By Binta A Bah
A magistrate’s court in Banjul has cancelled Aisha Fatty’s arrest warrant, ordering the police to restrain from arresting and executing the arrest warrant it made earlier on June 2.
This came after her lawyer’s application seeking an order from the court to vacate the bench warrant it issued for her arrest to face trial weeks after police prosecutors instituted criminal charges of theft against her.
The request to stop the order was not challenged by the police prosecutor Commisioner Sanneh. However, he stated that the court can grant the application if Aisha is ready to surrender before the hearing date. Her lawyer at this point made the undertaking that her client will surrender before the next sitting.
Ruling on the application, Principal Magistrate Muhammed Krubally revoked his earlier order to have Aisha arrested pending her voluntary submission in person next month to stand trial.
“The respondent and all the beadles of the court are momentarily ordered to restrain from arresting and executing the arrest warrant of this court from this date up to the 3rd day of July 2023 being the subsequent date of further mention of this case. If the said applicant, herein the accused, fails to submit herself as undertaken and guaranteed by her counsel as one of the conditions that this court granted her application, I order that the bench warrant made against the said accused on the 2nd day of June 2023 still subsists and shall be so executed,” Magistrate Krubally ruled
Aisha Fatty is accused of stealing money, gold, and two Mercedes Benz Brabus vehicles from his now jilted fiancé, Abdoulaye Thiam, a Senegalese businessman.
She has been slammed with eight charges of theft: stealing US$380,000 equivalent to D19,500,000 given to her for the purpose of purchase of a villa at Fajara Waterfront; stealing US$150,000 equivalent to D7,696,500 for the construction of an office complex in The Gambia for their joint business; stealing 3,522.5 grams of gold valued at CFA123,305,500; stealing 5,745.93 grams of gold valued at CFA202,645,917; stealing CFA180,000,000 given to her by Thiam to purchase gold on his behalf; stealing CFA316,048,583 worth of gold for the purpose of sale which she converted to her own personal use; stealing a Mercedes Benz GLE63 Brabus valued at US$240,000; and stealing another Mercedes Benz Brabus valued at US$102,000, all being the properties of Mr Thiam.
