Magistrate Lamin George of the Banjul Magistrates’ Court yesterday ruled that the accused persons Oley Sey and Abdou Rahman Bah both have a case to answer in all the charges preferred against them.

According to Magistrate Lamin George, the prosecution have proven a prima facie case in all the counts against the accused persons and that they should be called upon to enter their defence.

They were both alleged to have conspired and stolen the sum of D500, 000 being the property of James Junkung Jammeh Memorial Nursery School at Abuko.

In her defence testimony, the first accused Oley Sey said she lives at

No19 Dobson Street

in Banjul and that she is a National Assembly Member.

 She said she had never conspired to steal, nor did she steal the sum of D500, 000 the property of James Junkung Jammeh Nursery School . She informed the court that on 28th July 2008 the chief of protocol called her and requested for the telephone number of the second accused, which she gave him.

She added that on the evening of the same day the second accused Abdou Rahman Bah called and told her that since she facilitated to have the money from the President, he would like her to attend the presentation of the said money. She added that she got to know the second accused through Hon Fabakary Tombong Jatta when he introduced her to him to enable her to help them get the pledge from the President the sum of D500, 000, 1000 bags of cement and computers to complete the said nursery school.

“On 29th July 2008 I attended the presentation at the SOS for Basic Education’s  office and at the presentation the money was finally handed over to the second accused.

Further testifying, Oley Sey revealed that after the presentation the KMC Mayor instructed the second accused to bank the money the same day but the second accused failed to do so.

She revealed further that the second accused begged for a lift in her car to drop him at the office of the chief of protocol to have the 1000 bags of cement and computers which were not included in the pledge.

 She said they did not meet the chief of protocol at his office and the second accused asked her to drop him at the office of the majority leader at the National Assembly and from there she went home.

She adduced that on 30th July 2008 , the second accused came to her house alone with D200, 000 in a plastic bag. She said she enquired from the second accused what happened and he told her that he and his partner from the UK as owners of the nursery school promised the President that they would inaugurate the school in September 2008.

He said therefore, according to her, he would like to start work as soon as possible and that he needed D300, 000 to go and buy some materials to complete the school.

 She said she asked the second accused why she did not bank the money as instructed, but that the second accused insisted that the school is private and he is running it alone with his partners who are in control of the school.

She said the second accused told her to keep the D200, 000 for him so that it could be in safe hands until the next day when he would bring the invoices and the receipts, but he never showed up as promised.

 “After two days I called him and he promised to come but I did not see him, she added. “ I went to the school myself to investigate if there was something to be done as he told me to complete the school and I found that nothing was done only a container in front of the school written James Junkung Jammeh Nursery School , she revealed.

On 4th August 2008 , she added, the second accused called her to inform her that the Mayor called him to ask for the D500, 000.

She said later she met the second accused at the KMC Mayor’s office where the Mayor told her that the second accused had run away from the community since he received the D500, 000 and refused to answer calls from the community and he the Mayor.

Hearing continues today.