A High Court trial judge has on Tuesday granted an interim injunction that restrains Kanifing Municipal Council’s suspended C.E.O, Sainabou Martin Sonko, from entering upon or doing anything whatsoever on the premises, building, precincts of the Kanifing Municipal Council pending the hearing and determination of a motion on notice or further orders of the court.
As well as Sainabou Martin Sonko, the interim injunction also restrains Dr. Alieu Keita, Bakary Jawo, Mam Kaba Bass, and Babucarr Sanyang their “servants, agents, privies, or howsoever otherwise.”
Justice Ebrima Ba Jaiteh ordered that “Sainabou Martin Sonko, Dr. Alieu Keita, Bakary Jawo, Mam Kaba Bass, and Babucarr Sanyang shall only be permitted to enter the premises, building, precincts of Kanifing Municipal Council for the purpose of investigations of the matters complained, pending the hearing and determination of the motion on notice or further orders of the court.”
On Tuesday, the High Court presided over by Justice Ebrima Ba Jaiteh heard an ex-parte motion filed by the Kanifing Municipal Council against eight defendants on the 10th August 2021.
The Court decided that the said motion “raised a prima facie case to warrant the intervention of the court to grant an interim injunction, pending the hearing and determination of the suit filed.”
The trial judge not only granted leave to Kanifing Municipal Council to hear this matter during this summer vacation 2021 but adjourned to Wednesday, 18th August 2021 at 10 am for a hearing of the application.
This new development in the Kanifing municipal council’s corruption scandal is collateral of the KMC civil suit against Sainabou Martin Sonko, Dr. Alieu Keita, Bakary Jawo, Mam Kaba Bass, Babucarr Sanyang, Ministry of Lands, Regional Government and Religious Affairs, Inspector General of Police and the Attorney General, at the High Court in Banjul.
In its civil suit, the Kanifing Municipal Council claims the sum of D20.000.000.00 (twenty million dalasis) as “damages for trespass into its premises and precincts without lawful authority and for intimidation of its staff and personnel.”
The KMC is also seeking the High Court’s declaration that the “Ministry of Lands and the Inspector General of Police, whether jointly or severally, do not have the power to determine matters relating to the appointment, control, discipline or employment of Sainabou Martin Sonko, Dr. Alieu Keita, Bakary Jawo, Mam Kaba Bass and Babucarr Sanyang and that the Local Government Services Commission is the only body that may determine such matters.”
The Council further seeks “a declaration that any executive directive issued by the president to forcibly install any of the fore-mentioned persons/ defendants in office despite the resolution of the plaintiff sending them on leave pending investigations into fraud and maladministration by the Local Government Service Commission and the Police is a violation of Section 37, 43 (1) and 48 of the Local Government Act 2002, an abuse of executive power, unconstitutional and unlawful”.
KMC also wants the High Court to make a declaration that “the actions of the Inspector General of Police for deploying Police Intervention Unit officers to its premises to forcefully install into office Sainabou Martin Sonko pursuant to a purported executive directive is illegal.“
