By: Ousman Saidykhan
One Saja Camara has been arraigned at the Kanifing Magistrate Court over his alleged issuance of a false Ecobank cheque for D104,900 to one Mariama Touray, an employee at Isa Travel Agency.
The incident allegedly occurred on November 19th last year when the accused allegedly issued the cheque bearing the name of Win Win Oils Gambia Limited with Account Number: 6258006107.
The money was allegedly the payment of a ticket prepared for the accused who was helping Mariama Kebbeh to travel to England.
Saja pleaded not guilty.
The first witness and complainant, Mariama Touray narrated that Isa Travel Agency used to work with the accused’s company but the ticked saga was personal.
She told the court that the accused was getting the ticket for One Mariama Kebbeh who needed to travel by the 6th of November 2021.
“He (the accused) linked me with Mariama’s brother whom I told the ticket is expensive. I told him it is D104,900. He said that would not be a problem. They wanted her to go on the 6th. The ticket was issued on the 5th of November 2022,” the witness narrated.
The witness continued that he called the accused a week after the ticket was issued for the payment of the money but the accused said they were working on it.
“He brought an Ecobank cheque on the 19th for an amount of D104,900. We took the cheque to the bank but it bounced. The Bank told us to contact the accused. I called him (the accused). He asked me to give him time for them to work on it,” she narrated.
Mariama Touray testified that whenever they went to the bank, they were told there was no money. She narrated, ending up reporting the accused to the fraud squad.
“When my office said they would suspend me, I texted the accused on WhatsApp. He said he would pay before my suspension.
“A month after my suspension, he called me to tell me he had D50,000 which I told him to deposit at the office,” she told the court.
The witness said she contacted her brother two weeks before her suspension ended for him to help pay the balance for her, which is D54,900. She said she would have been sacked if she had not done that.
“Even after that, he (the accused) has not paid the money,” Mariama Touray told the court.
The accused was asked if he would cross-examine the witness. He told the court he would need legal representation.
The matter was adjourned till September 1st 2022. The accused was granted bail in the sum of D120,000 or two Gambian sureties.
