By Ismaila M.S.Naban
BANJUL, Gambia - The erstwhile Managing Director of the Gambia's Social Security and Housing Finance Corporation (SSHFC), Mr. Edward Graham, is the latest of the country former senior government officials to be sent behind bars, by a Camerronian-born Gambia Court judge.
Graham, who was standing trial on a one-count indictment of economic crimes, before a foreign judge sitting at the Gambia's Special Criminal Court in the Gambian capital Banjul was yesterday found guilty as charged and sentenced to a one-year and six months jail term.
The nation's former Housing boss was in addition to the above sentence ordered to the sum of D73,000 (dalasis) to his former Office (SSHFC) within two weeks. In case he defaulted in same, he is to serve extra one year in prison, as ordered by Justice Nkea, the trial judge.
It could be recalled that several senior government and military officers had been sent to jail since the advent of the current government over coup plot or corruption, and drugs.
The Gambian leader has time and again expressed his government's "zero tolerance" on drugs and corruption.
A former Secretary General and Head of the country's Civil Service has recently been jailed for corrupt practice, and also a former National Assembly member was recently jailed for drug offences.
The jailed ex-Social Security and Housing Finance Corporation MD, who protested his innocence was accused of used D73, 000 for the training of one Ancha Jammeh for the position of a Finance manager of the Home Finance Company, a subsidiary of the SSHFC.
And after a marathon trial, Justice Emmanuel Nkea found him guilty, reasoning inter alia that Home Finance is a separate company from SSHFC.
He judge averred that the fact that Ancha Jammeh got a Bsc in Economics did not automatically mean she is qualified for the job of an accountant.
That appointing her as Finance Manager of Home Finance with little or no knowledge of finance, demonstrated that there was a hidden agenda behind the whole process of her appointment.
He averred also that Home Finance would not have lost the D73, 000 if a proper method was used in the appointment process.
Justice Nkea held also that the recruitment of Ancha Jammeh was directly influenced by the accused.
Hon. Mr. Justice Nkea, a Cameroonian, is an alumnus of Our Lady Seat of Wisdom College Fontem and Government High School Muyuka, from where he obtained the GCE Ordinary and Advance Level Certificates, respectively.
According to official judicial information, he enrolled into the University of Buea, Cameroon in December 1993 and graduated in July 1997 with a Bachelor (LL.B) Degree in Law.
In 2006, he was said to have obtained a Certificate in Peaceful Conflict Transformation from Transcend Peace University in Romania and enrolled into the University of The Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa, in 2009 where he pursued and obtained a Master of Arts Degree in 2010.
He is said to be pursuing doctorate (LL.D) studies in Constitutional Law at the University of Pretoria, South Africa.
He was appointed Magistrate in the Gambian courts before elevated to the position of a judge of the superior court of the Gambia.