At the Kanifing Magistrate Court, the trial of former Magistrate Ebrima Janko Colley, former court registrar Ridwan Othman, and clerk Mariama Jankey Tamba has resumed, with two important prosecution witnesses testifying. Due to the unexplained disappearance and improper management of cocaine evidence, the three are charged with theft, fraud, and drug-related offences.
The accused were represented by defence attorneys L.K. Mboge, M.O. Batchilly, and I. Sonko, while the state was represented by Director of Public Prosecutions A.M. Yusuf. The sixth and seventh witnesses were called by the prosecution to testify.
Alieu Nyang, a Kanifing Magistrate Court process server with more than ten years of experience, was the first to testify. According to Nyang’s testimony, Registrar Othman and Magistrate Colley gave him and his colleague Abdoulie Dampha instructions in October 2023 to take two boxes from the courtroom to Colley’s office.
Nyang stated, “We used a wheelbarrow to transport the boxes after realising they were damaged at the base.”
Lawyer Isatou Sonko cross-examined Nyang, who acknowledged the court had an exhibit store but characterised it as busy and challenging to navigate. He mentioned that he had personally handed two letters asking for a better storage facility to the Judiciary Secretary.
Nyang responded, “That was the second time the case came up,” when asked if he was aware of the contents of the boxes. Uthman Raymond informed me that there was cocaine therein, therefore I knew.
He claimed that during his tenure in the judiciary, he never saw any wrongdoing by the accused and was taken aback upon learning of the accusations.
Modou Camara, an officer with the Exhibit and Store Unit of the Drug Law Enforcement Agency of The Gambia (DLEAG), was the next to witness. Camara recounted weighing fifty-two blocks of cocaine in October 2023, stating that the drugs were first sent in cartons to DLEAG and then discovered in luggage at the court.
He clarified that the medications were sent back to his supervisor’s office following analysis by the scientific section. He saw irregularities—some blocks had repeated numbers—when Camara joined a team that subsequently brought the medications before the court.
There were two weigh-ins. Camara verified that the same 52 blocks of cocaine had been weighed each time by identifying the certificates for both. The first one weighed 62 kilogrammes, while the second weighed 55.
Lawyer L.K. Mboge cross-examined Camara, who acknowledged that he was unable to explain the discrepancy in total weight and did not know why the weighing certificate did not include a net weight. According to him, the parcels were weighed as received without being opened.
Camara found it difficult to explain the weight difference even after verifying that the products and packing were identical. Additionally, he couldn’t remember the parcels’ colours.
The chain of custody was contested by the defence. According to Camara, the medications were kept in OC Ebrima Jammeh’s office from October 3 to October 23. The only people with keys to the store were Ngorr Secka and Mau Faal. On October 23, however, the pills were delivered to prosecutor Abdoulie Ceesay, who also signed the weight certificate. Ceesay signed in his capacity as a prosecutor, not as a recipient of the evidence, as Camara asserted.
The topic was postponed for further discussion until Tuesday between 1 and 2 p.m.
