The court said he should appear to show cause why he should not forfeit the bail bond of D5 million, when he stood as surety for Fatou Camara in her first appearance in court.
This followed the application made by the state counsel for the surety to appear in court to show cause why he should not forfeit the bail bond, after the accused person, Fatou Camara, did not appear in court during yesterday’s hearing of the case.
Fatou Camara, a broadcast journalist, and the host of the famous ‘Fatu Show’, was arraigned before the said court and charged with alleged spreading of false news and publication of false news.
When the case was announced, the state prosecutor, Abdouraham Bah, told the court that the accused was not in court and recalled that the court granted her bail in the sum of D5 million by a surety whose name they did not know, because they did not have the bail bond with them.
“We are, therefore, applying to the court to order the surety to appear in court by the next adjournment date to show cause why he should not forfeit the bail bond to the state,” he said.
In his ruling, the trial magistrate told the court that in the light of the application made by the state counsel, for the accused person’s surety to appear in court, the court would, therefore, order the surety to appear in court by the next adjournment date, to show cause why he should not forfeit the bail bond, since the accused person was not in court.
The case was then adjourned to 5 November 2013, for hearing.
State prosecutors accused Fatou Camara in count one that some time in September 2013 in Banjul and other places in The Gambia, she gave false news through the internet to Pa Nderry Mbai, editor-in-chief of the Freedom Newspaper, which information she knew to be false or incorrect and thereby committed an offence.
Fatou Camara was further accused in count two that some time in September 2013 in Banjul and other places in The Gambia, with intent to tarnish the image of the President of the Republic of The Gambia, she published false news about the President in the Freedom Newspaper and thereby committed an offence.
She had denied the charges.
She was then admitted to bail in the sum of 5 million dalais and to provide one Gambian surety who should depose to an affidavit of means on the above sum.
The surety should also provide a title deed to a property situated within the Greater Banjul Area.
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