By Bruce Asemota
Three survivors of President Yahya Jammeh’s AIDs treatment programme have filed a fresh civil suit against the former president at the high court in Banjul.
The three are Mr Ousman Yerro Sowe, Ms Fatou Jatta and Mr Lamin Moko Ceesay of Bakau, the first Gambian to publicly declare his HIV positive status.
The matter was previously heard by Justice Sainabou Wadda-Cisse of the Banjul High Court. The trial forestalled because the plaintiffs were unable to serve court papers on Jammeh who lives in exile in Equatorial Guinea.
When they resorted to serving the papers on him through the diplomatic channel, they received a letter from the Equatorial Guinea Embassy in Ethiopia directed to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Banjul indicating that the former president was unavailable.
The plaintiffs then filed another application before the Judge for substituted services by way of advertising the processes in the local newspapers but this was refused.
Shortly later, the writ of summons also expired the counsel for the plaintiffs, Aji Combeh Gaye, filed an application to strike out the suit.
After consultations between the plaintiffs and the interested partners like the IHRDA and AIDS-Free World, it was decided to file a fresh suit.
The three plaintiffs have now filed a fresh suit against Jammeh before Justice Bakre of the Banjul High Court.
