They denied any wrongdoing. When the case was called, Commissioner A. Sanneh rose and told the court that he was representing the IGP along with ASP Jarju and ASP Touray. Defence Counsel Lamin J. Darboe represented the accused persons.
Commissioner A. Sanneh then informed the court that ASP Jarju would continue with the case.
As a result, when the accused pleaded not guilty, ASP Jarju stood up and told the court that he was not objecting to bail for the accused. He applied to the court to adjourn the case to enable them secure their witnesses.
Defence Counsel Lamin J. Darboe rose and stated that he was applying under section 99 of the Criminal Procedure Code for the court to grant bail to the accused, since the prosecution did not object to bail. He asserted that the accused would not interfere with the prosecution witnesses and that there would be no flight risk. “Your Worship, the accused are responsible Gambians. I urge the court to accord them with reasonable bail conditions,” he said.
The accused were subsequently granted bail in the sum of D100,000 with a Gambian surety each, who should deposit their biometric ID cards to the registrar of the court. The case was adjourned to the 31st October, 2024.
Prosecutors alleged that the accused persons on or about the 23rd September, 2024, at Kanifing and diverse places in the Republic of The Gambia, they, without any lawful excuse or authority, willfully published a news titled ‘President Barrow chooses Muhammed Jah as Successor as Presidential Candidate for the 2026 election’ with The Voice Newspaper, knowingly or have no reason to believe that the said publication or news was true and they knew it to be false at the time.
