Chief of Lower Fulladu West district has reacted furiously to allegations that he bribed his alleged extra marital lover with a president Jammeh sponsored hajj package.
“There is no iota of truth in the allegations,” Chief Momodou Lamin Baldeh re-iterated in a rejoinder to a story on the January 4 edition of The Daily News headlined: ‘Presidential Hajj Package Scandal, Chief Baldeh Allegedly Bribes Lover.’
Chief Baldeh’s head’s accuser is Botto Fatajo of Saruja village in the provincial Central River Region of The Gambia. “I was informed beforehand that a hajj ticket was sent for me to go to Mecca, but the Chief took it and gave it out to his [alleged] lover,” the woman rice grower had alleged.
Her allegations came hot on the heels yet another postponement of CRR Rice Farmers Corporative Society meeting, whose under fire then-executive are accused of, among others, mismanaging the Society’s funds.
“I was not given any ticket purposely for Botto Fatajo,” the district chief, who had since dismissed the allegations as untrue clarified.  
“Botto is just trying to tarnish my character and I would like to inform her that the woman that benefited from the hajj package is not my lover.”
Hajj package in context
It is now a tradition for Gambian president Yahya Jammeh to sponsor a number of Muslims in The Gambia to embark on annual Muslims pilgrimage to Mecca.
Though it is unclear to this paper whether the package is a state sponsored or a personal gesture from president Jammeh, nonetheless part of the annual presidential hajj package is channeled through local government authorities who award to ‘qualified’ persons.
Chief Baldeh explained: “I was phoned by the regional governor, Alh Ganyie Touray to identify one person, preferably a woman [for the hajj package]. At the time of the phone [call] I was with a list of ruling-APRC women’s group with their new leadership from Saruja village from which group I selected the beneficiary and submitted her name to the governor.”
He explained further: “We are local authorities and work on instructions. We do not jump and do things on our own. We work as a team.
“The selection for the presidential hajj package is based on loyalty, hard work and love for President Jammeh and the APRC party.”

Botto’s u-turn
Meanwhile, Botto Fatajo, the chief’s accuser has retracted her allegations. In a letter purportedly from Botto Fatajo published by this paper earlier this month, the rice grower claims that the allegations she made against Chief Baldeh were unfounded.
However, the woman’s u-turn came after she was arrested following the publication of her accusation. She was thrown behind bars alongside the author of the story, Mr Momodou Salieu Jallow, a journalist with this paper for about five hours at Bansang police station on Friday January 6.
The two were initially arrested by police at Brikama-Ba. They have been bailed, but have been reporting at the police on a weekly basis. They are due there today.
Journalist Jallow is meanwhile charged for criminal defamation, according to the police spokesperson.
Media rights advocates have however condemned the charges and urged The Gambia government against pursuing further with the matter.