By Isatou Sarr
Two men, Momodou Wurry Jallow, a Gambian, and Kaaba Yankee, a Sierra Leonean, have been granted bail to the tune of one hundred thousand dalasis (D100,000) each with two Gambian sureties by the Brikama Magistrates’ Court.
The two men have since “pleaded not guilty” to charges of conspiracy and theft of solar panels from the National Water and Electricity Company (NAWEC) solar plant in Jambur, West Coast Region.
The accused appeared before Magistrate K.B. Sambou of Brikama Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday. They are alleged to have conspired on 22 October 2025 to steal seven solar panels, each valued at D10,000, amounting to a total loss of D70,000.
Deputy Superintendent Buteh Sawaneh, representing the Inspector General of Police, called the first witness, Ensa Jobe, a supervisor at the Jambur Solar Plant.
Jobe told the court that he recognised the accused and recounted that 15 panels were stolen from the facility in 2023. Residents later recovered eight of them, while seven remained missing. He said the recovered panels found this year were in the possession of the accused, and their serial numbers corresponded with those on the plant’s inventory.
“The panels were with the accused, meaning they had them for two years,” he said.
Following Jobe’s testimony, the first accused appealed for leniency, citing family responsibilities and the impact of detention on his children’s education.
Magistrate Sambou then adjourned the matter to 19 December 2025 and granted each accused bail.