KAYJATTA
The Gambia government had sued Pristine Consulting company for economic crimes involving tens of thousands of dalasis stolen from the proceeds of the biometric cards produced on behalf of the government. The co-owners of Pristine Consulting are brothers, the elder of which, Assan Touray has been in and out of detention since the saga unfolded last month. The Younger brother, Abdourahman Touray, who happened to be my high school classmate, has since fled the Gambia for the United States.
Assan Touray, the Chief Technology Officer of the company has been freed on a ten million dalasi bond. Now Pristine Consulting has countersued the Gambia government for breach of contract claiming a total of about sixty one and half (61.5) million dalasis in damages. At some point one is tempted to ask whether the Gambia, a country struggling to feed itself, should spend so much money on biometric ID cards at this point in time. I am not downplaing the importance of biometric ID cards, but I doubt that the Gambia has any pressing national security and other issues that justifies an urgent need for biometric cards at such costs.
However, as soon as the countersuit case was mentioned in court, the Gambia government offered its intent to settle out of court. The government's decision to settle out of court may only be a ploy. The Jammeh government is known to corner its opponents and twist their arms into submission. The former Mayor, Laye Conteh was cornered in a similar out-of-court settlement for charges of economic crimes where he was coerced into paying millions of dalasis to the government before getting his freedom from the frequent episodes of detention at the notorious Mile II prison.
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