By Bruce Asemota
Magistrate Tracey Davies Wilson of the Brikama Magistrate’s Court has expressed disappointment over the manner the Drug Law Enforcement Agency Gambia (DLEAG) prosecutor had treated the criminal case involving one Saloum Conteh, a suspect who is standing trial on a single charge of possession of prohibited drug.
Wilson said the case involving the accused started since January this year and she inherited it on 10 June, but since then the accused person and DLEAG prosecutor had been absent from court.
She stated that the bench warrant for the arrest of the accused was extended to the sureties, lamenting also that the prosecutor had failed to report and update the court about the execution of the bench warrant against the accused and the sureties.
The Trial Magistrate asserted that the record of proceeding is evidenced that the prosecutor has not been diligently prosecuting the case.
She said the court has indulged the prosecutor and given him the opportunity to get hold of the accused and the sureties but had failed to report to the court.
Magistrate Tracy Davies Wilson accordingly struck out the case for want of diligent prosecution.
“The court is not a dumping site where prosecutors can dump cases and wait on their convenience to proceed.
The court owns a duty to ensure that cases are dealt with within a reasonable time,” she warned.
Saloum Conteh is alleged to have been found in possession of 540 grams of cannabis sativa on the 13th July, 2018 at Sinchu Alagie village in the West Coast Region.
