By Nelson Manneh & Mustapha Jallow
Plaintiff Muhammed Lamin Komma, is urging the Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs to respect the judgement of the Banjul Magistrates’ Court, presided over by Magistrate Adama and pay him accordingly.
Mr. Komma wants the said Ministry to fast-track the payment of his entitlements as awarded by the Banjul Magistrates’ Court presided over by Magistrate Adama Sillah as he then was in the sum of D925, 000 (Nine Hundred and twenty-Five thousand dalasis only).
He instituted a suit against the Inspector General of Police (IGP) and the Attorney General after missing recovered items from his house that were allegedly stolen by his landlady and one Yaya Baldeh.
Delivering the judgment, Magistrate Sillah, recollected that the suit was filed by the plaintiff on the 1st of January, 2018. The plaintiff gives evidence and called upon witnesses to support his case. The court has noted that on several occasions, the 1st and 2nd defendants (the IGP and Attorney General) were duly served with the process of the court coupled with a plethora of hearing notices but to no avail. In fact, the court is of the view that the 1st and 2nd defendants have treated the invitation of the court with levity.
The trial Magistrate delivered judgement in favour of the plaintiff and further held that the plaintiff Muhammed Lamin Komma was entitled to all the claims as follows:
recovery of the sum of D775, 000 being damages of items missing from the plaintiff by the 1st and 2nd defendant and D100, 000 as legal and administrative fees and cost of D50, 000, making it a total of D925, 000.
The plaintiff is claiming for the authorities to pay him as ordered by the court; adding that when judgement was delivered, the Attorney General wrote to the Ministry of Finance for them to facilitate his payments. However, the Finance Ministry is yet to disburse the payments as ordered by the court. He said the Attorney General Chambers also wrote to the Ministry for payments to be effected but to no avail.
“I also have a copy of another letter from the office of the IGP to the ministry of finance indicating that the ministry of finance should facilitate the payment of the said sum according to the judgement,” he said.
“Justice delay is justice denied, I want the authorities to pay the sum because it is long overdue,” said the desperate judgement creditor.
According to Komma, on the 8th and 9th October, 2016, he reported the case of stolen items from his house to the police against one Yaya Bah and Neneh Baldeh (landlady) for breaking into his house in Bakau and Fajikunda and took away his belongings, whilst he was in Europe receiving medical treatment.
The complainant had since been pursuing the police for his items to be returned but the police failed to hand over the items. Mr Komma then decided to seek redress through the law courts and filed a civil suit against the IGP and the Attorney General respectively to either recover his items or be compensated.
The items stolen from his house according to him, are a television, desktop, computer and some other items.
Readers could recall that Abdou Conteh, the Sheriff of the High Court on March 2nd, 2018, wrote to the Solicitor General asking him to facilitate the payments of nine hundred and twenty-five thousand dalasis to one Muhammed Lamin Komma. However, the payments are still not effected despite an order from the court.
Correspondences between the Ministry of Interior, IGP and the Attorney General Chambers directing the Ministry of Finance to pay the said sum as ordered by the court are attached below.
