Former Banjul City Council (BCC) Acting Director of Finance Abdoulie Corr has revealed that he was one of four people charged with undermining Mayor Rohey Malick Lowe in 2020. During his testimony before the Local Government Commission of Inquiry, Corr disclosed this information.
Corr, one of the BCC’s interdicted employees, described the difficulties inside the council, saying that in spite of their attempts to enhance operations, things took a serious turn for the worst in the middle of 2020. “We were undergoing change, and the course we had been on would have been ideal for both Banjul and the Council. However, he claimed that the Council was like a jungle in the middle of 2020.
Corr claims that after Mayor Lowe travelled to Turkey in February 2020, tensions increased. He said that when she returned, she was told falsely that he, Fatou Taal, and other officials were planning to remove her.
“When the Mayor returned from her trip to Turkey in February 2020, there were problems that were being faced. I can speak for myself as Fatou Taal, the former procurement officer, but I think she was told that these individuals were plotting a coup against you rather than telling the mayor the truth. “And they stated it in the meeting in that manner,” he continued.
Lead Counsel Patrick Gomez questioned Corr about the accusations during the proceedings, posing the question, “How could they say you were trying to overthrow the Mayor?” He enquired.
The witness claimed that she was told there were intentions to overthrow the Mayor when she returned from Turkey. He clarified that they were just going about their business, talking about council issues and audit reports, but that the Mayor had been informed that they were planning to remove her.
Corr said that they were charged with treason, which he thought was strange because they only talked about internal audit reports from 2017 and 2018. “A press conference was planned by them. We were talking about the 2017 audit report and the 2018–19 internal audit reports, to be honest,” he stated.
In addition, Corr disclosed that a press conference was held to examine the accusations, stressing that the focus of their talks was financial audits and not political scheming.
Lead Counsel Gomez stated that while military action cannot remove a mayor or chairperson, council members can legally impeach them provided the proper procedures are followed. “Look, Mr. Corr, there cannot be a military action that overthrows a mayor or a chairperson. However, if council members believe that a mayor or a chairman should be impeached or removed from office, that would be appropriate and legal. That’s part of the legislation, so there shouldn’t be an issue,” he stated.
