Justice Amadi will decide whether to allow Momodou Sabally to go home after four months in state custody or to continue being detained as His Excellency’s guest at the state central prison.
This is the second time Mr Sabally is seeking bail. He was initially denied bail on August 11 by the then judge, Abdullahi Mikailu after he pleaded not guilty to 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.
He was later slammed with five more charges this month including two counts of economic crime, three counts of abuse of office, two counts of neglect of official duty and one count of giving false information.
Sabally, 40, is accused of giving false information to President Jammeh that one Alasan Ndoye had given him two vehicles “with intent to annoy and cause financial loss to Mr Ndoye, information he knew is false”.
He is also accused of causing economic loss to SSHFC in the amount of D402,500. Prosecutors further accused Mr Sabally of causing economic loss to the government of The Gambia in the amount of D38,424 being money received as per diem allowance for a trip to South Africa in order to attend the inauguration ceremony of President Jacob Zuma, which he neglected to attend.
According to the indictment, Mr Sabally also ‘willfully’ and ‘negligently’ delayed the departure of the vice president’s flight from South Africa for 45 minutes while part of the delegation.
Last week, his lawyer, Antouman Gaye, urged the judge to release Sabally on bail promising that his client “will not run away”. The chief prosecutor on the other hand said Mr Sabally may abscond if granted bail citing the case of Benedict Jammeh, former head of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency who jumped bail and is now believed to be resident in Senegal.
]]>
