Bribery Scandal Hits Gambia Police Force- As Command Receives Bribe From An Illegal Currency Dealer

Bribery within Gambia police exposed

By Staff Reporter James Jammeh, Banjul.

Sources close to the Police Department in Banjul, have revealed that an illegal currency dealer who was recently apprehended by the Gambian military and handed over to the Gambian police for prosecution subsequently found his way out, much to the consternation of the military and residents.

Apparently, personnel of the Military Police in Barra, Lower Niumi District in the North Bank Region, after receiving a tip-off from an unidentified source, mounted an unexpected visit on the currency dealer, one Mr Jallow, and found cash amounts of D90,000, 600 Pound Starling and 700 Euros on him. He was reportedly escorted by the officers whom he allegedly tried to bribe unsuccessfully. The officers reportedly turned Jallow 's bribery offer down with the words that as good citizens and as security officers they were bound to do their work accordingly.

Jallow's freeing and reappearance in Barra the following day shocked some people, so much so that one of them remarked, "We can't imagine why the police is bent on neglecting the good work done by the soldiers, who did all what they [police] should be doing in the first, only for them to fail to prosecute a culprit who is believed to have duped people of such huge amount of money and allow him to go free."

An insider at the Police Headquarters confirmed the story. He told the Freedom Newspaper that even the Inspector General of the Police (IGP) himself, alongside other senior police officers, were aware of the matter.

''I cannot understand why they failed to take action against the man?'' he said, adding that a criminal case of this nature should be brought to the attention of the public. ''But if the police top brass receive bribes, then what about the junior ones?'' he queried.

According to the insider who obviously spoke to this reporter on condition of anonymity, Jallow was apprehended by the soldiers and handed over to the police who accepted his bribery offer in the form of a handsome amount to let him go free. According to the officer, this goes to emphasise the fact that it is the police who collaborate with criminals of this nature.

A resident of Barra who spoke to the Freedom Newspaper also confirmed the story. Our correspondent who visited the town to verify the veracity of the story learnt that when the soldiers came for Mr Jallow, people in the neighbourhood were bound to notice the occasion leading to his arrest.

''But to our surprise, the following day he was seen roaming the streets, which tells us that he was freed by the police,'' the resident said.

An insider at the Yundum Military Police station also confirmed the story, acknowledging that some of their men did indeed arrest the currency dealer. He was quick to add, however, that their role in the matter as military was to hand the culprit over to the police, which they did.

12/22/09