By Mariama Marong
An immigration officer responsible for The Gambia’s National Identity Card unit has told the court that the serial number on an identity card presented in an objection case involving Fatou Darboe and Isatou Bah could not be traced in the national database.
Assistant Commissioner Momodou Jallow testified on Thursday, 15 October, that neither he nor his technical team could find the serial number associated with Bah’s identity card in the National ID Card system. However, he cautioned that the failure to trace the number did not allow him to determine whether the card was valid or invalid.
Testifying before Magistrate Isatou Jallow on Thursday, the Assistant Commissioner said he had worked with the Gambia Immigration Department and had served as the officer in charge of the National ID Card unit for four years.
During questioning, Counsel Paul Senghore asked him to explain how the data-processing system works and how information is entered into the National ID Card database. Magistrate Jallow ruled that the question was not valid, and the witness did not respond.
Counsel Senghore then asked the witness to explain the findings of the investigation conducted by his office. Jallow told the court that the serial number linked to Bah’s identity card could not be found in the system. He said his office had no record of the relevant information and that the number could not be traced anywhere in the database.
During cross-examination, Counsel Farage asked whether the witness had reached his conclusion because the serial number was missing from the system. Jallow answered in the affirmative, confirming that his finding was based on the inability to locate the number.
He explained that National ID cards contain three identifiers: a name number, a document number and a serial number. However, he said neither he nor the technical team could locate the serial number associated with Bah’s card. Despite this, the Assistant Commissioner maintained that he could not make a definitive statement about the card’s validity. He further told the court that the number provided to him did not correspond with the details presented, adding that obtaining complete information on the matter would be difficult.
The witness also said the identity card was not incomplete, although he indicated that obtaining the full details of the information could be challenging.
Following Jallow’s testimony, Counsel Farage, representing Bah, informed the court that he would not call his client or any other witness to testify, bringing the presentation of evidence on the objectee’s side to a close.
The case stems from an objection filed by Fatou Darboe against Isatou Bah.