By Arret Jatta
A former soldier Abdoulie Sanyang, who was arrested at the airport and arraigned in court after an explosive interview on radio, on Monday took his plea before Justice Ebrima Jaiteh of the High Court denying all charges levied against him.
He faces two charges, arson and interference with judicial proceedings.
During the hearing, the state called its first witness, Mbye Conteh, a member of the Special Investigation Unit of the police who said Sanyang was questioned about his utterances on the radio and his involvement in the burning down of the APRC bureau in April 2016. He said Sanynag had said he requested the interview and insisted on speaking to his fellow Gambians.
The prosecution sought to tender a document prepared by Peter Pocha Gomez, the host of the radio programme, as evidence.
However, the defence counsel objected to the submission, arguing that the document had not been disclosed to them prior to the trial and that only the maker of the document could properly tender it.
Justice Jaiteh upheld the defence’s objection, ruling that the document was inadmissible due to non-disclosure and the fact that the prosecution witness was not the author of the document. The judge cited sections of the Evidence Act and the Constitution of The Gambia to back his ruling.
The court entered a plea of not guilty on his behalf, and set the date for the trial and bail hearing today .
