Senior Magistrate EF M’Bai of the Brikama Magistrates Court has told one Lamin Jammeh, a police officer that it is not the role of the police to collect debt.

The plain speaking Magistrate made this remark during the proceedings of a civil case between one Buba Darboe, the complainant and Ousainou Marreh the defendant over the selling of a cow given to Marreh by Darboe.

Mr Jammeh told the court that the complainant reported to his relief commander at the Brikama police station that he gave a cow to the defendant to sell it at D9000. He said that when the defendant was summoned to the police station to explain his side of the story, he admitted it and promised to pay the money on a specific date to the police for forward delivery to Mr Darboe.

Jammeh further told the court that the defendant made a down payment of D2,900 to him at the police station. Later, he went on, Darboe came to the station and told him that he was travelling to Basse but that his brother a teacher would collect the money from him if the defendant paid.

“After some days, a man whose name I could not remember came to me and said that he was sent by Darboe (the complainant) to collect the money which he ( Mr Jammeh ) gave him.

But Darboe told the court that he did not send any one to collect any thing from Mr Jammeh [the police officer]

Magistrate M’Bai then told Mr Jammeh that as a police officer, he had nothing to do with civil matters neither to be a debt collector. “You dont have to entertain such ” he told the officer

The case was then adjourned for continuation.