, were you present when Samba Jawo was giving his testimony before the committee?
AIG Bah: I was not present, because I was not supposed to be present.
Counsel K. Jallow: Do you know whether Sambujang Fatty was present when Samba Jaw was giving that testimony?
AIG Bah: I didn’t know. I was not there.
Witness directed to examine Exhibit 1 and confirm whether the report shows Sambujang Fatty was present during Samba Jawo’s testimony
Counsel K. Jallow: Tell this court whether the committee report shows that the plaintiff, Sambujan Fatty, was present when Samba Jawo was giving this testimony.
AIG Bah: It is not shown in this report that Sambujan Fatty was present when Samba Jaw was giving testimony.
Counsel K. Jallow: Were any charges framed against Sambujang Fatty?
AIG Bah: Yes, that is what I saw in the report from the Police Service Commission. He was charged.
Counsel K. Jallow: Do you know whether he was served with these charges?
AIG Bah: I wouldn’t know, because I was not part of the commission. I was not part of the panel.
Counsel K. Jallow: So you did not know what the charges were at the time of the investigation?
AIG Bah: I saw them in the report. I did not know what the charges were at the time of the investigation because I was there only as a witness.
Counsel K. Jallow: Mr Bah, is it correct that you have worked for the UN as well?
AIG Bah: Yes. I have done two United Nations missions in Liberia and in the Central African Republic.
Counsel K. Jallow: And is it also correct that the UN pays higher than The Gambia in terms of remuneration?
AIG Bah: It depends on where you work at the UN.
Counsel K. Jallow: In the positions you held at the UN, was your remuneration higher or lower than what you receive now?
AIG Bah: It was more than what I am getting now.
Counsel K. Jallow: Do you know how much the plaintiff was earning while serving with the UN in Tanzania?
AIG Bah: Absolutely not.
Counsel K. Jallow: Will you be surprised if you were given a figure of at least D500,000 per month as a minimum?
AIG Bah: I don’t know.
Counsel K. Jallow: Will you be surprised?
AIG Bah: Why should I be surprised?
Counsel K. Jallow: No, we are not having a conference. Answer my question.
AIG Bah: I will not be surprised.
Justice Sarah Ayee: Counsel for the plaintiff, do you have a long way to go?
Counsel K. Jallow: No, I’m done. I’m taking my last bite of the cherry. I’m grateful.
Counsel K. Jallow: Mr Bah, it is correct that you worked under the former Inspector General of Police, Abdoulie Sanyang.
AIG Bah: I did.
Counsel K. Jallow: It is correct that when Sambujang Fatty was promoted and you were disputing it, you did not at any time petition the former IGP about it; did you?
AIG Bah: I did not dispute it. I never disputed it.
Counsel K. Jallow: Then why did you make mention of it to the committee?
AIG Bah: Mentioning it does not mean that I disputed it. I mentioned it because I was asked.
Counsel K. Jallow: Tell this court exactly what you were asked that led you to raise it.
AIG Bah: They asked me whether Sambujang Fatty was promoted from Superintendent to Assistant Commissioner. I said yes he was promoted from Superintendent to Assistant Commissioner.
Counsel K. Jallow: That was what you were asked?
AIG Bah: Yes.
Counsel K. Jallow: But you went further than that. Take a look at Exhibit 1, page 11 — read paragraph 5, beginning with “AIG Bah informed the committee…”
AIG Bah: “AIG Bah informed the committee that Mr Fatty was promoted by the former IGP in 2022 from the rank of Superintendent to Assistant Commissioner, skipping the rank of Chief Superintendent while he was serving on secondment.”
Counsel K. Jallow: So, it follows according to AIG Bah proceed. Proceed.
AIG Bah: “According to AIG Bah, the PMO raised eyebrows about the promotion, but the former IGP wrote a strong justification citing Mr Fatty’s performance.”
