The
lower court in Banjul presided over by principal magistrate Momodou S. Jallow
Tuesday announced that the judgment on the trial of the former Secretary
General, Head of the Civil Service and Minister of Presidential Affairs, Dr
Njogu L. Bah, was not ready.
The judgment, expected on Tuesday 21 July 2015, was then deferred to be delivered on 3 August 2015.
Dr Bah was being tried for the offence of abuse of office, and the prosecution called several witnesses in support of their case.
When the case was called in court, the trial magistrate told the court that the judgment was not ready.
Dr Bah is currently serving a two-year jail term after he was convicted by the Special Criminal Court on charges of conspiracy and abuse of office, alongside the former Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Lamin AMS Jobarteh, and former Solicitor General, Pa Harry Jammeh. n The trial at the lower court, which lasted for nearly two years, has seen the state call several witnesses to prove their case beyond all reasonable doubt, including the then permanent secretary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Yusupha Dibba.
The case, which attracted public attention, had also witnessed several setbacks during the trial proper, especially during the cross-examination by defence counsel L.K. Mboge and state counsel Mansour Jobe.
The charge sheet presented in court stated that Dr Njogu Bah, sometime in June 2013 at the State House in Banjul, abused the authority of his office as Secretary General and Head of the Civil Service, by interfering with the recommendation and posting of Ms Jainaba Jobarteh to The Gambia’s permanent mission at the United Nations in New York, without following the proper procedure of nomination, and thereby committed an offence.
