Ex-Agriculture Permanent Secretaries' Trial Resumes

The trial of Dr. Badara Loum and Suruwa Jaiteh resumed on Tuesday at the Banjul High Court before Justice Yemoa yesterday.

At the hearing the state informed the court that they were still yet to ascertain the amount recovered, as the investigators only informed the prosecution that they recovered a certain amount of the money. Justice Yemoa thereupon reminded the prosecution that the same story was put forward on the previous sitting on the case.

The defence counsel, Lawyer Lamin Camara, agreed with the court that the state could not keep telling the court the same story, arguing that the matter had to come to an end, as it could not continue holding the accused persons.

It could be recalled that the accused Dr. Badara Loum and Suruwa Jaiteh were charged with Economic crimes.

The particulars of the offence revealed that Dr. Badara Loum and Suruwa Jaiteh as Permanent Secretaries of the Department of State for Agriculture, between the months of April 2005 and December 2006, being the accounting officers thereof and entrusted with the responsibility of distributing and selling 47,775 metric tones of NPK and 2,229 metric tones of Urea fertilizer valued at D51,480,100 willfully or by omission, or recklessly handled same and thereby caused loss to the government of The Gambia to the tune of  D6,340,845.00.The case was adjourned to 15th May 2008.