SAs the trial of the former Foreign Affairs Department Permanent Secretary, Willy Joof, opened at the Banjul Magistrates Court before Magistrate Kayoidy, the court was startled by what many view as striking revelations.

Mr Joof is standing trial on charges ranging from official corruption, stealing, conspiracy to commit felony and abuse of office.

In his testimony, Moses Benjamin Jallow, the first Prosecution Witness (PW1) stated that he is the Charge d’Affaires at the Gambian Embassy in France where he doubled as the Consul. He said the accused, Willy Joof, was the Gambian Ambassador to France from June 2002 to September 2005, adducing that the accused was also the head of mission and delegation to UNESCO in Paris. Explaining his role and functions as a Consul, he said: “I supervised the general administration and managed all financial and consular matters at the Embassy under the directive of the Ambassador.” He noted that in that capacity he worked hand in hand with the Financial Attachée for disbursement of all the finances of the mission, adding that as such he was a signatory to all the bank accounts of the Embassy, while the Ambassador was an alternative signatory in the event that “either party was out of the jurisdiction.” PW1 further adduced that the Embassy operated two account to which he was a signatory.

He stated that when the accused left as Ambassador, Gerrard Nuss came asking for the accused. He said he informed the accused about Mr Nuss’s visit, who meanwhile continued to visit the Embassy before finally divulging that he had paid monies to the accused in the hope of acquiring the position of Honoury Gambian Consular in France. He said he only came to know the amount of money involved when he saw copies of Mr Nuss’s correspondence to the Foreign Affairs department through the Gambian Embassy in France.
 
Mr Jallow went on to testify that the accused never told him anything about what transpired between him and Mr Nuss, noting that he was contacted by the authorities in Banjul wrote to assist in the investigation mounted in the republic of France in preparation for Mr Joof’s trial in Banjul.

Mr Jallow further adduced that he only got to know about the account of The Gambia’s Permanent Delegation to UNESCO in Paris when it was closed, adding that Mr Michael Coercus was the second man in the Permanent Delegation. He said he became aware of a Mr Coercus’s appointment at a senior staff meeting of the Embassy when the accused, Mr Joof, informed them of the appointment. He said the accused promised to bring Mr Coercus to meet them but never did so. He said at the end of Mr Joof’s tenure, he terminated the purported service of Mr Coercus and Mr Attias Michael both of whom he never met, let alone know. He said UNESCO was notified of the termination of the Mr Coercus and Mr Attias Michael in letters copied to the police authorities, Mr Coercus and Mr Michael.