The protest leaders of 3 Years Jotna were granted bail on the 24 February 2020 by the Banjul High Court and since then, they have not appeared before the court. They were supposed to appear on the 30th March 2020 but due to Covid-19, the courts were closed.
The accused persons were: Abdou Njie, the chairman of the movement, Ebrima Kitim Jarju, Sheriffo Sonko, Hagi Suwaneh (the spokesperson), Fanta Mballow, Karim Touray, Yankuba Darboe (alias Yanks Darboe and Muctarr Ceesay.
These people were arrested on the 26th January 2020 following their protest in which they demanded President Adama Barrow to resign from office by honouring his campaign promise to serve only three years.
The protesters took the street demanding for his resignation but eventually got arrested after the protest turned violent.
Each of the accused persons were asked to bring two Gambian sureties who shall deposit their national documents and signed a bail bond of D200,000.
The Point has been reliably informed that the matter will be coming after Tobaski.
The accused persons were first arraigned at the Kanifing Magistrate’s Court on the 29th January on three criminal counts, namely: unlawful assembly, rioting after proclamation and rioters demolishing structures. The matter was transferred to the High Court because the lower court lacked the jurisdiction to hear the case.
The first charge was unlawful assembly, the accused persons are alleged to have jointly and unlawfully taken part in an unlawful assembly on the 26th January 2020.
The second charge was rioting after proclamation, the accused persons are alleged to have continued with their protest by disregarding the proclamation made by Deputy Superintendent of Police Alagie Jallow in the name of the President of the Republic to disperse peacefully.
Finally, rioters demolishing structures, the accused persons are alleged to have assembled together and unlawfully destroyed the Gambia Technical Training Institute students’ waiting shed by setting it on fire, bit that charged was later dropped.
