In his testimony, Dr. Taal told the court that he was a part
time Lecturer at the
"I used to work at the Daily Observer as Managing Director up to November 2007. I know the accused," he added.
Furnishing details of his responsibilities at his former
post, Dr. Taal said:" My Job entailed the management of the paper, both
financial management, personnel management and also the content. The Managing
Director is responsible for the publication of all stories," he stated, noting
that he could recall having been to cover a story at Kanilai on
He revealed that he then asked Mr Darboe to ring the accused so that they could have more information on the story, but the call couldn't go through.
"At the time I received the text, the accused was working as the Director of Press at the office of the President," Dr. Taal adduced, adding that he then decided to publish the story because he felt it was news worthy.
Dr. Taal went on to explain the mode of Daily Observer's receipt and publication of stories emanating from
State House. "Considering the privileged position the Daily Observer holds with the office of the president we sometimes
received information in the form of fax, E-mail and sometimes the physical
presence of the person bringing the news in the case where we cannot cover the
story ourselves," he said, noting that the story was published on the following
day,
The relevant Daily
Observer issue was later tendered in court as exhibit before the case was
adjourned to
