By Omar Bah
A dismissed police officer, Bakary Krubally, has threatened to drag the Inspector General of Police to court, following what he described as unjustified dismissal from the service.
Last year, 1st Class Krubally was dismissed from the police alongside his senior Corporal Farimang Jabbie after they were accused of neglecting their duty. In 2016, the duo reportedly left their guard post at Serekunda London-Corner Nawec Revenue Collection Branch without excuse or due permission resulting in financial loss of over D196, 000 owned by Nawec. They were arraigned but both subsequently pleaded not guilty to the offence of neglect of official duty. However, after years of proceedings, the two were sentenced by high court judge Justice Jawara Z Alami to a fine of D15, 000 each payable in 30 days or risk going to prison for six months.
But Krubally said he will be suing the police IGP, if he fails to order for his reinstatement into the Police Intervention Unit, with immediate effect because he is innocent.
“I am demanding the police to reinstate me because I am innocent of the accusations and Corporal Jabbie made it very clear that he was the one who asked me to go home. So, all that happened was in my absence,” Krubally told The Standard.
He said the police has not also served him with a dismissal letter and that his name is still in the police record because he saw it in the recent promotions in which he is promoted to a corporal.
“It was when I went to the bank to collect my salary that I was told it was not paid. I went to the Police Headquarters to enquire why my salary was not paid but they asked me to go to the PMO. When I went there the PMO told me the police reported me there and that I was absent from work without leave. I was shocked because this was the time of the court proceeding – how do they expect me to come to work when I was under suspension and going to court?” a frustrated Krubally charged. He alleged that the police high command also refused to stand for him during his trial.
“We were going to court all alone – throughout the trial I have not seen a single senior police officer at the court. This is a force I served for eight years. You see, even when my wife was very sick, I wrote to the police to give me little time to support her getting treatment, they refused and unfortunately my wife collapsed when she heard that I was arrested and she could not recover from that shock,” Krubally said. He said the wife left him with three children he is single-handedly taking care of under very difficult circumstances. “We have not been working for four years now,” he said.
Police react
When contacted for comments, the police spokesperson Lamin Njie said: “They were criminally prosecuted and convicted. He has a criminal record and that was the basis for his dismissal. However, he holds his rights to take any further court actions.”
