Foroyaa Newspaper Burning Issue
Issue No.92/2006, 27-29 October, 2006
Editorial
ETI NDANAAN VS FOROYAA
THE BEAUTY OF RESPECT FOR FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION
Truth is foundation for peace, justice and development. Where there is no
truth there is no justice. Where there is no justice there is no peace. Where
there is no peace there can be no development. This is why all programmes on
radio and TV should be geared towards promoting the dissemination of truth.
Such truth will bring the Gambian people together so that they can coexist in
peace. Such coexistence in peace irrespective of political, tribal, religious
and other diversity will enable us to guide our collective destiny towards our
collective liberty and prosperity.
The sad thing about Eti Ndanaan is that they started to promote for the
establishment of a one party state by calling on Gambians to create an opposition
free National Assembly. This is a tragedy for any nation in this era when
the whole world is moving towards the creation of parliaments that can serve as
effective oversight to check the wrong doings and excesses of government.
There is nothing wrong with Eti Ndanaan using airtime to educate Gambians on
their rights to select their leaders at all levels under a climate of peace and
respect.
However, they were entirely wrong to use airtime to promote the election of
the candidates of a single party. This is what Foroyaa objected to and will
continue to object to.
However, the Eti Ndanaan team preferred to ignore this simple issue and went
to Ocean Bay Hotel to hold a programme to insinuate that some people were
trying to discourage them from showing the development projects in the country.
It is very important for the people to be shown the development projects in
the country. In fact there is a project monitoring committee at the National
Assembly led by the APRC Majority Leader. If Eti Ndanaan wants to help the
Gambian people to monitor projects they will appreciate it. This is what is
called social auditing. In fact, Eti Ndanaan did not go very far in helping the
people to understand the true nature of the investment in Ocean Bay Hotel. We
hope that they will start talking to the stakeholders. For example, they
should have spoken to the Managing Director of Social Security to see how they
get money and how much they have invested to purchase and refurbish Ocean Bay.
They should have spoken to the contractors and go room after room for them
to show how they spent 300 million dalasis to refurbish Ocean Bay and what was
done with the materials they found there before refurbishing it. They should
then talk to the management to find out how much Ocean Bay gets annually as
profit and how much they pay back to Social Security as dividend. They should
show how the hotel intends to pay back the pension money of the workers that
has been used to purchase and refurbish it. Foroyaa hope that Eti Ndanaan
group will understand the issues involved before engaging in a one sided
debate. The issue is that money has been taken from the fund of the workers
deposited with Social Security to buy and refurbish Ocean Bay Hotel. If the 345
million dalasis is not paid back with speed some workers will one day go for
their claims and will not get their money. Hence while it is good to own a hotel
one must ask whether that was the most efficient way of investing the workers
money. The arrangement is that if one is given the choice to invest 345
million dalasis to purchase groundnuts and receive the sum back in a year to
invest it to purchase a hotel which may take a decade to get back the investment,
what would you do?
Development is about priorities. The debate is not whether ownership of a
hotel is good or not. On the contrary, what is of concern is the wisdom of
investing the workers’ money in areas, which takes a long time to get returns.
Where is Senegambia Beach Hotel? It was partly owned by government. Now all the
shares are sold.
Finally, we wish to call on the team to bear in mind that Eti Ndanaan is
listened to by our neighbours. It should not be a hostage to backbiting,
bickering and mediocrity. One of the participants went as far as to narrate the
history of the creation of dogs. He spoke a language that only dogs can
comprehend. I hope the GRTS management would advice such people to know that they are
talking to Imams and priests as well as their children.
Notwithstanding, the viewers of Eti Ndanaan should also bear in mind that
people who speak over the media are brought up in different ways. Some have
learnt the language of the beach and others the street. There are also languages
of saints, philosophers and sages. Each is entitled to his or her language.
None should be offended when some really show the type of environment they
were brought up in by their language.
BUNJA DARBOE AND CO
Wife and Doctor Testify
By Fabakary B. Ceesay and Abdoulie Dibba
Mariama Bah, the wife of Captain Yaya Darboe, has testified in the ongoing
court martial at the Yundum Barracks on Saturday 21st October 2006.
