Vero, as she is fondly called, pointed out that although September has 30 days, her dismissal letter was dated 31 September.
“You have been to school Mrs Carayol, so could you tell the court your educational level,” her lawyer, Hawa Sisay-Sabally, enquired.
She replied: “Yes I have been to school up to A level.”
“Now tell the court how many days September has?” the lawyer enquired further.
“September has 30 days instead of 31, as indicated in my dismissal letter,” Mrs Carayol replied. Her dismissal letter was eventually tendered as exhibit.
Dismissed from her position last year, Vero is standing trial on charges of corruption, false information and abuse of office, but she pleaded not guilty.
She was ordered to open her defence by Magistrate Fatou Darboe of Banjul Magistrate Court after lawyer Hawa Sisay-Sabally’s no-case submission was rejected. Testifying, she explained to the court issues surrounding her employment at the revenue authority.
She said she had served as deputy commissioner of enforcement for years until the time she received her dismissal letter from the director general of National Intelligence Agency, while she was under custody at that agency.
“I joined the Gambia Customs Department in July 1984 as a temporal clerk, then principal clerk and rose through various ranks until I was appointed as the deputy commissioner of enforcement at GRA, a post I held for years before my dismissal,” she adduced.
The letters of appointment addressed to Mrs Carayol regarding the key positions she held at the authority were all admitted as exhibits.
The case resumes February 24.
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