By Rohey Jadama Magistrate Hilary Abeke of the Bundung Magistrates’ Court yesterday, 2nd December, 2014, ordered a state prosecutor to regularize the charge sheet in the corruption trial involving Mr. Saikou Fatty, a former magistrate. State counsel Mariatou Faye appeared for the state, whilst the accused person was represented by Lawyer Lamin S. Camara. The defence counsel brought it to the attention of the court that the words in Count One are the same as those in Count Two and the state prosecutor, in response, said they were about to make an application to amend the charge sheet. The magistrate in his ruling ordered the state prosecutor to regularise the said charge sheet before the next adjourned date and subsequently adjourned the case till Monday, 8th December, 2014. Count One states that “Saikou Fatty, on or about the 6th of March 2014 at Bundung in the Kanifing Municipality of the republic of the Gambia within the jurisdiction of this honourable court, whilst serving as an magistrate and in furtherance of your duty as such, corruptly solicited the sum of twenty thousand dalasis (20,00:00) and a gold wristwatch for himself from a defendant in a matter before his court, titled Chimezia V Patricia Fangawa under the pretext of settling the matter out of court and thereby committed an offence.” Count Two states that “Saikou Fatty on or about the 6th of March 2014 at Bundung in the Kanifing municipality of the republic of the Gambia within the jurisdiction of this honourable court whilst serving as Magistrate and in furtherance of your duty as such, corruptly solicited the sum of twenty thousand dalasis (20,00:00) and a gold wrist watch for himself from a defendant in a matter before his court, titled Chimezia vs. Patricia Fangawa under the pretext of settling the matter out of court and thereby committed an offence.”]]>