Mrs. Darboe told the court that when she first visited her husband after he
was arrested, she found him with a swollen face. She said she then requested
for Yaya to be taken to the hospital. She said there is a medic officer of
Mile (2) called Wharf who told her that there was a vehicle to take Yaya for
treatment but it does not have fuel. She said, she told Wharf that she could
fuel the transport. She added that she was given a date. “On that particular
date, I met Wharf at the gate and I gave him one hundred and fifty dalasis
(D150),” she said. She noted that she then boarded a taxi to Serrekunda Health
Centre. She said she was later asked by Wharf that she should buy two (2)
lenses for her husband, (short sighted lens and a distance one). She pointed out
that she was then asked to pay one thousand nine hundred dalasis (D1,900) for
the two lenses. She asserted that after paying the amount, she requested for
a receipt, but Wharf told her she will be provided with a receipt later. She
lamented that she never rested the receipt issue but Wharf always advised
her that it will be made available to her later, which has never been the case.
She added that she even reported the matter to her husband (Yaya) who
advised her to take it easy with them. She said she had never received any receipt
from anybody concerning the lens.
CROSS EXAMINATION BY DPP FAGBENLE
Fagnbele asked the witness whether Yaya told her that he had made a
confession about the foiled coup and that whether Captain Yaya had hidden certain
things from her. She said that since their marriage seven (7) years ago, that
Yaya never hid anything from her and he never informed her about any
confessionary statement. Fagnbele asked her whether Yaya told her anything that
happened to him after his arrest. She replied that when Yaya tried to explain how he
sustained the swollen eye, they all cried together and Yaya told her to
leave everything in God’s hand. She said she later left due to the time factor
given to her. Fagbenle told her that, she was just trying to favour Captain
Yaya. Mariama said, “I am not lying because I am fasting.”
TESTIMONY OF THE MEDICAL OFFICER
Testifying before the court Martial on Thursday, a Medical Officer told the
court that she is working at the Royal Victoria Teaching Hospital under the
Eye Department. She acknowledged receiving a summon from the court that
morning and that she was required by the summon to bring the medical report of one
Yahya Darboe. The Medical Officer recalled meeting Yahya Darboe on the 21st
of April at the Royal Victoria Teaching Hospital and that as a patient, Yahya
complained of pain on his left-eye due to trauma he sustained. The Medical
Officer acknowledged that Yahya’s left eye was red, the left eye-lid was torn
and the pupil of the left-eye was large as a result of the torn on the eye-lid.
She told the court that she is the head of the Eye Department and that they
recorded the complaint lodged by the patient, their findings after the
examination of the patient, the treatment and finally the progress of the patient.
She acknowledged having the record of Yahya Darboe in court. She
acknowledged that after the examination of Yahya’s vision, they discovered that, he has
a poor vision on his left eye’ “6/60 on our terms.” She explained. She
pointed out that they treated the eye to improve but not the lens of the left-eye.
So, we recommended glasses to improve Yahya’s left-eye’s vision. At this
stage Counsel Borry Touray applied to tender the Medical Report of Yahya
Darboe. However, the Acting DPP Fagbenle objected to the tendering of the report on
basis that the proper foundation for the tendering has not been laid. In his
ruling, Justice Agim ruled that the report be admitted as exhibit. During
cross examination, the Medical Officer said that she has been working with the
Royal Victoria Teaching Hospital for eleven months now. She told the court
that it is not correct to say that she does not prepare the report. She admitted
that she does not write the report but that she prepared it. She
acknowledged seeing many of such patients. There was no re-examination.
RAMZIA DIAB ARRESTED
By Abdoulie G. Dibba
Information reaching Foroyaa have it that the former nominated National
Assembly Member, Ramzia Diab has been arrested at her residence in Manjai Kunda
on Wednesday by plain cloth officers. When this reporter visited Ramzia Diab’s
residence on Thursday, a family member confirmed the arrest and detention of
Ramzia, but declined to comment on the matter. The former National Assembly
Member was arrested and detained after the foiled coup plot in March.
DARBOE CRITICISES CHIEF JUSTICE
Bubacarr K. Sowe and Modou Jonga
Ousainou Darboe, the leader of the United Democratic Party (UDP) has said
that the Chief Justice Abdou Karim Savage is either ignorant of the law, or
disregarded it or he has an extraneous reason for striking out his party’s
election petition.
Addressing a news conference in Banjul on Thursday, Mr. Darboe said that his
case was set for mention and not hearing.
He said he was not served on time. “You cannot strike out a case for lack of
diligent prosecution, claiming to be sitting on an interlocutory application,
” Darboe said.
