Africa-Press – Gambia. The Mayor of Kanifing Municipal Council (KMC), Talib Ahmed Bensouda, appeared on Monday before the Local Government Commission of Inquiry to provide testimony regarding the controversy involving former Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Sainabou Martin-Sonko.
During the session, Lead Counsel Patrick Gomez presented Mayor Bensouda with a letter dated December 12, 2022, signed by Deputy CEO Kajali Janneh. The letter, addressed to the Chairman of the Local Government Service Commission, recommended the interdiction of Mrs. Martin-Sonko and her placement on administrative leave.
Mayor Bensouda confirmed that by this date, Mrs. Martin-Sonko was already on administrative leave.
“Why doesn’t the council wait for the service commission before sending her on administrative leave?” Counsel Gomez asked.
Bensouda responded that the decision was based on legal advice the council received at the time. “That it is within the council’s authority, and we acted in the best interest of the council,” he explained, while lamenting what he described as a lack of proper intervention by the ministry or the commission.
The inquiry also revisited bribery allegations against KMC Deputy Mayor, Pa Musa Bah. According to Bensouda, upon his return from an official trip to Freetown, the Director of Finance informed him that an irregular payment exceeding D400,000 had been made to Ecotech, despite the company not fulfilling its contractual obligations.
“I called Sainabou to my office and confronted her. She said she was forced by certain councillors and the deputy mayor,” Bensouda recounted. “I told her you are the CEO; nobody can force you. You are supposed to account for the council’s revenue; not even the mayor can force you to make a payment against your will.”
Bensouda testified that Mrs. Martin-Sonko later claimed to have evidence suggesting Deputy Mayor Bah had solicited a bribe from Ecotech. The council initially set up a committee to investigate the matter, but the Ministry of Local Government eventually intervened and took over the probe.
He told the Commission that the ministry’s investigation—conducted jointly with officials from the Ministry of Finance, the Audit Office, and the Ministry of Lands—found no conclusive evidence of bribery against Bah, citing a lack of cooperation from key witnesses. “According to them, there was no cooperation from the witnesses,” he said.
The investigation report was tendered before the Commission as evidence.
Mayor Bensouda was then questioned on the council’s handling of the cases involving Mrs. Martin-Sonko and Deputy Mayor Pa Musa Bah, amid suggestions that Martin-Sonko had been treated more severely.
In response, the mayor stressed that the two cases were fundamentally different. He noted that Martin-Sonko’s matter involved a clear admission of wrongdoing, a formal complaint from the staff welfare association, and supporting evidence. According to him, she admitted her actions both in writing and in the presence of all directors.
By contrast, Bensouda said Bah’s case was more complex, as he denied the allegations, and the matter extended to claims of bribery involving other elected councillors.
For More News And Analysis About Gambia Follow Africa-Press
