By Bruce Asemota
The High Court in Banjul, presided over by Justice Ebrima Jaiteh, has ordered the Gambia Armed Forces to pay the sum of D5,713,025.00 being invoice value of monies owed to Kono Construction Company for emptying cesspit pools from various Army Barracks in the Gambia.
The presiding judge made this order in a judgment delivered yesterday in the civil suit between the plaintiff Sarjo Saine, trading as Kono Construction and the defendant, Gambia Armed Forces.
According to the judge, the amended writ of summons was accompanied by an amended statement of claim, the affidavit of witness statement of Sarjo Saine and an amended and additional list of documents.
The judge further said the Gambia Armed Forces was served with the said originating processes and through Lawyer Binga D, the Director of Civil Litigation and International law at the Attorney General’s Chambers, filed a statement of defence on the 24th June, 2021 together with the affidavit of one Mamat Jobe, a lieutenant at Fajara Barracks with a list of documents but the plaintiff filed a reply to the statement of defence.
The judge disclosed that upon filing the statement of defence and other processes, the defendant representative Captain B Sanneh would occasionally appear in court and various state counsels would also appear without any preparation to proceed with the case.
The trial judge pointed out that the plaintiff served the defendant with notices to produce documents and thus failed to produce same to court and did not appear in court despite being served with hearing notices.
The judge revealed that the plaintiff proceeded with the pre-trial conference and the following documents were tendered as exhibits; the plaintiff statement of account from Megabank Gambia limited from 1st January 2014 to 31st December 2017, letter from the plaintiff to the Chief of Defence Staff at the Defence Headquarters in Banjul, dated 23rd June, 2019, letter from the plaintiff from South Atlantic Chambers to the Chief of Defence Staff at the Defence Headquarters in Banjul, dated 20th October,2020; letter from South Atlantic Chambers of the plaintiff to the Secretary General, Office of the President, State House, Banjul; a letter from the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Defence, Office of the President, State House, Banjul dated 17th November 2020; bundles of invoices from the Guards Battalion, Headquarters, Fajara Barracks, 1st Infantry Battalion, Yundum Barracks, Gambia Armed Forces Training School to the Defence Headquarters in Banjul and spreadsheet of summary of unpaid invoices for emptying the cesspit pools of the Gambia National Army from 2014 to 2017.
The trial judge asserted that from the records of the court and all material and documentary evidence, it is reasonable that the plaintiff proved his case on the balance of probability and that the defence by their comportment has by implication acknowledged the fact that the plaintiff is owed by the defendant.
Justice Jaiteh stated that it is settled principle of law that facts in an affidavit not challenged or controverted are deemed to be admitted.
He said cost followed the events and this was not denied or contested by the defendant at all and therefore there is sufficient documentary evidence of unpaid invoices amounting to the sum of D 5,713,025.00 being monies due and payable to the plaintiff for services rendered to the defendant by emptying cesspit pools in various military barracks in the country.
