By Mamadou Dem
Mr. Sait Matty Jaw, an administrative Assistant at the University of
The Gambia (UTG), together with Seth Yaw Kandeh and Olufemi Erinle
Titus, Ghanaian and Nigerian nationals, respectively, were yesterday,
Wednesday, 10 December, 2014 arraigned and remanded by Magistrate
Samsideen Conteh of Banjul Magistrates’ Court.The trio is charged with “conspiracy to commit misdemeanour, failure
to register a business and two counts of Disobedience of Statutory
Duty, contrary to the laws of The Gambia.
According to the particulars of offence on count one, Sait Matty Jaw,
Seth Yaw Kandeh and Olufemi Erinle Titus, sometimes in the month of
October, 2014 at diverse places in The Gambia, conspired amongst
themselves to commit an offence to wit: operating and carrying on a
business without registration and thereby committed an offence.
The second count states that the accused persons sometimes in the
month of October, 2014 engaged and carried on the business of
collation of data for a Ghanaian Company, FACTS International Ghana
Limited, without registering same as required by law and thereby
committed an offence.
On the third count, it is alleged that the accused persons sometimes
in the same month and year, in willful disobedience of the Statistics
Act undertook the collation of data on matters specified in the First
Scheduled of the Act for a Ghanaian Company FACTS International Ghana
Limited without authorization from the Gambia Bureau of Statistics and
thereby committed an offence.
The fourth and last count states that the same accused persons in
October 2014, in willful disobedience of the Single Windows Business
Registration Act, 2013, engaged and carried on the business of
collation of data for a Ghanaian Company without registering same and
thereby committed an offence.
All the accused persons pleaded not guilty as charged and were
remanded in prison custody.
Prior to remanding the accused persons, Segga Gaye, attorney for the
accused persons, applied for bail pursuant to Section 19 of the 1997
Constitution and Section 99 of the Criminal Procedure Code.
Lawyer Gaye submitted that the offences preferred on the accused
persons are bailable, adding that bail is at the discretion of the
court but he urged the court to exercise it judicially and judiciously
and in favour of the accused persons.
State counsel Abdourahman Bah said “We are not opposing bail. The
first accused person is on police bail.”
The state counsel told the Court the 2nd and 3rd accused persons are
Ghanaian and Nigerian nationals, respectively, and therefore urged
that the c bail condition for them to be such that they do not flee
the jurisdiction. He said the essence of bail is for the accused
persons to present themselves to the court and face trial on the
charges preferred against them.
He also submitted that bail is at the discretion of the court but
should be exercise judicially and judiciously.
At this juncture, the trial magistrate adjourned the case to 24th
December 2014 for ruling on the bail application and consequently
ordered the accused to be remanded.]]>
