Kairaba Shopping Center Boss Arrested for Double Pricing

Photo: Kairaba Shopping Center (credit culled from Facebook)

By Ousman A. Marong

The Gambia Police Force (GPF) have on Monday, confirmed the arrest and detention of Hussein Tajudeen, the CEO of Kairaba Shopping Center. Mr. Tajudeen was arrested on Sunday afternoon for violating the price law by double pricing his commodities for customers.

           

The police spokesman ASP Lamin Njie confirmed reports of the arrest and detention of the Kairaba Shopping Center.

He said: “The Chief Executive Officer of the Kairaba Shopping Center is in the custody of the CID/HQ in Banjul. His arrest is in connection to his company’s double pricing of commodities for their customers during this period of the COVID-19 pandemic,”

And Hussein Tajudeen was the CEO of Tajco Company since its inception in 1993 and his company was the biggest importer of foodstuffs in the country.”

According to the police spokesperson, Tajco Company started falling out with former President in mid-June 2015, when the Office of the President wrote a letter to the company’s lawyers reminding them to wrap up their businesses before being given a thirty-day ultimatum.

He disclosed that the suspect’s siblings were allowed to stay in the county by former president Yahya Jammeh since they were all born and raised in the country.

Since then, he went on, Mr. Tajudeen left the Gambia and had no intention of returning to The Gambia unless if there is a change of regime.

PRO Njie disclosed that a team of police investigators has on Sunday visited Kairaba Shopping Center, following a tip-off that they had that the company is double pricing its goods, despite the presidential declaration. He said the matter will soon be taken to court as charges will be levied against the accused person in due course.

The team went there pretending to do some shopping and subsequently arrested the CEO of the company.

“We are not here to buy, and we are not buying anything. We are on investigation and we have concluded the investigation. We are police officers and you are under arrest. We will shut down the company until the government gives orders for the place to be re-opened period,” a senior police officer was seen in a video that went viral online talking to the CEO of the company.