By Mariama Marong and Kemeseng Sanneh (Kexx)
Seedy Jammeh, Yusupha M. Cham, and Matarr Sylva, all officials at the Intellectual Property Registry Office under the Ministry of Justice, on Monday, 30th June 2025, appeared before the High Court of The Gambia to take their plea on six charges, including conspiracy to defraud, theft of public funds amounting to D14,395,620, forgery, economic crimes, official corruption, and abuse of office.
The case was heard before Justice Jaiteh, with the State represented by Counsel M. Sarr, while Counsel S. Sonko appeared for the 1st and 3rd accused persons and Counsel L.J. Darboe represented the 2nd accused.
According to the bill of indictment, the accused persons are jointly charged under various provisions of the Criminal Code, Cap 10:01 Vol. III, Laws of The Gambia 2009 (Revised Edition), and the Economic Crimes (Specified Offences) Act. The charges are as follows:
Count One: Conspiracy to Defraud
Contrary to Section 292 of the Criminal Code. The prosecution alleges that between 2018 and 2019, at the Intellectual Property Registry Office in Banjul, Seedy Jammeh, Yusupha M. Cham, and Matarr Sylva conspired to defraud the Government of The Gambia by issuing fraudulent receipts and misappropriating funds from intellectual property and renewal fees.
Count Two: Theft
Contrary to Section 245 and punishable under Section 252 of the Criminal Code. The accused are alleged to have fraudulently and dishonestly misappropriated and converted to their personal use the sum of D14,395,620, being public funds collected as fees for trademark applications and renewals.
Count Three: Economic Crime
Contrary to Section 5(1) of the Economic Crimes (Specified Offences) Act. The accused are charged with wilful financial misconduct by diverting public funds amounting to D14,395,620, thereby causing serious economic loss to the Government of The Gambia.
Count Four: Forgery
Contrary to Section 318 and punishable under Section 322 of the Criminal Code. It is alleged that Matarr Sylva knowingly falsified and manipulated IFMIS records to conceal the misappropriation of public funds by reflecting incorrect financial transactions.
Count Five: Official Corruption
Contrary to Section 86 of the Criminal Code. Seedy Jammeh and Matarr Sylva are accused of abusing their positions as public officers to engage in corrupt practices by receiving unlawful financial benefits through fraudulent transactions.
Count Six: Abuse of Office
Contrary to Section 90 of the Criminal Code. Seedy Jammeh and Matarr Sylva are further accused of abusing their office in relation to the handling of public funds.
All three accused persons pleaded not guilty to the charges.
State Counsel M. Sarr informed the court that the State does not oppose the granting of bail but requested the court to impose stringent conditions to ensure the attendance of the accused persons and the protection of the integrity of the proceedings.
Counsel S. Sonko, representing the 1st and 3rd accused persons, submitted that his clients had been previously released on police bail and there was no evidence of any breach of those conditions. He urged the court to adopt the existing police bail terms.
Counsel L.J. Darboe, representing the 2nd accused, argued that bail is a constitutional right and requested reasonable and practical conditions that would not amount to an indirect denial of bail. He also asked the court to divide any bail amount equitably among the accused due to the joint nature of the charges.
In his ruling, Justice Jaiteh stated that while the charges were undoubtedly serious, including conspiracy, theft of significant public funds, official corruption, abuse of office, and economic crimes, the presumption of innocence, as enshrined in Section 24(3)(a) of the 1997 Constitution, fully applies.
He stressed that bail is a right, not a privilege, and should only be limited by reasonable conditions to ensure attendance and protect the interests of justice.
Justice Jaiteh granted bail to each accused person in the sum of D16,000,000. Each is required to provide one Gambian surety who is the registered owner of a landed property within The Gambia, with a verified value of not less than D16,000,000. The valuation must be conducted by a certified estate valuer or a state-appointed valuer, and a report must be submitted to the High Court Registrar within 10 days.
The matter has been adjourned to 8th July 2025 at 12:30 p.m.
