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| Mambury Njie ex-finance minister of The Gambia was illegally detained for 41 days |
The the bond
also requires Gambian sureties who must be lease holders within the Greater
Banjul Area, a region where many of the country’s rich citizens lives and own
properties.
The court bail
came after Mr Njie has been detained for 41 days at the country’s maximum
security center (Mile 2 Prison) without formal charge(s) brought against him.
His counsel Lamin S. Camara described his detention as “illegal”.
He was denied
bail on three attempts based on arguments that investigations are ongoing.
On Jan. 4, 2013,
Justice Abdullah Mikilalu, presiding, admitted
that Mr Njie has spent 41 days in detention without any formal charges before
the court.
“…and I hereby
granted him bail upon the completion of the investigation,” Mikilalu ruled.
He told the
court that the sureties shall be lease holder of properties within Greater
Banjul Area and the applicant shall surrender all his travel documents to the Registrar
of the High Court.
Mikilalu also ruled
that the applicant shall report to the Inspector General of Police (IGP) from Monday
to Thursday of every week.
Mr Njie, who
human rights activists protested against his detention, was earlier charged with
two counts of “Economic Crime” and “Abuse of Office”.
He had not taken
his plea after the Banjul Magistrates Court referred his case to the High Court
for lack of jurisdiction.
After the court
session on Monday, Mr Njie was seen escorted by State’s Prison security officers.
It is not clear if he was able to fulfill the bail condition that day.
Written by Modou S. Joof
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