By Nelson Manneh
Fansu Jatta the Second Defence Witness (DW2) on the ongoing criminal suit, involving one Mr. Isaac Ague and the Minister of Basic and Secondary Education, Claudiana Cole, yesterday the 13th of November 2018 continue with his Defence in Chief at the Brikama Magistrates Court.
Mr. Isaac Ague was charged with one count, that is, giving false information to Public Servant Contrary to section 114 of the criminal code cap 10:01 volume 3 laws of the Gambia revised edition 2009.
When the case was called before Magistrate N. Bless, Sergeant B. Jarju appeared for the Inspector General of Police while Fansu Jatta DW2 also announced his presence.
Mr. Jatta in his testimony said Mrs. Claudiana Cole once approached him to claim ownership of Model Senior Secondary School situated in Busumbala and told him that she needs his cooperation and the cooperation of the Village Development Committee (VDC).
He said that he told her that he could remember that in the year 2000 her husband Pa Cole approached them and a plot of land was allocated to him because at that time the village was in need of a school.
Mr. Jatta said five years after the land had been shown to Mr. Cole he never came back. Then in 2006 Mr. Isaac approached them and they held a lot of discussions with him and then agreed to sell the land to him. He further said that Mr Cole later returned to them for the land but that they told him that the land had already been sold to Mr Jatta.
DW2 said some years later Mr. Isaac started building some classrooms and started the process of leasing the land. He further informed the court that all the documents for the leasing of the land were signed by the VDC Chairman, the Alkalo and the Chief.
Mr. Jatta said that a year later one man brought a letter to him for him to sign as he is the Secretary of the VDC. That when he saw the letter he noticed that it had similar content as that of Mr. Isaac’s.
He told the court that he refused to sign it and the letter was not given back to the man that brought because it contains the signature of the Alkalo who did not know its content before signing it.
Mr. Fansu Jatta added that all he knows is that the land was given to Mr. Isaac.
The matter was then adjourned till 20 of November 2018 for cross examination.
