By Mariama Marong
Justice Ebrima Jaiteh of the Banjul High Court on Monday, 12 February admitted into evidence contract and other documents in the criminal trial involving senior health officials facing charges of corruption and heinous crimes.
The accused persons are Muhammadou Lamin Jaiteh – Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Health, Balla Kandeh – Programme Manager of the Malaria Control Programme and Omar Malleh Ceesay – Executive Director of the Health Promotion and Development Organization.
They were charged with eighteen (18) criminal charges. The charges were Official Corruption, Disobedience of Statutory Duty, Conspiracy, Economic Crimes, Forgery and Theft.
Count one is official corruption. The prosecution alleged that between 2018 and 2020, the accused persons along with Lamin Jarju (now deceased), corruptly obtained a sum of Four Million, Two Hundred and Eighty-Seven Thousand, Six Hundred and Forty-Five Dalasi, Twenty-Six Butut (D4,287,645.26) by failing to ensure the proper hiring of consultants for malaria research.
Count 2 relates to disobedience of Statutory Duty. The prosecution alleged that on or about 2 February 2018 the accused persons willfully disobeyed the provisions of the Gambia Public Procurement Act and signed a memorandum of understanding and awarded a consultancy contract without subjecting it to an open tender process.
The three accused persons are charged with conspiracy to commit a felony. The prosecution alleged that in 2018 the accused persons conspired to steal Eleven Million, Four Hundred and Eighty Thousand and Twenty-three Dalasi (D11,480,023) from a grant to the Gambian Government from Global Fund.
They are charged with Economic Crimes, on count 4. It is alleged that between 2018 and 2020, Balla Kandeh and Muhammad Lamin Jaiteh, being public officers, willfully caused financial loss to the Government of the Gambia amounting to Eleven Million, Four Hundred and Eighty Thousand and Twenty-Three Dalasi (D11,480,023).
Count 5 is also Economic Crime. The prosecution alleged that Omar Malleh Ceesay, between 2018 and 2020, in collaboration with Balla Kandeh, Lamin Jarju, and Muhammad Lamin Jaiteh, willfully caused financial loss to the Government of the Gambia amounting to Eleven Million Four Hundred and Eighty Thousand and Twenty-Three Dalasi (D11,480,023).
Counts 6 to 13 relate to charges of forgery. The 3 allegedly created false curriculum vitae documents with intent to defraud, as they falsely portrayed themselves as consultants for various studies related to malaria control.
Counts 14 to 17 are charges of theft. The accused persons between December 2018 and August 2019 allegedly stole Fifty-Nine Thousand Two Hundred and Twenty-Six Dollars ($59,256.00) intended for consultancies for malaria research in the Gambia.
While counts 18 to 21 also relate to theft. The state alleged that between August 2019 and June 2020, the accused persons stole various amounts totalling Five Million, Seven Hundred and Two Dalasi Seven Hundred and Fifty-Two Dalasi Ninety-Six Butut (D5,702,752.96) intended for consultancies for malaria research in the Gambia.
The documents admitted were curriculum vitae, contract documents and a study report. Justice Jaiteh overruled the defence’s objection regarding their opposition to the admissibility of the documents. They were tendered by the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Abdul Maita Yusuf.
The objection by defence lawyer, Lamin S. Camara, was premised on the line of argument that the rules provided under section 101 of the Evidence Act in terms of tendering public documents were not satisfied. Senior Lawyer Camara said the documents should be certified under the section cited above. He argued that without that the documents cannot be admitted by the court.
DPP Yusuf countered Lawyer Camara by arguing that the documents are not public documents. He regarded the objection by Lawyer Camara as an imagination since there is no public office that keeps custody of those documents.
Defense Counsel Camara responded to Lawyer Yusuf on points of law. He submitted that all the documents tendered are from the “Malaria Control Programme” and are addressed to the Manager of the National Malaria Programme. He explained that the programme is a project under the Ministry of Health and as such section 101 of the Evidence Act applies and the documents ought to be certified.
Justice Jaiteh ruled that the organization, HePDO, is not a public body since it is not owned and controlled by the government or local government. He stated that the organization is not a public body instead it is a private organization.
Justice Jaiteh said he has looked at four things which are whether HePDO is a public body, whether the CVs, contract documents and study reports are public documents within the meaning of section 113 of the Evidence Act and ought to be certified in line with section 115 of the Evidence Act, whether the notice to produce served on the defence is sufficient to render the documents admissible, and whether the CVs not listed but shared with the defence should be admissible.
“CVs of private citizens, contract documents between HePDO and private citizens and the reports generated by HePDO cannot by any stretch of the imagination be regarded as public documents, rather they are private documents,” Justice Jaiteh said.
Justice Jaiteh ruled that notice to produce had been served on the defence counsel and witnesses were subpoenaed to produce the said documents. He is satisfied that section 101 (a) of the Evidence Act has been complied with to warrant the tendering of secondary evidence according to section 102 of the Evidence Act. Accordingly, the CVs, Contract documents and Study reports are admissible evidence as secondary evidence.
The case was adjourned to 14 February 2024 at 1 pm for the hearing of the testimony of prosecution witness 3.