He added that a panel of five judges needs to sit at the Supreme Court,
unless when it is an interlocutory application, where a single judge sits.
“What has happened is undermining and eroding the confidence the people
should have in the judiciary. This country is in a very sad moment, because a
judge should not know the law and disregard it,” he said.
He continued: “It is either the judge was ignorant of the law or he knows
the law and disregarded it or has some other extraneous reasons. I want to say
from here that the reference to the matter being involving the President is
one of the reasons.”
He also said that his lawyer withdrew from the case.
GPTC MD DECLINES TO COMMENT
By Yaya Dampha
Modou Jagne, the Managing Director of Gambia Public Transport Corporation
(GPTC), has declined to comment on allegations levelled against him by some of
his staff. This reporter approached him on Wednesday 25th October, 2006 in
order to get his reaction on an article that was published by Foroyaa.
Readers could recall that Lawyer Edu Gomez had written to the Editors to
question the motive for the publication and asked for an apology. The Editors
conducted investigation and asked me to go back to Mr. Jagne to enable him to
express his opinion for publication.
The information published was written by me as allegations from his staff
after making genuine attempts to talk to Mr. Jagne without success. The fact
that his deputy wrote to indicate that he had spoken to me should confirm to my
editor that I made genuine attempts to talk to him in good faith. I don’t
know why he does not want to talk to me in good faith so that the truth is
known. I have tried before publication just as I have tried to talk to him now.
Maybe the editors can send another reporter to confirm whether Mr. Jagne is
willing to talk or not.
Editors
The reputation of Foroyaa is primary. The paper has zero tolerance for
tribalism, nepotism, witch hunting and sensationalism. It aims to publish the
truth in good faith in the public interest. The paper is open to rejoinders to
clarify issues. It is also ready to send reporters to enable anyone to clarify
any issue. We hope that we have responded as responsible editors by taking
the reporter to task, raising doubts regarding the report and giving the
aggrieved party a chance to clarify issues. Mr. Jagne has the right to reply and an
opportunity to even question the professionalism of any of our reporters.
This will help us to give any faulty party better training.
NADD FLAG-BEARER ON THE ELECTION
PART 6
Why is it necessary for me to ask Gambians what type of sons and daughters
they want at this very juncture of our political history, that is, 46 years
after the introduction of universal suffrage, 41 years after the formal
declaration of independence and 36 years after the proclamation of the Republican
status of The Gambia?
The reason for this is very simple. The result of the 2006 Presidential
elections reveals a mixture of crying contradictions. First and foremost, the
election itself is one of the pillars of our Republican existence.
In short it signifies that each Gambian voter is a sovereign person who has
the absolute authority to play an equal part in determining who governs the
sovereign Republic of The Gambia.
Chapter 1 section 1 subsection (2) of the Constitution of The Gambia
captures this power of the Gambian voters in the following words “The sovereignty
of The Gambia resides in the people of The Gambia from whom all organs of
govern derive their authority and in whose name and for whose welfare and
prosperity the powers of the government are to be exercised……….”
Each sovereign Gambian is therefore a building block of the Sovereign People
of The Gambia. He or she should have a national consciousness determined by
his/her realization of being a Gambian social being.
In short, nationhood presupposes a national identity. This national identity
emerges from national consciousness. Universal suffrage emerged to give each
Gambian a vote to enable the collective will of Gambians to be expressed
periodically in order to guide the collective destiny of the Gambian people. It
means that each Gambian is empowered to vote not because one is a member of a
family, tribe, ethnic group or religion but because one is a citizen of the
nation. In a word, one is entitled to represent or be represented because one
is a citizen of the nation.
Hence one should not ask to represent or be represented on the basis of
family, tribal ethnic or religious ties. Hence the type of son and daughter that
the sovereign Gambian people should want is one with a national identity and
national consciousness, one who is free from nepotism, tribalism, religious
bigotry or prejudices and has developed virtues, values and attitudes that
enable all to take pride in having him or her as the prime decision maker
capable of steering our state towards the shores of liberty and prosperity.
In my view during the 2006 Presidential election, each sovereign Gambian has
listen to the words and are fully aware of the deeds of the Presidential
candidates. 277, 651 voters decided to abstain from voting. Does this mean that
none of the candidates conveyed messages that could promote the liberty and
prosperity of the people or had the credibility to be worthy of trust. Does
this means that all the candidates were disliked by the people? Why did they
abstain?
