One Banna Ceesay of Tabanani village, Central River Region, was recently granted court bail in the sum of D20, 000 for the assault causing grevious bodily harm.

Mr Ceesay was arraigned before the Central River Region Travelling Magistrate Amadou Baldeh for causing grevious bodily harm, contrary to Section 214 of the Criminal Code cap 10 volume III laws of The Gambia.

According to the particulars of the offence, on 18th April 2008 at Tabanani village the accused person deliberately caused serious bodily harm to one Ma-sanneh Ceesay.

He denied the charge before the case was adjourned until 22nd September 2008.

In a related but separate development, one Ebrima Touray was also arraigned before the Central River Region travelling Magistrate Amadou Baldeh on a charge of careless driving.

According to the particulars of the offence, on 2nd June 2008 at Nije Kunda Juncture in the Lower Fulladu in the Central River Region South, the accused drove a motor vehicle with registration number BJL 2127C Benz without efficient breaking system there- by causing an accident.

He denied the charge.

He was granted court bail in the sum of D7000 before the case was adjourned until 22nd September 2008.

Three of the five sympathizers of the main opposition United Democratic Party, who were jointly charged with assault occasioning actual bodily harm, yesterday heaved a sigh of relief when they were informed by a Western Region-based lower court that they were free from the charges.

Doudou Cassa Jaata, Maimuna Jobarteh and Natoma Conteh were among the opposition supporters that were rounded up shortly after the results were announced in the 2006 bye-election in Kombo East constituency. Some of them were whisked away to a police station a few kilometres away, and subsequently charged with assault, causing actual bodily harm.

Meanwhile before acquitting and discharging the trio of the charges, magistrate John Njie of the Brikama Magistrates’ Court pointed out that the acquittal and discharge of the opposition supporters was based on absence or dearth of evidence before the court, to warrant a conviction.

In a separate development, the trial of Lamin R. Darboe jointly charged with the three acquitted UDP supporters, resumed yesterday at the Brikama Magistrates’ Court but could not continue as billed.

The case is expected to resume next Monday.

Amie Jaiteh, a native of Lamin village and the complainant in the assault case involving Neneh Jallow, Ousman Gaye, Awa Jallow and Oumie Bahum, on Tuesday told Brikama Magistrates’ Court, presided over by Magistrate EF M’Bai that she was seriously beaten by the four accused persons right from her compound gate to the kitchen.

According to her, on the day of the incident she left her compound to visit a friend in town when one of her daughters came to inform her that the fourth accused person’s child came to their compound and insulted them.

“When I came back home, I met the four accused persons at my compound gate insulting my children. I then told the accused persons to leave my home. Then Ousman Gaye, the second accused person, hit me and the other three joined him and beat me up to my kitchen gate, causing me bodily harm,” she explained.

She concluded that she then reported the matter to the Alkalo of Lamin, and then to Yundum Police Station, where she gave her statement.

Mariama Konateh, a house mate of the complainant, who also testified in the case, expressed similar sentiment.

Magistrate M’Bai then told the court that such disputes are internal cases between neighbours and should be amicably resolved by the village Alkalo, in order not to breach the neighbourhood-relation. He then adjourned the case to Wednesday 12 September, 2007, for continuation.

Police Prosecutor Cpl 413 Sanyang, represented the IGP.