The false information case involving former Youth and Sports permanent secretary, Mambanyick Njie, resumed yesterday at the Banjul Magistrates’ Court before Acting Principal Magistrate Dawda Jallow.
When the case was called, defence counsel A.B. Gaye told the court that there was an argument made before the court regarding certain issues in the case.
When asked whether he was prepared to continue with the cross-examination of the second prosecution witness (PW2) Kemo Ceesay, head of finance at the Gambia Football Association (GFA), counsel Gaye told the court that the adjournment was at the discretion of court not the prosecution, neither the defence.
He then urged the court to grant him an adjournment.
In response, the prosecuting officer, Sergeant Manga, told the court that counsel’s application for an adjournment was not genuine.
He said his witness was coming all the way from Busumbala village in the West Coast Region without the case proceeding.
Your worship, as you may see, he is very patient and the last time he told the court that he should travel out of jurisdiction to attend a conference,” Sgt Manga said.
Delivering his ruling, the trial magistrate told the court that he had listened to the submission of both parties for the adjournment of the case.
He said there was no doubt that the adjournment was at the discretion of the court, pointing out that the prosecution’s concernwas the witness who had been coming to the court frequently without the case proceeding, and raised a concern about his intention to travel out of the jurisdiction.
The trial magistrate further ruled that the court would grant one more adjournment, and asked the defence counsel to prepare to come to court by the next adjournment date.
The case was then adjourned till 29 January 2012, for continuation of the hearing.
The particulars of offence stated that Mambanyick Njie, on 1 March 2012, in Banjul, whilst serving as Permanent Secretary Youths and Sports, wrote a petition to the Office of the President, stating that the ex-Gambia Football Association (GFA) Executives were engaged in malpractices and never gave a thorough account of the imprests given to them for international matches and, therefore, sought approval to dissolve the said GFA Executive, information he knew to be false or did not believe to be true.