On Tuesday, the Inspector General of Police (IGP) discontinued the false broadcasting and publication charges against Musa Sheriff, managing editor, and Momodou Justice Darboe, senior news editor of The Voice Newspaper Company.
When the matter was brought before the Kanifing Magistrate Court Complex, ASP Touray, the police prosecutor representing the Inspector General of Police, informed the court that the state is applying to withdraw the case against the accused under section 68 (1) of the Criminal Procedure Code.
In her reply, Defense Counsel Jarrai Jeng said the defense has no objection to the state application.
The trial Magistrate, Mben Faal, affirmed that the case had been withdrawn under the cited section and acquitted and discharged journalist Musa Sheriff and Momodou Justice Darboe.
The two Voice Newspaper editors have been grinding it out with the state and legal representative of President Adama Barrow following their September 23rd, 2024 publication that the Gambian President is working on an exit plan and has already identified Muhammed Jah, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of QGroup Company, as his would-be successor.
It could be recalled that on Wednesday, September 25th, 2024, Ida D. Drammeh and Associates legal representative of President Adama Barrow wrote to The Voice Newspaper to retract its article on the said publication and also urged the company to apologize to the President for the damage made within 24 hours, however, even before the management of The Voice Newspaper replied to the President’s Counsels, GPF invited the two journalists for questioning leading to the detention of Momodou Justice Darboe on September 26th 2024.
On Saturday, September 28th, Momodou Justice Darboe was released on bail to the tune of D25,000, while his managing editor, Musa Sheriff, was also charged and bailed to the tune of D50,000 on Monday, September 30th, for false publication and broadcasting.
They had been reporting to the police until last Friday when they were informed that the Special Investigations Unit (SIU) had completed its investigation. The SIU has since passed their files to the Police Prosecution Unit for potential legal action, and the individuals involved may be arraigned in court today.
