By Assan Sallah.
Drama unfolded in Busumbala on Monday when a group of over 20 people stormed the compound of Manjang Cham over a visa deal to Canada which failed. Some of the victims gathered and drove in over 11 vehicles and went to Cham’s compound in Busumbala to demand for their monies and passports following the failure of the deal. The alleged visa scammer Manjang Cham ran away immediately the victims arrived at his home.
“He was sitting in his car, and the car was parked opposite his compound. Immediately when he saw us, he came out of his car and ran away. After a few meters, he fell on the ground and was caught. We took him to his compound and people came. We insisted that we will not disperse until he gives us our monies and passports because he lied to us that the festival is cancelled when it’s not true. Currently, the festival is ongoing in Canada. The event is online and has been scheduled from the 23rd – 29th June,” one of the victims told LamToro News. The case was reported to the Busumbala Police Station but the police did not arrest him. One of the victims said the police later came to his house the following day but did not meet him.
The victims were supposed to attend the International Junkanoo Festival of Tourism and Culture in Canada which was scheduled to take place from 23rd – 29th June 2025.
Our investigations revealed that Manjang Cham scammed over 40 people. The victims recently created a WhatsApp group where several revelations were made against Cham. Some of the victims who spoke to LamToro News accused one Baa Lamin Jabbi, a native of Brikama as an accomplice of Cham. The victims claimed they were introduced to Cham by Baa Lamin Jabbi. “When we first contacted Cham, he referred us to Baa Lamin and later received us at his home. At our second meeting, he received us a Global Link Office around Westfield,” said a victim.
Another victim said: “We gave him physical cash of D50,000 dalasis as an advanced payment in the presence of his family and our family members who escorted us.”
When contacted to clarify his involvement, Baa Lamin Jabbi said he was introduced to Manjang Cham by a neighbour. He denied the allegations and claimed that he is also a victim. Jabbi disclosed that he gave 150,000 dalasis for his travel visa since last year but to no avail.
Serious allegations are hanging on Manjang Cham’s head. Victims claimed they offered him money, car, landed property and one of the victims (name withheld) even dug a borehole for him near his compound. All the monies and properties involved worth millions of dalasis.
Our investigations revealed the following amounts of money paid to Manjang Cham;
#One the victims (name withheld) paid D1M (One Million dalasis ) cash in different instalments for four of his family members.
#Yaya MS Barry paid D150,000
#Modou Lamin Sanyang paid D100,000
#Bubacarr Bayo paid D100,000
#Bubacarr Darboe paid D100,000
#Ebrima Kujabi paid D50,000
#Khazaly Hydara paid D50,000
#Baa Lamin Jabbi paid D150,000
Another victim (anonymous) paid over D600,000 (six hundred thousand dalasis), and a young lady (name withheld) also paid D165,000 (one hundred and sixty five thousand dalasis).
“Most of us don’t receive our monies back and our passports are with him. We are so many that we don’t even each other and we don’t know the exact number of victims,” said an angry victim.
LamToro News investigated the case and was reliably informed that Manjang Cham registered an organisation called CEO of Sene-Gambia Diaspora for Trade & Investment Promotion Ltd. He is allegedly using this organisation and hiding behind the National Centre for Arts and Culture (NCAC) to do his dubious activities and scamming people with the pretext of providing visas for them to travel abroad especially during festivals.
Manjang Cham became an Executive member of the WJFTC through the Toronto-based Ghanaian Vincent K. Boakye. Mr. Boakye is a Tourism Policy Analyst, Heritage & Cultural Events Planner, International Climate & Tourism Partner, and an Entrepreneur. He serves as the Chief Executive Officer of WJFTC.
LamToro News has been reliably informed that Manjang Cham met Vincent K. Boakye , during a festival held over a year ago in The Gambia. He was invited to the said festival by the NCAC.
A victim informed this medium that, “the NCAC came with the Junkanoo Festival initiative and decided to take a so-called independent person to participate in it instead of taking the lead as a national institution. Now here is the result of their laziness and corruption. This man is supported by the NCAC and he is even given Note Verbale from the Foreign Affairs Ministry of The Gambia. What a shame?”
“The NCAC and the Ministry of Tourism and Culture too are giving Cham relevance, and they are now trying to run away from him,” said a source. Another source who is also a victim, disclosed that Manjang Cham took money from some people and included them in the travel list of a popular Gambian local rapper (name withheld) to Spain sometime last year and they never returned.
LamToro News contacted Manjang Cham but he refused to pick his phone. We sent him messages about the incident and sought his reaction, but he didn’t respond. However, further investigations revealed that Cham claimed in some quarters that he was manhandled by victims who stormed his home. He also claimed elsewhere that he was online having a meeting on that faithful day with Sanna Jarjue of the NCAC and Vincent K. Boakye, the Canadian -based Ghanaian. Cham is still in hiding and refused to talk the media and his victims.
When contacted to shed light on this case, the Police PRO ASP Modou Musa Sisawo said he will find out if the case reached the police. Until the time of publication, he could not get back to us.
LamToro News will follow up details surrounding this case and will give more updates in the coming days.
