A father in Kololi has denied receiving more than D170,000 from a young man who wanted to marry his daughter, despite confirming that the young man had expressed interest in marrying her.
Speaking to What’s On-Gambia, the young man alleged that he had known the girl since childhood, when they lived in the same neighbourhood.
He said they later bumped into each other in Tanji, where the girl recognised him. The two exchanged greetings, had a brief conversation and subsequently exchanged phone numbers.
According to the young man, the girl later asked whether he would be interested in marrying her. He said he told her that he was already married but would not mind taking her as a second wife.
He claimed that the girl subsequently introduced him to her father in Kololi, where he formally expressed his intention to marry her.
“He said I was the first man his daughter had brought home with the intention of marriage, and he gave his approval,” the young man claimed.
He further alleged that the father asked them to begin preparations for the marriage, after which he started providing financial support to both the girl and her father.
“I was giving the girl D400 every week, and I was also sending money to her father regularly,” he said.
The young man claimed that he continued supporting them for nearly a year, but the father failed to set a date for the marriage. He said he eventually began questioning the delay, which allegedly angered the father, who subsequently blocked him on WhatsApp.
When contacted by What’s On-Gambia, the father confirmed that the young man had expressed interest in marrying his daughter and that he had initially been willing to give her to him in marriage.
However, he said he later changed his mind because the young man failed to send an elderly person or family representative to formally approach him regarding the marriage.