By Yankuba Jallow
The Local Government Commission of Inquiry on Monday, 14 July 2025, subjected Mayor Rohey Malick Lowe and former Banjul City Council (BCC) Chief Executive Officer Mustapha Batchilly to intense scrutiny over the controversial procurement of LED street lights from Senegal costing D1.29 million, which auditors and the Gambia Public Procurement Authority (GPPA) flagged as a serious breach of procurement regulations.
The procurement, made without GPPA approval, was carried out despite two rejections from the regulatory authority. The LED lights, purchased from Dakar, Senegal, cost the BCC over 1.29 million dalasis, which the GPPA later cited as a violation in its compliance review report on BCC. The auditors also flagged the procurement for contravening public financial rules.
Mayor Lowe admitted before the Commission that she was directly involved in the transaction. “I saw the lights in Dakar and informed the CEO,” she testified, explaining how the procurement process started. She initially denied knowledge of the second rejection letter by GPPA dated 30 March 2022 but later conceded. “If the CEO said I was aware, then I am aware,” she told the Commission.
Lead Counsel Patrick Gomez pressed her on why she proceeded with the procurement despite clear warnings from the GPPA. “Even if you do not see the second rejection, you should have requested to see the approval from the GPPA before going ahead,” Gomez said. Mayor Lowe responded, “I accept that there was no approval.”
Batchilly testified that the Mayor gave instructions for the procurement to proceed even after the rejections and that she specifically directed that Marget Samba, a BCC staff member, be given the money to travel to Dakar for the purchases. “The Mayor was aware of all the rejections from the GPPA. We had briefings. It was explained,” Batchilly said. He further stated, “The instruction for the money to be paid to Marget Samba was from the Mayor.”
The first rejection letter, dated 17 March 2022, noted gaps in the BCC’s procurement file and requested the Council to rectify and resubmit. The second, dated 30 March 2022, recommended using a restricted tender method, but the BCC never complied. Instead, payments continued to be made without approval, with Samba ferrying the funds to Senegal.
Gomez read from the GPPA letters and internal BCC memos to establish that the Mayor and her office were directly involved throughout the procurement process. “The correspondence from Dakar and the former director of finance indicates that you were involved in the procurement,” he said. “You should not have gone ahead without approval.”
In an earlier hearing, Batchilly testified that Mayor Lowe personally negotiated the procurement with suppliers in Dakar. This, combined with the GPPA findings, established that procurement rules were systematically bypassed under the Mayor’s watch.
Gomez also cited letters from the former Director of Finance, Momodou Camara, requesting imprests of D354,000 and later D472,000 for the purchases, both made after discussions with the Mayor and following public complaints about lighting in Banjul. Mayor Lowe said she could not recall giving instructions but admitted being “passionate about the lights.”
The spotlight then shifted to other financial dealings involving the Mayor’s personal accounts. In 2021, D2,055,944.75 was found in Lowe’s private bank account. She claimed it came from Juliet Macony, Director of UCLG and Adviser to REFELA, as a donation from a friend. When asked why the money was not sent to the foundation’s official account, Lowe replied, “It was my decision. I sometimes receive funding or support for my campaign from friends.”
Another deposit of D800,000 made by one Adama Fofana into the Mayor’s personal account was explained as money from her sister, sent in foreign currency and converted into dalasis for the construction of a family house in Kotu. “She sends dollars, and I convert and deposit until she needs it,” Lowe said.
The Commission also questioned the Mayor about two transfers made by UNDP to her account in 2018—$1,059 and $1,000. When asked what the funds were for, Lowe replied, “I definitely don’t know.” She admitted to being informed of the transactions by investigators during the statement-taking process.
In the same hearing, the Commission returned to the disputed D35 million land transaction between MK Stores, owned by Nandkishore Rajwani (Nandu), and Charbel Elhajj of C-Consulting. Although BCC records show that only D2 million was paid into the council account by Charbel, Nandu claimed he paid D20 million to Charbel and an additional D5 million when he was moved from a plot near the National Assembly to Bond Road.
Mayor Lowe denied knowledge of any arrangement between Nandu and Charbel. “I only came to know about Nandu’s claim through my CEO when I was in Nigeria,” she said. She also denied that Nandu ever informed her of any payments, countering his earlier testimony. “He has never called me to inform me about any payment.”
However, Gomez pointed out that Nandu had visited her office several times. “It was about this land,” Gomez said. “Yes, but it was about his problems in possessing the land,” Lowe replied.
“You were in the picture from the word go. That was why he was coming to you directly,” Gomez told her. “This was a conspiracy among you – Nandu, Charbel and yourself and possibly, the CEO.”
Gomez questioned why BCC issued a lease to MK Stores if the application came from Charbel and why the council did not respond to Nandu’s 29 September 2022 letter demanding a refund of D35 million. Batchilly admitted that the council never replied. Lowe said she was not engaged by Batchilly on the matter and had not seen the letter before the Commission.
Gomez insisted that the land was never actually allocated to Charbel despite council approval and payment. “There was no transfer to Charbel,” he said. Lowe said, “That is what I know about this.”
The mayor was also asked why she did not involve the full council when Charbel’s application failed and a new investor, Nandu, entered the picture. Lowe responded that since Charbel had already paid, she believed the council was bound to allocate the land. She said the transfer to MK Stores was executed upon Charbel’s request.
“You should not have made the transfer to MK Stores since you were not dealing with Nandu,” Gomez told her.
Mayor Lowe continued to claim ignorance of any dealings between Charbel and Nandu. When asked why Nandu visited her instead of the CEO, she replied that she never stopped him and didn’t refer him elsewhere.
The Commission has since asked the Mayor to provide a comprehensive list of all land allocations made during her tenure.
The inquiry, which spans financial and administrative activities of all local councils from May 2018 to January 2023, continues.
