Gambiaj.com – (BANJUL, The Gambia) – The Supreme Court of The Gambia has ordered the State to pay former Auditor General Modou Ceesay a total of D17,585,213.69 following its finding that his removal from office was unlawful.
The ruling, delivered Thursday, July 30, 2026, by Justice O.M.M. Njie, settles the outstanding issues concerning Ceesay’s salary, allowances, gratuity, pension, fuel entitlement, and damages after the court’s July 7 judgment, which found that his removal from the constitutional office was unlawful.
The court also ordered the State to begin paying Ceesay a monthly pension of D120,733.50, with effect from July 7, 2026.
Court awards salary and future earnings.
The Supreme Court awarded Ceesay D1,529,291.00 in salary and allowances covering the period from September 15, 2025, when he was removed from office, to July 7, 2026. The amount will attract 10 percent annual interest, calculated by the court at D54,088.65.
The court further awarded D8,853,790.00 in future salary and allowances, covering the period from July 7, 2026, to November 25, 2031, which would have marked the end of his nine-year tenure as Auditor General.
Ceesay was also awarded D732,310.65 in gratuity, with the court finding that his evidence on the entitlement had not been contradicted by the State.
On fuel, the court awarded D2.56 million, representing 64 months of payments at D40,000 per month. The period covers September 2025 to November 2031.
The State’s arguments on allowances were rejected.
The Supreme Court rejected the State’s arguments that several of Ceesay’s allowances were discretionary and therefore not payable.
Justice Njie noted the State’s position that Ceesay was entitled only to a basic monthly salary of about D58,000, after accounting for an outstanding loan. State Counsel had argued that the D40,000 responsibility allowance, as well as telephone, residential, and special skills allowances, should not be included.
The court, however, found that those arguments lacked sufficient evidentiary support and upheld Ceesay’s entitlement to the salary and allowances claimed.
The State had also argued that Ceesay’s pension and gratuity would only become payable upon actual retirement at age 60 and that he could not claim those benefits before completing his nine-year term.
The Supreme Court disagreed.
It held that the evidence before it supported Ceesay’s entitlement to both gratuity and pension based on his service as Auditor General.
His monthly pension was calculated at 75 percent of his net monthly earnings of D160,978, resulting in a monthly payment of D120,733.50.
Unlike the other sums, the pension is to commence immediately, with effect from July 7, 2026.
Court rejects State’s position on fuel allowance
The court also rejected the State’s argument concerning Ceesay’s fuel entitlement.
The State had claimed that Ceesay received fuel coupons rather than a cash allowance. But the Supreme Court found that the evidence established his entitlement to a D40,000 monthly fuel allowance.
The court consequently awarded the full D2,560,000 covering 64 months.
The ruling also includes the D4 million in vindicatory damages previously awarded to Ceesay.
However, the court ordered that D144,266.61, representing an outstanding loan reportedly taken by Ceesay for the National Audit Office, be deducted from the total amount payable.
After the deduction, the total amount due to Ceesay stands at D17,585,213.69, in addition to the ongoing monthly pension of D120,733.50.
State given until November to pay.
Although the Supreme Court had previously directed the State to settle the sums within 60 days, Justice Njie varied that deadline and extended it to November 30, 2026.
The court said the extension was warranted by the circumstances presented in an affidavit filed by Lamin Foday Jawara, Permanent Secretary at the Office of the Prime Minister, concerning the sittings of the National Assembly and the appropriation of funds required to settle the judgment.
The State must therefore pay the salary and allowances arrears, future salary and allowances, gratuity, fuel allowance, and D4 million in vindicatory damages by November 30.
The pension, however, remains payable immediately from July 7.
Court says the July judgment cannot be reopened.
Justice Njie stressed that the post-judgment proceedings were concerned “solely with ascertaining the precise amounts payable to the Plaintiff.”
The court noted that the State had not applied for a review of the July 7 judgment itself. As a result, it said it could not reopen the legality of payments that had already been ordered.
The Supreme Court nevertheless recognized its discretion to vary the period for compliance where circumstances justified such a decision.
The ruling brings to a close the dispute over the financial consequences of Ceesay’s removal from office, confirming that the compensation arising from an unlawful removal extends beyond basic salary to benefits and allowances he would have received had he remained in office.
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