Secondly, I received the least votes. Does this mean that the message I
delivered was inferior to that of the rest or that I was rated the least credible
among the candidates or that I was the least loved?
I kept on asking people these three fundamental questions and I kept on
receiving answers that are diametrically opposed to the conclusions that the
results permit one to draw. People keep on telling me that my messages were
superb and that I stand unassailable in credibility; that many people have
affection for my type of politics. Do you now see why I assert that the results of
the 2006 election reveals crying contradictions that needs to be unraveled if
one is to separate the grain from the chaff and map out a realistic way
forward.
Let me take Serrekunda Central which I represent in the National Assembly as
seating MP, as a case study to unravel the contradictions in Gambian
politics.
The history of parliamentary elections since the birth of AFPRC/APRC regime
reveals the following facts that I can draw lessons from.
In short, in 1997 Serrekunda Central was part of Serrekunda East. I stood as
a candidate for the Serrekunda East Constituency seat and had 8,528 votes,
UDP had 8, 067 votes and APRC had 9, 575 votes.
In 2002 Serrekunda Central Constituency did feature as a seat in the
National Assembly seat. I stood against the APRC. The UDP boycotted the election. I
came up with 5,583 votes. The APRC candidate had 5, 143 votes. I occupied the
seat.
In 2005, the seat was declared vacant. I contested under NADD in a by
election held in September 2005. All parties were then part of NADD. I had 5,911
votes. The APRC had 3,984 votes. I occupied the seat again. In 2006 I stood as
a Presidential candidate. As far as Serrekunda Central is concerned I had
2,142. Ousainou Darboe had 4,908 and Yahya Jammeh had 11,395. How are these
results to be interpreted? Does it mean that the messages of the two other
candidates were considered by the people in Serrekunda Central to be more
convincing than my own message? Are they more credible than me? Do they appreciate the
other two candidates more than me?
I have posed these questions to many voters in my constituency and their
answer to all these question is in the negative. Am I speaking to the wrong
people? Can those who have affirmative answers write in the press or send word
to me somehow. If reasonable people are of the view that my message was not
the least convincing; that I was not the least credible and that I was not the
least loved then common sense must beg the question: What grounds did the
people rely on to vote or boycott the election.
A clear explanation is necessary to enable people to assist me to determine
my present political weight and future political fate.
A close study of the history of Presidential and parliamentary elections in
Wuli provided me with the indication of what may have actually happened in
Serrekunda Central.
In 1996, the results of the Presidential election in Wuli Sidia Jatta, my
colleague behind Jammeh for the APRC and Darboe for the UDP.
However, when it came to the parliamentary elections, UDP’s Alhamdu Conteh
had 1,098 votes, APRC had 4,641 and Sidia Jatta had 5,499 votes.
In short, the voters of Wuli rejected Sidia’s candidature as a Presidential
candidate in 1996 and fovoured his candidature as a National Member over the
APRC and UDP candidate in 1997.
This repeated itself in 2001/2002. In 2001 Sidia again stood as our
Presidential candidate. In Wuli West he had the following votes: Sidia had 1,790,
Darboe had 2,553 and Jammeh had 2,174 respectively.
However when it came to the parliamentary election Sidia stood in Wuli West.
The UDP boycotted the elections. Sidia had 3,405. The APRC candidate had
3,056 votes. During the September 2005 by election Sidia had 3,430 while APRC
had 2,659 votes.
Two fundamental lessons can be drawn from the Wuli experience.
It confirms that from 1996 to 2002 the voters in Wuli subscribed to the
slogan “Darboe for President , Sidia for parliament.” Hence their reason for not
voting for Sidia during the Presidential election cannot be attributed to
lack of credibility either of his person or message but because of the
circumstantial preferences of the voter at the time.
Could we say that what is true for Wuli is also true for Serrekunda Central?
I will come to this later.
The second fundamental lesson is that Wuli, the farthest territory from the
coast on the North Bank of the Gambia has always proven to be a pace setter
in Gambian politics, thanks to its vigorous grass root political organisations
and their vibrant civic education culture.
In short, the trend for supporting Darboe and UDP in Presidential elections
and Sidia in National Assembly elections has changed.
In both the by election of September 2005 and the Presidential election in
2006 Wuli has accepted NADD as its major opposition party. NADD had more votes
than UDP in both Wuli West and East.
