Messrs Lamin Fatajo and Lamin Mass are alleged to have abused and neglected their official duty while serving in their capacities as project coordinator and acting finance manager respectively.
The bill of indictment filed by the police prosecutor, Alpha Badjie, alleged that the duo sometimes in May last year at Cape Point in their capacities as project coordinator and acting finance and administration manager opened an account at Keystone bank for Friends Consult Limited in the name of their institution without informing the permanent secretary at the Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs and the Ministry of Agriculture as stipulated in the Government Budget Management and Accountability Act 2004.
The prosecutor further alleged that Messrs Fatajo and Mass also abused the authority of their institution by opening an account at the said bank for Friends Consult Limited, a Ugandan firm, to enable them to secure funds from the International Food Agriculture Development, IFAD, without approval from their institution.
They deny any wrongdoing and the prosecutor has since applied for adjournment to enable him to call his witnesses for hearing of the matter.
The accused, who were represented by Lawyer Lamin Camara, were granted bail in a sum of D200, 000 each with one Gambian surety who are to deposit an affidavit of means and ID card to the registrar of court.
Hearing resumes on 23 April 2015.
Ex-NEDI coordinator, accountant denied bail
Meanwhile, in a similar but substantive case, Principal Magistrate Dawda Jallow of Banjul Magistrates’ Court yesterday turned down the bail application of former officials of the National Enterprise Development Initiative, NEDI.
The magistrate has at the same time transferred the case to the Chief Justice for reassignment.
Counsel for the accused was not satisfied with the ruling and said he would file a bail application at the high court on behalf of his clients as soon as possible.
Messrs Pa Malick Ceesay and Ismaila Njie were arraigned before the said court on Monday on a 16- count charge ranging from economic crime, theft, to abuse of office.
They denied any culpability.
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