By: Sainabou Sambou
The Gambia Telecommunications Cellular Company Limited (GAMCEL) has been ordered by the High Court to pay D10,654,790 to its former authorized dealer, Baboucarr Makumba Ceesay, for unpaid contractual discounts on scratch cards supplied between 2010 and 2013.
Justice Ebrima Jaiteh delivered the judgment today, ruling that GAMCEL breached its agreement with Ceesay by failing to honor agreed discounts despite consistent documentation showing their application.
Ceesay, who served as an authorized dealer for GAMCEL, filed the lawsuit claiming the company owed him substantial discounts on Nopal and scratch cards. He initially demanded D10,518,290 but adjusted the figure to D10,654,790 during final submissions. He also sought 30 percent pre-judgment interest, special legal costs of D110,182, and general costs of the suit.
GAMCEL denied the claims, arguing that its dealership policy underwent a major change in 2010. The company said discounts were abolished and replaced with a commission-based system under which dealers received extra scratch cards in lieu of price reductions. Officials maintained that Ceesay had already been adequately compensated through this new arrangement and was not entitled to any further payments.
However, Justice Jaiteh rejected GAMCEL’s defense after a thorough review of the evidence. The judge noted that delivery notes issued by GAMCEL throughout the disputed period consistently recorded discounts of 10, 13, and 15 percent. These documents, the court found, supported Ceesay’s position that the discount structure remained in force.
“There is no signed agreement, written notice or other documentary evidence showing that the plaintiff accepted the alleged policy change,” Justice Jaiteh ruled. He described GAMCEL’s explanation—that the discount references were merely remnants of an old template—as “implausible and unsupported by the evidence.”
The court further highlighted GAMCEL’s own admission during trial that discounts and commissions are distinct commercial concepts. This concession, the judge said, ultimately strengthened the plaintiff’s case.
Justice Jaiteh determined that Ceesay had proved his entitlement to the discounts on a balance of probabilities. The court accepted the plaintiff’s computation of D10,654,790, based directly on GAMCEL’s delivery notes, which the defendant failed to challenge with any alternative calculation or reconciliation.
The judge refused Ceesay’s request for 30 percent pre-judgment interest, citing lack of contractual or legal basis, and also dismissed the claim for special legal costs of D110,182 due to insufficient supporting evidence. However, post-judgment interest at four percent per annum was awarded until the debt is settled. GAMCEL was additionally ordered to pay D100,000 in costs, taking into account the case’s complexity and volume of documents.
In his concluding remarks, Justice Jaiteh emphasized that the judgment rested largely on GAMCEL’s own contemporaneous business records, which clearly reflected the plaintiff’s contractual rights. The company, he said, failed to produce convincing proof that those rights had been lawfully terminated.
Judgment was entered in favor of Baboucarr Makumba Ceesay, with GAMCEL directed to pay the principal sum of D10,654,790 plus interest and costs.
