By Mariama Marong
The Kanifing Revising Court on Wednesday heard testimony in two separate voter-registration cases involving allegations that birth certificates presented during the registration exercise were not genuine. The cases were heard before Magistrate Isatou Jallow.
In the first case, involving objector Kaddy Demba and objectee Modou Drammeh, Demba told the court that she served as a party agent during the voter registration exercise. An objector is the person objecting to the voter registration of a person, while an objectee is the person whose registration is being challenged.
She said she knew the objector, Amie Sankanu, because they had worked together. Demba alleged that Drammeh presented a fake birth certificate when applying for a voter card. Demba told the court that one of her duties as a party agent was to record details of suspicious activities involving documents she believed could be fraudulent.
She also alleged that Drammeh was brought to the registration centre by a member of the National People’s Party (NPP). Under questioning from Counsel L. Ceesay, Demba was asked how she knew that the birth certificate was allegedly fake.
She said the Registrar of Births and Deaths had stopped issuing that particular type of birth certificate. Demba also told the court that although she had lived in Kololi for about 20 years, she had never seen Drammeh before. She maintained that the document presented by Drammeh was not genuine.
During cross-examination by Counsel H. Farage, Demba confirmed that it was her first time serving as a party agent. She also told the court that she was a registered voter and had used a birth certificate during her own voter registration. According to Demba, she used the new form of birth certificate when registering.
Asked again how she determined that Drammeh’s document was allegedly fake, Demba said she noticed what she considered to be alterations on the document. She pointed to what she described as an unauthentic stamp and inaccurate handwriting. The witness confirmed that Drammeh was nevertheless registered and issued a voter card after Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) officials inspected the document.
Counsel Farage put it to Demba that Drammeh had presented an authentic birth certificate and that this was why the IEC registered him and issued him a voter card. Demba disagreed.
Following the testimony, Counsel L. Ceesay, representing the objector, applied for the Registrar of Births and Deaths to be called to testify about the authenticity of Drammeh’s birth certificate. The court adjourned the case to 24 September 2026 for continuation.
The court also heard testimony in a separate case involving objector Amie Sankanu and objectee Ensa Jammeh. Demba told the court that she and Sankanu served as United Democratic Party (UDP) agents during the voter registration exercise. According to Demba, Jammeh arrived at the registration centre accompanied by NPP campaign manager Lamin Cham to register for a voter card. She alleged that Jammeh presented a birth certificate that differed from what she described as the original documents. Demba said one of her responsibilities as a UDP registration agent was to record details of documents she considered suspicious, with the intention of challenging them before the Revising Court.
During cross-examination by Counsel Farage, Demba maintained that the document presented by Jammeh was fake. She said the stamp on the document was not genuine and described the document as old and unlawful.
“The reason why I said the birth certificate was fake is that the stamp on the document is not authentic and the writing too,” she told the court.
The court also adjourned that matter to 24 September 2026 for continuation.
