Africa-Press – Gambia. The former Chief Executive Officer of the Banjul City Council (BCC), Mustapha Batchily, appeared before the Local Government Commission of Inquiry on Thursday to address concerns over a council-funded legal payment of D795,000 for a lawsuit involving Mayor Rohey Malick Lowe.
According to the National Audit Report, a review of BCC’s 2021 cashbook revealed that legal fees were paid to Sasum Sillah of Oussu’s Chambers on behalf of Mayor Lowe, in relation to a legal dispute concerning the issuance of voter attestations. The auditors noted that the case was filed against Mayor Lowe in her personal capacity, and not against the council, thus rendering the council’s authorization of the payment “ineligible.”
“Therefore, the council’s authorization of these legal fees are deemed ineligible payments,” the report stated.
During the hearing, Counsel Patrick Gomez questioned the rationale behind using public funds to cover what appeared to be a private legal matter. “Who was taken to court—the mayor or the council?” he asked.
Batchily responded that, to the best of his recollection, the case was brought by a civil society organization against the Mayor of Banjul. Counsel Gomez pressed further: “So why did BCC pay the legal fees?” Batchily explained that it was their belief at the time that the mayor, as a representative of the council, was being sued in her official capacity.
Counsel Gomez advised the witness not to conflate the legal identities of the Banjul City Council (BCC) and the Mayor, emphasizing that both entities have the legal capacity to initiate or face lawsuits independently. The witness, Mustapha Batchily, acknowledged and agreed with this distinction.
Counsel Gomez then posed a key question: “Now if the mayor is the person that is taken to court, the argument here is who decided the council should bear the legal fees?”
In response, Batchily stated that had they been aware the lawsuit targeted Mayor Lowe in her personal capacity rather than the Council, the legal fees would not have been paid by BCC.
He further revealed that it was Mayor Lowe who reached an agreement with the lawyer regarding the legal fees, which amounted to D795,000.
Challenging the appropriateness of the payment, Counsel Gomez remarked, “The mayor was sued, then negotiated the legal fees based on what? Was this taken to the general council? This amount is almost a million Dalasi; you signed it off with the director of finance. That is too much,” Counsel Gomez said.
Initially, Batchily claimed the matter had not been presented to the general council. However, he later asked for time to verify whether the issue had indeed been tabled, stating, “I will make a proper verification and come and give befitting feedback.”
Counsel Gomez questioned why Mayor Lowe had been allowed to negotiate the legal fees independently, asserting that she should not have done so. Batchily explained that the mayor had been the primary point of contact with the legal team.
For More News And Analysis About Gambia Follow Africa-Press
