The accused, who are currently facing charges including economic crimes, theft, forgery, official corruption, abuse of office, and other related offences totalling 14, 396, 620 million dalasis, have denied any wrongdoing, pleading not guilty to all charges levelled against them.
When the case was mentioned yesterday, M. Sarr announced his appearance for the State, while counsel S. Sonko appeared for the 1st and 3rd accused person, and senior counsel L.J. Darboe appeared for the 2nd accused person.
The statement of offence stated conspiracy to defraud, contrary to Section 292 of the Criminal Code, Cap 10:01 Vol 111, Revised Laws of The Gambia 2009.
The Particulars of Offence indicated that Seedy Jammeh, Yusupha M. Cham, and Matarr Sylva, between the years 2018 and 2019, at the Intellectual Property Registry Office, Banjul, in the Republic of The Gambia, conspired together to defraud the government of The Gambia by issuing fraudulent receipts and misappropriating funds from Intellectual Property and renewal fees and thereby committed and offence.
The statement of offence on count two stated theft, contrary to Section 245 and punishable under Section 252 of the Criminal Code Cap, 10:01, Vol 111, Revised Laws of The Gambia.
The particulars of offence on this count indicated that Seedy Jammeh, Yusupha M. Cham, and Matarr Sylva, between the years2018 and 2019, at the Intellectual Property Registry Office, Banjul, fraudulently and dishonestly misappropriated and converted to your person use the sum of 14, 395, 620, being public funds collected as fees for trademark applications and renewals.
The statement of offence on count three includes: Economic crime Contrary to Section 5 (f) of the Economic Crime (Specified Offenses) Act, Cap 13:07, Vol 111, Revised Laws of The Gambia.
The particulars of offence on this count stated that Seedy Jammeh, Yusupha M. Cham, and Matarr Sylva, between the years 2018 and 2019, at the Intellectual Property Registry Office, Banjul, engaged in wilful financial misconduct by diverting public funds amounting to 14, 395, 620 dalasis, thereby causing serious economic loss to the government of The Gambia.
On the statement of offence on count four, the accused person are charged with forgery, contrary to Section 318 of the Criminal Code and Punishable under 322 Cap 10:01 Vol 111, Revised Laws of The Gambia.
The particulars offence on this count stated that Seedy Jammeh, Yusupha M. Cham, and Matarr Sylva, between the years 2018 and 2019, at the Intellectual Property Registry Office, Banjul, knowingly falsified and manipulated IFMIS records to conceal the misappropriation of public funds by reflecting incorrect financial transactions.
On count five, the accused persons are charged with official corruption. The statement of offence stated contrary to Section 86 of the Criminal Code, Cap 10:01, Vol 111, Revised Laws of The Gambia 2009.
The particulars of offence on this count stated that Yusupha M. Cham, and Matarr Sylva , being public officers employed at the Intellectual Property Office, abused your positions to engage in corrupt practices by receiving unlawful financial benefits through fraudulent transactions and thereby committed an offence.
On the statement of offence on count six, the accused are charged with Abuse of Office Contrary to Section 90 of the Criminal Code, Cap 10:01 111, Revised Laws of The Gambia 2009.
The particulars of offence indicated that Yusupha M. Cham, and Matarr Sylva, between the years 2018 and 2019, at the Intellectual Property Registry Office, Banjul, abused your positions as public offices by deliberately failing to follow established financial procedures, leading to the loss of public funds and thereby committed an offence.
Meanwhile, after plea taking, State Counsel, M. Sarr informed the court that the State does not oppose granting of bail, but urged the court to impose stringent conditions to ensure the attendance of the accused persons and safeguard the integrity of the proceedings.
Counsel S. Sonko, representing the 1st and 3rd, accused persons, submitted that the accused persons had previously been released on police bail, and there was no evidence of breach of those bail conditions. Counsel Sonko urged the court to adopt the existing police bail terms.
Counsel Darboe who was appearing for the 2nd accused person, submitted that the bail is a constitutional right, and pleaded with the court to adopt reasonable and practical bail conditions that do not amount to an indirect denial of bail. He further urged that any bail sum imposed should be divided equitable among the accused persons, considering the joint nature of the charges.
In his ruling, Justice Jaiteh said: “I have given careful consideration to the submissions of both counsels for the State and Defence, as well as the nature of the offences disclosed in the bill of indictment. The charges are undoubtedly serious in nature, involving allegations of conspiracy, theft of a significant amount of public funds, official corruption, abuse of office and economic crimes.”
“Nevertheless, the presumption of innocence, as enshrined in Section 24 (3) (a) of the 1997 Constitution of the Gambia, applies with full force and effect to every person charged with a criminal offence, until the contrary is proven in a court of law. It is a fundamental tenet of our legal system that bail is a right, not a privilege, subject only to reasonable limitations necessary to secure the attendance of the accused and protect the interests of Justice.”
“The court is also mindful of the fact that the State has not objected to the grant of bail, though it rightly calls for adequate safeguards. There is no indication that the accused persons are a flight risk, or that they would interfere with witnesses or obstruct the administration of justice. The overriding considerations, therefore, is to strike a proper balance between the right to liberty and the due process of law.”
“In the circumstances, I am satisfied that this is an appropriate case in which the accused persons may be admitted to bail, subject to terms that ensure their continued appearance in court and their compliance with all procedural requirements.”
Accordingly, it is hereby ordered as follows.
- Bail is granted to each of the accused persons in the sum of 16, 000, 000 dalasis.
- Each accused person shall provide one Gambian surety who must be the registered owner if a landed property within The Gambia with a verified value not less than 16, 000, 000 dalasis.
The said property shall be evaluated by a certified and reputable estate valuer, or a state-appointed valuer, and a valuation report shall be submitted to the Registrar of the High Court within ten days of this ruling
