By Omar Bah
President Adama Barrow has appointed Mrs Aisatou Jallow-Sey as the new Judicial Secretary effective 1st June, following the elevation of the former occupant, Justice Landing M Sanneh, as a Judge of the High Court.
Mrs Jallow-Sey obtained her LLB (Hon) degree from the International Islamic University of Malaysia in 1993 and the Master of Laws (LL.M) from McGill University, Montreal, Canada in 2003. She has 27 years’ experience as a legal practitioner in private practice, the state law office, international organisations, the private financial and Public sectors as well in civil society.
Mrs Jallow-Sey is currently the registrar of companies and prior to that was between 2019 and 2020 a consultant with Stigma Consulting. From 2014 to 2019, she served as a Consultant/project manager at COMESA Airspace international project at Kigali in Rwanda. She became the head of legal affairs at the Keystone Bank (Gambia) Ltd from 2013 to 2014.
Prior to that, she was for two years between 2011 and 2013 the director of legal affairs at the Gambia competition commission.
She also served as the Dean of the Faculty of Law, University of The Gambia on part time from 2007 to 2010 and from 1998 to 2010 she was the senior legal officer at the Gambia Civil Aviation Authority. Mrs Jallow-Sey served from 1993 to 1998 as a senior state counsel at the Attorney General’s Chambers, Ministry of Justice.
Meanwhile, the Chief Justice has directed that public court proceedings to resume since last Monday, following their suspension due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Justice Jallow ordered that priority be given to criminal cases particularly of persons in custody and whereas the courts have no criminal cases, the focus should shift on civil work.
He also ordered that not more than three cases were to be scheduled daily and that limited number of people should attend each proceeding.
In a separate development, the Chief Justice has designated the refurbished Mile 7 Bakau premises of the Judiciary as a High Court and assigned newly appointed Judge Justice Zainabou Nguie Mboob, to preside over the cases in that court.
In a similar vein, another new judge Justice Momodou SM Jallow, has been assigned to sit at the high court annex in Bundung while Justice Landing M Sanneh will serve as the itinerant judge in the provincial high courts at Basse, Janjanbureh and Mansakonko and at Banjul high court within the Banjul Magistrate’s court premises.
Justice Jallow has also assigned that Justice Amina Saho-Ceesay and Justice Sainabou Wadda-Cisse will preside over the UNDP backed pilot virtual courts in the high court to hear bail applications using the modern Zoom platform with internet connection.
Lawyers representing applicants and those for the state and or the police and other prosecuting agencies will participate in the proceedings using the remote technology. A television will be set up at the prisons to allow the detainees to follow the hearings.
Meanwhile, ninety-six remanded prisoners whose cases are pending in various Magistrate courts across the country are expected, with the assistance of the National Legal Aid Agency in collaboration with the Gambia Bar Association, to make applications for bail for their release from custody in an attempt to decongest the prisons.
