Lang Conteh jailed
Destiny’s, Kotu house forfeited Written by Ousman Darboe Wednesday, 18 May 2005 Lang Conteh, the former foreign exchange manager of the Central Bank of The Gambia, was yesterday sentenced to one year imprisonment. Two of Mr Conteh’s most talked about properties and investments - his multi-million dalasi luxury house in Kotu and Destiny’s Night Club, have also been forfeited by the court.
High Court judge, AH Tahir, delivered the judgement at a crowded courtroom amid weeping by relatives and sympathisers of the convicted millionaire.
Mr Conteh was charged on seven counts of economic crimes and subsequently stood trial for economic crimes involving D225 million. At the commencement of the trial, he pleaded not guilty only to change his plea before the trial proper started. He then entered a plea bargain.
In his plea of mitigation, Musa Bittaye, the head of Mr Conteh’s lawyers, said: “This is an unfortunate case of a young person who has served the Central Bank up to a top level. He has no previous conviction.”
Lawyer Bittaye said the accused has surrendered to the state two valuable properties - his Kotu residence and his share at the Global Finance.
At this juncture, DPP Akomaye Agim urged the court to expunge the Global Finance share surrendered to the state which was upheld by Justice Tahir.
Continuing his mitigation, Bittaye said his client had not contested the case which he said could have involved the wasting of the court’s time. “The conviction that has to be made against the accused should be enough punishment for a man of this respect in the society. It is on the record that since 17 February, the accused has been incarcerated in Mile Two and that is sufficient against the accused. Under these circumstances as a first time offender, we are asking that the court should not impose a custodial sentence or in other words, such a custodial sentence be suspended,” lawyer Bittaye said. He added that the the time the convict has spent in remand be considered in the conviction.
DPP Agim thanked the convict and his lawyers for not wasting the court’s time. He said that was based on the plea bargain entered by the accused although, according to him, crime has no justification in law.
In his verdict, Justice Tahir said: “Lang Conteh is hereby given one year concurrent sentence of the seven counts.”
When the judge made that pronouncement, many observers who were present at the courtroom commented that it was a light sentence as the convict will be serving all the one-year sentences of each count, at a go, meaning that he will be, in a nutshell, serving one year instead of seven years.
But the cause of the light sentence was elucidated when the trial judge said: “The accused has not wasted the court’s time,” adding that he (the judge) had listen to the mitigation of the defence counsel.
Shortly after the pronouncement of the judgement, Lang Conteh, dressed in a traditional trademark kaftan, engulfed in his newly adopted religious style - counting a rosery of prayer beads, was heard uttering some Mandinka words - “Nman nyi fo” , meaning, “this is not what we said.” Mr Conteh and his daughter then clasped each other in a sorrowful embracement with tears rolling down their cheeks.
>in the Tostan program presented plays and songs and discussed the human
>rights and responsibilities that influenced their decision. The journalists
>interviewed women, men and children throughout the village.
>
>Khalifa Tamba spoke for the Niadieme villagers who are living in other
>countries, stating that he himself visited Iran, an Islamic country where
>people are surprised that a practice such as FGC exists. "When Iranians
>asked me if we practiced this tradition in my village, I was embarrassed
>and
>said 'No,' even though it was not true. Now I will not have to lie because
>we have finally abandoned the practice here. FGC is not an Islamic
>obligation and can bring pain to women throughout their lives. It can
>even
>harm their relationship with their husbands. We are proud to participate
>in
>this historic event because it restores women's dignity and gives them
>their
>rightful place in our society."
>
>Not all of the focus was on traditional practices during the Niadieme
>visit,
>however. Villagers noted that people are no longer leaving for other cities
>and countries because the village has started several income generating
>projects. They proudly showed off a honey-producing "factory" and
>discussed the other small projects they have started through micro-credit
>loans. In addition, they noted that the Community Management Committee has
>made significant progress on its projects: a large garden has been planted
>with hundreds of fruit trees; construction is underway for both a health
>station and a two-room schoolhouse for the children of Niadieme‹a school
>that now has a teacher thanks to the public service lobbying skills the
>Community Management Committee learned to use during the Tostan program.
>
>The declaration ceremony itself began at 10 AM on Sunday, May 15, with
>traditional singers and dancers welcoming the delegations of Tostan
>education program participants from Thies, Dakar, Matam, St. Louis,
>Kaolack,
>Tambacounda, Kidira, Kolda, and Ziguinchor, as well as many other guests
>who
>came to witness the public pledge. The Imam of Marakissa then gave the
>opening welcome and prayer, clearly stating his support for the abandonment
>of FGC and child marriage. He was followed by the Village Chief, the
>President of the Community Management Committee, the President of the area
>youth group, the village nurse, representatives of villagers living in
>other
>cities or countries, and a traditional cutter. Their determined and
>forceful statements in Diola (translated for the guests) clearly summarized
>their reasons for abandoning FGC and child marriage, and all were
>enthusiastically applauded by the crowd. Between speeches, costumed
>performers representing traditional forest animal figures interacted with
>colorful Diola dance groups, providing a wonderful example of positive
>Diola
>traditions. A play was presented by the Marakissa class on the health
>dangers and human rights violations related to FGC. The official public
>statement declaring the abandonment of FGC and child marriage was then read
>in Diola, French and Mandinka by village women.
>
>The guests attending the ceremony included representatives from UNICEF
>(Senegal and the Gambia), UNFPA, USAID, NGOs, and numerous national and
>local Government officials and members of the Senegalese Parliament,
>notably
>the Vice President of the National Assembly and the President of the
>Regional Council of Kolda. These visitors congratulated the participants on
>their decisive and positive action. The UNICEF-Senegal Representative,
>Mr.
>Mamadou Wane, explained that this "family decision" was a bright torch that
>would illuminate the way for other communities seeking better health for
>girls and women.
>
>As the first declaration to directly involve emigrant relatives in the
>decision to abandon FGC and forced marriage, the declaration of Marakissa
>marked an important new direction in the declaration process, which so far
>has seen a total of 1,571 villages publicly abandon these harmful
>traditional practices.
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