The
Truth, Reconciliation and Reparations Commission (TRRC) has argued that it had
sent a representative who was present in Court during Monday’s hearing of
former 1994 junta member Yankuba Touray.
“It
is sufficient in this particular instance that an authorized official of the
TRRC was present in Court in pursuance of the Summons to Produce Documents. One
of its representative present takes note that on the 4th November 2019, during
the Yankuba Touray Trial, Counsel for Mr. Yankuba Touray requested that the
Court issue a Bench Warrant against the Executive Secretary of the Commission
Dr. Baba Galleh Jallow, for failing to appear and present certain documents
requested by the Defence,” the Commission’s secretariat said.
On
Monday, Mr Touray’s Defense Counsel Abdoulie Sissoho, urged Justice Ebrima
Jaiteh at the High Court in Banjul to issue a bench warrant for the arrest of
the Commission’s Executive Secretary, for failing to appear in court.
Counsel
Sissoho told the court that he was making the application following a subpoena,
which was issued pursuant to Section 221 of the Evidence Act. He also stated
that an affidavit of service was served to Baba Galleh Jallow, noting that he
has not appeared in court neither has he informed the court as to why he did
not appear.
But
the Commission said without delving into the merits of the application of the
Defence, the Office of the Lead Counsel of the TRRC wishes to inform the
general public that the TRRC in fact sent a representative who was present in
Court during the hearing. “It is sufficient in this particular instance that an
authorized official of the TRRC was present in Court in pursuance of the
Summons to Produce Documents.
It
said the court was also notified of this fact by the prosecutor in-charge of
the case, saying as such, the TRRC is of the view that the application of the
Defence for a Bench Warrant against Dr. Jallow was unnecessary. “In any case,
Section 25 of the TRRC Act 2017, grants immunity to the Executive Secretary and
other staff of the Commission from civil and criminal proceedings for any act
or omission done in the official performance of their functions. In this
context, a Bench Warrant against the Executive Secretary or any other staff of
the TRRC would be unlawful.”
The
Commission further stated that it wishes to inform the general public that it
will always comply with all lawful orders of the Courts addressed to it,
including orders to produce any documents that it may be lawfully requested to
produce.
“In
this case, the documents that the Executive Secretary of the TRRC was requested
to produce before the court were not produced by the representative of the
Commission because of the arguments between the parties which are yet to be
ruled upon and also the absence of an order by the judge for that person to
take the witness stand and submit the documents to the Court.”
It
further said it wishes to further inform the general public that all the
available materials requested by the Defence to be produced during the hearing were
in fact already provided to Mr. Yankuba Touray as required by the TRRC
Provisional Rules of Procedure. “As such, the submission of the same set of
documents to the Court as requested by the Defence of Mr. Yankuba Touray would
have just amounted to a duplication of the process.”
The
Commission say it was represented in court by an official of the Commission,
who possessed the relevant documents and was available to produce them to the
Court if asked to do so.
