After being detained for over a month, Momodou Sabally appeared at the high court on August 11 on one count of economic crime and two counts of abuse of office charges, all relating to a Youth Career Development Programme organised by one Mariama Sillah in May 2014.
Mr Sabally, 40, is accused of causing economic loss to SSHFC in the amount of D402,500 by unduly influencing the corporation to fund the programme without recourse to due process. He pleaded not guilty to the charges.
He has been under the custody of the National Intelligence Agency after a high court judge, Abdullahi Mikailu refused him bail following the prosecution claim that investigations into his matter were ongoing.
Mr Sabally who was not represented by a lawyer however urged the court before he was remanded on August 11 that he had been detained for five weeks during which he cooperated with the investigators. “I have a wife and children. I served as an example to the younger ones. I joined the services of The Gambia and ignored foreign appointments such as the IMF and World Bank and decided to serve my country. With this background, I did not see any reason why the prosecution should doubt my integrity. I therefore humbly disagree with the prosecution and urge the court to grant me bail.”
But the judge ruled that Sabally should be remanded in the custody of the NIA to further the diligence of the investigations before adjourning the case to today.
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