By Bruce Asemota
Three senior government officials indicted on corruption charges were each admitted to bail in the sum of nineteen million dalasi yesterday at the High Court.
The trial judge, Justice Ebrima Jaiteh, made this declaration when the matter came up for plea taking.
The accused persons Balla Kandeh, Omar Malleh Ceesay and Muhammed Lamin Jaiteh were asked by the court to provide one or two Gambian sureties who shall depose to an affidavit of means.
The judge also ordered that the surety shall be an owner of a landed property worth not less than D19 million and must deposit the property’s original title deeds with the Principal Registrar of the High Court.
Justice Jaiteh further declared that the accused persons surrender their travel documents with the Principal Registrar of the High Court.
The accused persons could not finish taking their pleas when defence counsel Lamin S.Camara raised an objection that there was duplicity of the charges against his client in count 14 to 21.
State counsel E.Dougan applied for an adjournment to amend the information on these counts and she sought leave to do so.
Justice Jaiteh paused the plea taking pending the filing of an amended information and the matter was adjourned to the 30 October for continuation of plea taking.