Hence Wuli has now distinguished itself as the bridge head for the political
transformation of The Gambia.
The question however arises: What is my political weight and fate in Serreku
nda Central? I certainly will not dismiss the incalculable loss in political
weight in the Presidential election and simply prophesy victory in the
forthcoming parliamentary elections. I want to be sure of my political relevance in
present day Gambian political climate. There is no doubt that both Darboe
and my very self need to interrogate the facts and come up with irrefutable
answers.
In short, how can one explain the difference between 5,911 votes I had
during the by election in 2005 and the 2182 I had in the 2006Presidential election
in Serrekunda Central? In the same vein, how can one explain the drop in
Darboe’s votes as a Presidential candidate from 7,764 in the 2001 election to
4,908 votes in 2006.
In my case, the revelations are becoming pervasive. Take the example of a
young boy who lives in the neighbourhood where I have my office. Most of these
families draw water from our office tap. Their children study IT free of
charge from the centre. Their little children benefit from our recreational
services. They benefit from our counseling. When he came to our office with an
APRC T-shirt he was asked jokingly whether he had abandoned NADD for the APRC.
He explained in an innocent manner that his father and mother have promised
that they will vote for APRC for the Presidency and for me for the National
Assembly. He added that his parents think that I will make a good President in
the future. The mentality of pushing my votes to the future is ironically
corroborated by a NADD polling agent in Banjul who came to me after the election
to say that before he was approached to be a polling agent he had given his
word to Marie Dalia, an APRC councillor and mobiliser that he will vote for
Yahya in this election for the last time but will become committed to NADD from
henceforth. I mention the name to give authenticity to the story. Amazing
honesty and political innocence, isn’t it?
The third scenario is the case of a visually impaired young man in
Serrekunda Central who told me that he could not understand some of his peers who
tried to convince him that he should vote for Darboe for the presidential
election and for Halifa for national Assembly. He indicated that when he argued that
they should vote on the basis of the messages they have heard and the
credibility of the candidates they scolded him of being a NADD fanatic. He lamented
that some people in the constituency were fanatically being motivated to
vote on the basis of tribe. He said he has warned his peers that they were
making a terrible mistake in allowing some people to mobilize them on the basis of
tribe.
Another case study is that of a supporter of NADD who came to the
headquarters to explain that some people who wanted to vote for NADD told him that they
will vote for the UDP after they saw their convoy from Brikama. Unlike the
UDP who stayed in Brikama to organize a big convoy to enter the KMC area NADD
was met by a big crowd in Brikama but did not see the merit of staying in
Brikama because of the rain and mobilised a huge force from KMC and Western
division to enter the KMC the following day.
Hence NADD’s political weight could not be seen in the Western Division and
KMC area. What is evident from the results of the election in Serrekunda
Central is that crowds during rallies are not automatically translated into votes.
In short, the UDP had one of its biggest meetings in Serrekunda Central but
Darboe’s vote went down by more than 2800 votes in 2006 when compared to the
2001 Presidential elections. In spite of this fact, the lesson is however
clear that the size of crowds are ways and means of convincing some voters that
a particular party or candidate is going to win. The desire to be on the
winning side can lead them to shift loyalty.
What then are the lessons to be drawn from the studies and from the focus
group discussions I held with people to explain why NADD had the votes it had.
What is my decision? What is the decision of the NADD? What is the way
forward for the opposition in The Gambia?
IRREGULARITIES DURING POLLING
By Joseph Sirjo
As the people of this nation exercise their right again by going to the
polls to select a leader who will be entrusted with the affairs of the nation for
the next five years, there have been irregularities in some parts of the
country that have marred the process. This reporter visited four polling
stations to gather information in the national interest. At polling station B83A at
Serrekunda School he met representatives of various parties and asked them if
the polls went on well. The NADD agent immediately began by spelling out her
objection why the APRC polling agents were being allowed by the IEC
officials to have a list which was referred to as a supplementary list. According to
her the APRC agents used this so called supplementary list to fish out names
that did not appear in the main register. She claimed that one hundred and
six (106) people were allowed to vote through their supplementary list. Another
lady by the name Oumo at B83 polling station also at Serrekunda Lower Basic
School, who also questioned the legality of the supplementary list by the
APRC agents there, noted that one hundred and fifty (150 people were also
allowed to vote through this paper.
