(Friday, 31 October 2014 Issue)
The trial
involving the jailed former Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Lamin AMS
Jobarteh, yesterday proceeded at the Banjul Magistrates’ Court before
Magistrate Jacklin Hackim.
Yesterday’s proceedings saw the testimony of the second prosecution witness, Karafa Sanneh, who told the court that after meeting with the accused person he gave him another appointment to see what he could do regarding the case, either to withdraw or proceed with the case.
He said when he met with the accused person for the second appointment, he asked him why his case was not proceeding,but the accused person told him that Sheriff Tambedou and Muhammed Kebbeh hadspoken to him and still requested him to drop the charges and discharge the accused person.
The accused person told him that Muhammed Kebbeh and Sheriff Tambedou had confessed to him that they wanted the case to be dropped.
However, defence counselBorry Tourayraised an objection and told the court that what the witness was saying was “hearsay”.
In response, state counsel Abdourahaman Bah told the court that the defence counsel’s objection was misconceived, and that the confession of the accused person to the witness was not “hearsay”.
The prosecution could not lead the evidence without the witness, so if the defence counsel was saying it was a “hearsay”, who would be there to clear this doubt? the prosecutor asked.
The case was adjourned to 6November 2014, for ruling on this matter.
It wouldbe recalled that Jobarteh was accused in count one that in May 2012, at the Ministry of Justice in Banjul within the jurisdiction of the court, whilst being employed as the Attorney General and Minister of Justice, he acted in excess of his office and instructed Miss Anna Dibba, the state counsel at the Special Litigation Department, to effect a withdrawal of a legal suit in the State versus Muhammed Kebbeh and Alhagie Ash John, that was before the Banjul Magistrates’ Court, and thereby committed an offence.
In count two, Lamin AMS Jobarteh was accused that sometime in May 2012, he obtained a case file in the State versus Muhammed Kebbeh and Alhagie Ash John from Anna Dibba, at the Special Litigation Department in the Ministry of Justice, and willfully destroyed same with intent to preventing it from being used in further proceedings, and thereby committed an offence.
