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The director of Public Prosecution (DPP) Richard Chenge, Monday filed 51 fresh amended criminal count charges against ex-IGP, Ensa Badjie and two other military officers, Lt Colonel Mam Matarr Secka and Major Kuluteh Manneh, before Justice Emmanuel Amadi of the High Court in Banjul.
When the case was mentioned for hearing, the DPP announced his representation for the state, while Borry Touray stood in for the first and second accused persons, Ensa Badjie and Mam Matarr Secka respectively. Lawyer Lamin K. Mboge also announced his representation for the third accused, Major Kuluteh Manneh.
The DPP then made an application for the fresh amended charges be read to the accused persons, but L K Mboge at first objected on the ground that he had just been served with the charges and therefore there is need for the court to adjourn the case so as to enable him go through the charges as well as consult his client in-line with the spirit of providing an effective and efficient legal representation for his client.
However, the defence counsel withdrew his objection when the presiding judge urged him to make oral submission of his application. The accused persons pleaded not guilty to all the 51 counts read to them in the English Language, which they claimed to have understood. The 51 charges range from conspiracy to commit sedition, abuse of office, and obtaining money by false pretence, to official corruption and economic crimes. The ex-IGP Ensa Badjie alone is facing 28 criminal counts out of the 51 counts charged. Lt Colonel Mam Matarr Secka alone is facing two counts out of the 51 counts charged.
The charges are as follows:
Count One: Conspiracy to do an act with a seditious intention contrary to Section 52 (1) (a) of the Criminal Code Cap 10 Volume III Laws of The Gambia, 1990; Count Two: Sedition contrary to Section 52 (1) (b) of the Criminal Code Cap 10 Volume III Laws of The Gambia, 1990; Counts Three to Nine covered abuse of office contrary to Section 90 of the Criminal Code Cap 10, Volume III Laws of The Gambia, 1990.
Counts 10-16 covered the offence of obtaining money by false pretence contrary to Section 288 of the Criminal Code, Cap 10 Volume III Laws of The Gambia, 1990; Count 17: official corruption contrary to Section 86 (a) of the Criminal Code Cap 10 Volume III Laws of The Gambia, 1990; Count 18: public officers receiving property to show favour contrary to Section 87 of the Criminal Code Cap 10, Volume III Laws of The Gambia, 1990; Counts 19-28 covered the offences of official corruption for only Ensa Badjie.
Counts 29-30 are offences of abuse of office for Ensa Badjie and Lt Colonel Mam Matarr Secka only; Counts 31-32 are offences of abuse of office which is applicable only to Lt Colonel Mam Matarr Secka. Counts 33-34 are abuse of office which are also applicable to only Ensa Badjie and Counts 44-51 covered the offence of economic crime contrary to Section 5 (g) of the Economic Crimes (Specified Offences) Decree number 6 of 1994.
After reading the charges to the accused persons, the DPP applied for the case to be adjourned to Tuesday, the 11th of May, for hearing, but his application was objected to by Borry Touray, counsel for Ensa Badjie and Mam Matarr Secka. The defence counsel said he has another matter before the court of appeal on Tuesday 11th of May 2010 and therefore, if the case is to be adjourned to that requested date, it will cause serious constraint for him.
This prompted the presiding judge Emmanuel Amadi to intervene and suggested for the hearing of the case be adjourned to1:00pm on the11th of May so as to secure the appearance of the defence counsel in court which both parties consented to. The case was accordingly adjourned to 1:00pm for hearing. Touray went further to inform the court about his intention to apply for striking out of some counts on the charge sheet on the grounds that some of the charges are more or less the same. "My lord I would like to challenge some of the counts in the charge sheet. I would apply for some of the counts be struck out on the ground that some of them are more or less the same," he said.
L K Mboge said he will make a formal application for bail to be granted to the accused persons and advanced that the offences charged are bailable. His submission was adopted by Borry Touray and the two defence counsels agreed to make joint application for bail to be granted to the accused persons.