Another issue, which they described as total disregard for the electoral
laws, is the presence of the Alkalo of Serrekunda, Seedy Jobe, and other Yai
compins at the Serrekunda School premises which had two polling stations. The
agents described this as an act to influence voters. The IEC officials whom
this reporter managed to speak to declined to give any information, noting they
were not mandated to talk to the press.
At B85A polling station where former plaza cinema was locked the party
agents where seen boarding a vehicle different from the one carrying their ballot
boxes.
At Kololi, the Alkalo was seen camping not more than two hundred metres away
from a polling station brewing “ataya.” As voters passed him he bombarded
them with greetings and told them in Mandinka and Wollof that they should put
it right inside. The agents allege that these actions of the Alkalo and his
associates contravened the election laws. Reports have it that at another
polling station Rasta Garden, Kololi at where there was no NADD representative
numerous of soldiers were seen around the vicinity and inside the polling
stations were they were met by other people and a quarrel broke out. The people
this reporter spoke to complained bitterly, describing the soldiers’ presence
as “an intent to harass and intimidate voters.
Other things this reporter sighted in most polling stations he visited were
the high number of voter apathy and the presence of “ill experienced”
polling agents for the various parties especially that of NADD and the UDP/NRP/GPDP.
At the Serrekunda East Mini Stadium where the IEC had one of its counting
centres and Serrekunda West a lot of discontentment was manifested due to the
presence of security personnel in very large numbers on every nearby street.
Another thing was the lack of proper mobility for the IEC. Binta Colley, an
Agent of NADD at B104 polling station Kololi Mosque A said they were left all
by themselves until she had to call the IEC office to ‘remind them to come and
pick them up as it was three hours since the official closing time and they
were still not picked up.” She said they were picked up at 12 midnight.
Mr. LB. Bojang, an IEC presiding officer at Serrekunda East Mini Stadium
harped on the commission’s unreliability and urged it to fulfill its promise to
pay each officer on time instead of asking them to wait until the following
day. Another officer who spoke on anonymity said they were contracted for four
days at a tune of 150 dalasis per day and 125 for assistant presiding
officers “but now that it is time for us to be paid they have started telling us
all sorts of stories.”
This reporter contacted the IEC for their reaction. However, the Chief
Electoral Officer declined to comment, noting that this happened a month ago.
REPORTER’S CASE SUFFER ANOTHER SETBACK
By Sarjo Camara Singhateh
The criminal case involving Lamin Fatty and the state is deferred by the
Kanifing Magistrate Court. Lamin Fatty of the Independent Newspaper is charged
with false publication by the state.
The case was not called on Wednesday despite the fact that Lamin Fatty was
in court.
Fatty was arrested and detained at the NIA headquarters in Banjul shortly
after the foiled coup plot.
COUNCILOR JATTA STILL DETAINED
By Fabakary B. Ceesay
“Ousman Jatta, alias Rambo, is still in detention,” said Dudu Kassa Jaata
(the brother of the detainee). “He was recently granted bail by Justice
Monageng of the Banjul High court, but he is still detained,” claimed Kassa.
According to Kassa, the Attorney General’s Chambers and the Department of
State for Interior were all served with the court’s order. Kassa said members
of the Jatta kunda clan are very concerned about the whereabouts of Ousman
Jatta. “They are concerned about his health condition,” Kassa said. Ousman’s
health may debilitate, if he is detained in a poor condition. Kassa added that,
Rambo is a responsible person and a family man, “a legitimately elected
councilor of Bakau Ward.”
TREASON TRIAL DEFERRED
DUE TO UNAVAILABILITY OF RECORDS
By Bubacarr K. Sowe
The treason trial involving Tamsir Jassey, Alieu Jobe, Omar Keita and Hon.
Demba Dem was on Wednesday adjourned by the High Court till the 1st Of
November.
The Presiding Judge, Justice Avril Anin-Yaboah said the records of the
proceedings are not available to the defence counsels and so deferred the trial.
However, in a previous hearing, one of the defence counsels objected to the
continuation of the trial on grounds that the testimony of the first
Prosecution witness, Capt. Seckan was not available to them.
It could be recall that two of the defence counsels, Lamin S. Camara and
Lamin Jobarteh withdrew from the case when it was being presided over by Justice
Agim. The duo have announced re-representation for their clients.
The quartets are standing trial for their alleged involvement in the March
21st abortive Coup d’etat.
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