Messrs Jaw, a Gambian, Seth Yaw Kandeh a Ghanaian and Olufemi Erinle Titus, a Nigerian, are being tried by the state on four counts of conspiracy and failure to register a business and disobedience to statutory duty charges. The three men denied all the charges.
When they were first arraigned on December 11, their lawyer, Segga Gaye, requested for his clients to be released on bail. The state counsel, Abdurrahman Bah, did not raise any opposition. He however reminded the court about the nationalities of Kandeh and Titus whom he said were foreigners and as such, their bail conditions should be such that they would not flee the jurisdiction. The matter was then adjourned for ruling by the court.
When the matter resumed on 16 December, the presiding magistrate, Samsideen Conteh, ruled: “I have gone through the submission made by the parties in this case and I believe that bail entirely rests on the discretion of the court. I hereby grant bail to each of the accused persons in the sum of D5 million with two Gambians sureties who must enter in recognisance of the said amount and a property within the Greater Banjul Area. The accused persons are also ordered to surrender their travelling documents to the registrar and report to the Banjul Police Headquarters on Mondays and Fridays.”
However, Sait Matty Jaw was taken away by prison officers after failing to meet the onerous bail conditions imposed by the court.
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