By Makutu Manneh
Sainabou Martin-Sonko, a former chief executive officer of the Kanifing Municipal Council (KMC) has said staff of the council worked together and hatched a plan against her, which they ended up using to suspend her.
Sainabou said Mayor Talib Bensouda and his colleagues knew that she had an audio tape against them and that they needed something to pin her down.
She testified that the KMC used Alieu Danso, a real estate dealer, to frame her and then used it to suspend her.
Sainabou testified that the KMC was not giving loans and medical support to the staff of the Council. She added that she referred a lady to the KMC Staff Welfare Association for medical support for her daughter.
After the Association supported the lady, she said the leadership of the Association informed her that they wanted to meet her for advice. She eventually met them and they had a discussion. She stated that they only sought her advice and she gave them the details.
On the case of land relating to Alieu Danso, a real estate dealer, Sainabou said she found Alieu Danso already dealing with the KMC through Jaja Cham before she came. She explained that the KMC management had an unsigned agreement with Alieu Danso to provide land to the staff. She said when she met Alieu Danso at the KMC as the CEO, she tried to find out about the unsigned agreement and Alieu then told her that he did not sign the contract because the position of the CEO was vacant.
Sainabou said she read the draft agreement and began having doubts about it because she was aware of the scandals in the real estate sector. She added that her husband used to work at the Department of Lands and Survey, and she was aware of the controversies involving real estate dealers. She decided not sign the agreement.
She explained that the Director of Services Lamin Sanyang used to come to her office trying to convince her, and she decided to take the documents home for her husband to advise her.
“Alieu Danso only had an Alkalo transfer, which was a copy, and the CEO of the Brikama Area Council did not sign it, and Danso did not pay his capital gains tax,” Sainabou said.
She testified that her husband advised her that the KMC should not enter an agreement with Alieu Danso because it was risky.
She said the director of services (Lamin Sanyang) and his staff (Lamin Badjie and Bolong) were persistently following her to sign it. She added that she referred it to the staff welfare association to look into it, but she advised them that they should ensure that the land Alieu Danso was talking about is his before they sign the greement. She testified that she advised them to ensure that Alieu Danso provides all the documentation to show proof of ownership. She added that this was not done.
She stated that the arrangement the Association had with Alieu Danso was that the deduction would be made from the staff’s monthly salaries. The agreement was signed between the Association and Alieu Danso, but they began having issues. The agreement was that after 6 months, Alieu Danso should produce the documentation for the land, but he failed in his responsibility. She stated that before the lapse of the 6 months, Alieu Danso requested a Six Million Dalasi (D600,000,000) loan from the KMC to prepare the documents, which was turned down because the arrangement was for the deduction to be made from the staff’s monthly salary.
“Alieu Danso said if I should approve it, he would not mind giving me a million dalasi,” she said.
She testified that in the 8th month, Alieu Danso came to her with a cash amount of D30,000, saying it was a gift for her. She testified that she informed Alieu Danso that she would not approve his request even if he gave him money because the KMC does not have a budget for the purchase of land for staff.
“I did not receive D30,000 from Alieu Danso. I asked him to take the money and I hid it somewhere,” she said.
“You eventually used the money,” Lead Counsel Gomez said.
“Yes, eventually,” she said.
She reiterated that Alieu Danso said the money was a gift for her. After this, she said Alieu Danso came with another letter requesting for a loan of D4,500,000. She said the request was turned down because it was not budgeted and was not part of the council plans.
She said she had previously threatened Alieu Danso that the Council will stop deducting and paying him if he failed to provide the documentation to the land as agreed.
“I later came to realise that Danso was not the only one benefitting from the payments,” she said.
“Who else was benefiting from the deductions?” Lead Counsel Gomez asked.
“He [Danso] has his team in the council that he shares the money with,” she said.
Sainabou Martin-Sonko said she was certain that Modou Njie – market manager and Bolong, working in the Department of Services were directly benefiting from it. Sainabou Martin-Sonko stated that she has never solicited anything from Alieu Danso.
She was referred to the statement of Alieu Danso in which he stated that Sainabou Martin requested D30,000 from him to travel to Senegal with the promise that when she came back, she would approve the D4,000,000 loan request he made to the KMC.
“That never happened,” Sainabou Martin said after hearing the statement Alieu Danso made to the investigators of the Commission.
“I am hearing this for the first time,” she added.
She admitted that the D30,000 was left in her office and she never returned it.
“I did not know it was a setup. He was told to leave the money in my office. They wanted to tie my hands so that I would continue paying him from the deductions from the staff salary,” she said.
Lead Counsel Gomez told her the act of keeping the money with her was wrong. The witness agreed but added that it was a setup against her. Lead Counsel Gomez further told her that was not a justification.
Sainabou Martin-Sonko said she has never approved any of the requests of Alieu Danso. She added that she later instructed the staff welfare association to stop paying Alieu Danso.
“At the time of leaving the cash in my office, I told him I would not approve his request,” she said.
She said the KMC wanted a loan from Reliance Financial Service to deal with Blue Ocean Real Estate Company for the matter of land. She added that she kicked against it because of a conflict of interest. She explained that the financial institution and the real estate company were both businesses belonging to the family of the Mayor. She cited issues of conflict of interest and she decided to advise the staff welfare association against that arrangement.
She said the Association abandoned that decision and returned to Agib Bank and this time around, she decided to sign to guarantee the association on behalf of the council. She added that the CEOs of the KMC before her have been guaranteeing loans. She explained that the loan to the staff welfare association has less likelihood of default.