Counsel K. Jallow: When you say the PMO raised eyebrows is it therefore correct that the Gambia Police Force is answerable to the PMO?
AIG Bah: Of course, yes.
Counsel K. Jallow: And any aggrieved officer by an act or omission of an official should address such issues to the PMO. Is that correct?
Counsel Okete objected: I think she has asked that question before and answered.
Counsel K. Jallow: I agree. I concede.
Counsel K. Jallow: So when the former IGP, Abdoulie Sanyang, wrote a strong justification citing Mr Fatty’s performance were you in possession of that document? Were you seized with it?
AIG Bah: I did not see it, but it was mentioned by the PMO.
Counsel K. Jallow: Did you at any point provide to the committee this justification written by the former IGP, Ablie Sanyang?
AIG Bah: I was not obliged to provide it.
Counsel K. Jallow: Answer my question was there any documentary evidence you showed to the committee in respect of what you alluded to?
AIG Bah: No.
Counsel K. Jallow: Tell this court whether Sambujang Fatty was given notice of the case against him? The case in respect of the petition he wrote, for which he was being charged?
AIG Bah: I wouldn’t know, because I was not the one responsible for the investigation.
Counsel K. Jallow: Do you also know whether Sambujan Fatty was served with the materials the committee used in arriving at its report?
AIG Bah: I wouldn’t know, because I was not part of the committee.
Counsel K. Jallow: Do you also know whether Sambujan Fatty was given the opportunity to cross-examine the witnesses when they gave their statements before the committee?
AIG Bah: I wouldn’t know.
Counsel K. Jallow: And because you do not know — will you be surprised to learn, based on Exhibit 1, that Sambujang Fatty was not present when witnesses gave their testimony?
AIG Bah: I would not be surprised, because in standard investigation, you cannot interview two suspects or two witnesses at the same time. They have to be interviewed separately.
Counsel K. Jallow: When you say “two suspects” do you mean Sambujang Fatty and Seedy Mutarr Touray, the IGP?
AIG Bah: What I mean is that in standard investigation whether it is a panel, face-to-face, or otherwise you cannot interview two concerned parties at the same time, whether they are suspects, accused persons, or plaintiffs. You have to do it separately. That is a standard investigation procedure anywhere in the world.
Counsel K. Jallow: So on your explanation of standard investigation the other party would not have the right to ask questions of the person who is giving testimony?
AIG Bah: No, he doesn’t. It’s not allowed.
Counsel K. Jallow: And because it is not allowed, Mr. Fatty could not have been given the opportunity to question all the persons who appeared before the committee?
AIG Bah: As per the rules and procedures, it is not allowed.
Counsel K. Jallow: Answer the question — was he allowed or not?
AIG Bah: I wouldn’t know whether he was allowed, because I did not conduct the investigation.
Counsel K. Jallow: When you yourself appeared before the committee was Mr. Fatty present to ask you any question?
AIG Bah: He was not present.
Counsel K. Jallow: That will be all for this witness.
Re-examination by Counsel for the Defendants Counsel Okete (His questions were largely disallowed by the Court)
Counsel Okete: Mr. Bah, were you the chairman of the investigative committee?
Counsel K. Jallow objected to the question and indicating that the issue of the chairman wasn’t raised during the cross examination. Justice Sarah Ayee upheld the question was not raised during cross-examination; and disallowed.
Counsel Okete: Were you privy to the appointment of the committee members?
Disallowed by the Court stating that was not arising during cross-examination
Counsel Okete: Who is responsible for the appointment of police officers?
Disallowed by the Court counsel directed to address the court on those matters in written submissions based on evidence already before the court.
Counsel Okete: I rest my case.
Justice Sarah Ayee: The witness discharged. End of Cross-Examination AIG Ebrima Bah and the end of trial.
The presiding Judge Justice Sarah Ayee directed the parties to file written addresses. Two weeks granted to the plaintiff to file; two weeks thereafter to the defendants following service; three days allowed to reply on points of law
