By: Alieu Ceesay
On November 5, 2024, Jainaba Bah, the chairperson of the Local Government Commission of Inquiry (LGCI), warned witness Sheriff Cham, threatening him with detention in Mile 2 Prison for questioning the lead counsel during his testimony.
“If you ask a question again, you will sleep in Mile 2 right away,” she cautioned. “You answer questions; you’re not supposed to ask questions. Do you get that? I’m just telling you, I don’t need any response from you—answer the question.”
The warning followed a request from Sheriff Cham, the former acting CEO of the Kanifing Municipal Council (KMC), for a voucher covering bulldozer maintenance costs, which he asserted totaled D1,066,000. Cham and Lead Counsel Patrick Gomez debated these expenses, with Gomez highlighting that the Council had already spent over a million dalasis on repairs.
Cham explained that he had separated vouchers for maintenance expenses on the two bulldozers, primarily used to manage waste issues at the Bakoteh dumpsite.
The bulldozers had previously been transferred from former President Yahya Jammeh’s home village of Kanilai. “The President gave us those bulldozers,” Cham stated, clarifying that they arrived in poor condition and later burdened the Council with high maintenance costs.
Cham, who served as KMC’s acting CEO from October 2018 to March 2020, made certain appointments and contract awards without proper vetting, which resulted in some contracts going to less qualified candidates.
Another witness to appear before the commission was Mr Babucarr Kujabi, the Council’s mechanic. Kujabi detailed that bulldozers were, at some point, not functioning at the dump site.
