FOROYAA Newspaper (Serrekunda)
Bubacarr K. Sowe
12 March 2008
A number of sympathizers and friends of the ex-press officer at the president's office, on Monday, stormed the Banjul Magistrates' Court eager to hear the beginning of his trial alleging him of "False publication and broadcasting."
Dressed in a white short-sleeved shirt and a pair of black trousers, Mam Sait Ceesay looking composed mounted the dock facing the prosecution witness standing in the witness box.
Testifying before a crowded but quite court room, with curious onlookers occupying all the benches and others peeping through windows, Alex Dacosta, communication officer at the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority (PURA) recalled that on September 7, 2000, he surprisingly received a phone call.
With suppressed smiles, Alex recounted how a friend of his congratulated him on his new job as Director of Press and Public Relation at the President's office, which was quite surprising news to him. "I was surprised. I had no prior knowledge of it.
So I said to him where do you hear this from?" referring to his conversation with his friend on September 7, 2007. Alex told the court that his purported appointment was carried on the Daily Observer edition of September 7, 2007.
At this point, the prosecutor took a twist in his question by referring to the Daily Observer report but defense counsel, Antouman Gaye, raised numerous objections since the report was not yet a piece of evidence before the court.
Nonetheless, photocopies of the article were tendered for identification purposes, and no objection was raised on that by the defense. With little questioning from the prosecutor, Inspector Yaya Touray, the testimony of Alex was brief with no cross examination, and the trial was then adjourned to March 24 for continuation.
Be the first to Write a Comment!
Copyright © 2008 FOROYAA Newspaper. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.
AllAfrica aggregates and indexes content from over 125 African news organizations, plus more than 200 other sources, who are responsible for their own reporting and views. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica.
