By: Kebba Ansu Manneh
Seedy Njie, the Deputy Spokesperson of the National People’s Party (NPP) and Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly (NA) has informed the Kanifing Magistrate Court that the publication of the Voice Newspaper on September 23rd has caused disunity, chaos, and confusion among the party’s executives and members.
He told the court that the paper had declined to apologize for its publication, which damaged him and President Adama Barrow.
He testified on October 31st, 2024, before Magistrate Mben Faal at the Kanifing Magistrate Court in the criminal case of the state vs. Musa Sheriff and Momodou Justice Darboe, affiliated with The Voice Newspaper.
He adduced to the court that his responsibility is to disseminate accurate and reliable information about the party to the public, adding that only he and Lamin Queen Jammeh, the NPP’s spokesperson, have the mandate to disseminate any information relative to the party.
When asked by Chief Prosecutor, Police Commissioner Sanneh, how he will treat information about the NPP party that doesn’t emanate from him and his superior, Lamin Queen Jammeh, the Deputy Spokesperson of the NPP said he would regard such information as utterly false, speculative, and garbage.
Recalling what transpired on September 22nd, 2024, leading to the court proceeding, Deputy Speaker Njie recounted that on that faithful day between the hours of 5 and 6 p.m., he received a call from the 1st Defendant, Musa Sheriff, that he had hot news on his table that he wanted him to verify before going to press.
According to him, Musa Sheriff revealed to him that he has information from two NPP executives who disclosed that the President is working on an exit plan and has chosen Muhammed Jah, CEO of QGroup, as his successor, adducing that he told Musa Sheriff that he is not giving any interview unless he reveals the names of those NPP executives and that he is not granting any interview as far as the matter is concern.
He continued to recall that he did inform the 1st Defendant that the President himself has been on the media and has told Gambians that he is the flagbearer of the NPP in the forthcoming Presidential election, noting that he further told Musa Sheriff not to publish the article if he was not trying to create misunderstanding within the party.
NPP Deputy Spokesperson and 1st Prosecution witness in the matter between Adama Barrow vs Musa Sheriff and Momodou Justice Darboe continues to testify that the following day, September 23rd, to his utter dismay and shock, he saw the publication on The Voice Newspaper, with the caption ‘President Adama Barrow is working on exit plan and chosen Businessman Muhammed Jah, as his successor.
He said that during this period, he was at the Parliament, receiving many calls from NPP members and supporters, who were all enquiring about the article published in the Voice Newspaper. He noted that everybody within the party was disappointed and shocked as the matter of flagbearer-ship was never discussed at the executive level.
At this stage, Commissioner Sanneh, representing the IGP, craves the court’s indulgence to admit the said publication as an ID verification, which presiding Magistrate Mben Faal granted.
Continuing his testimony, Seedy S K Njie further adduced that he was shocked and disappointed to see such a publication and wondered how people could dramatize fictitious information about his party. He added that the issue of successor and flagbearer-ship was never discussed by NPP executives prior to the Voice Newspaper publication, and the publication has created disunity, pandemonium, confusion, and disappointment among the party.
He continued to disclose that he recalled Musa Sheriff after getting many calls relative to the publication and informed him that the publication had indeed caused harm to him and to the president’s personality. He added that Musa Sheriff promised to apologize during the communication but never apologized to him or the President.
At this stage, lawyer Lamin Camara, defense counsel for the defendants, also craves the court’s indulgence in admitting the September 23rd publication as an exhibit. Magistrate Mben Faal subsequently accepted the request before adjourning the matter to December 10th, 2024, to cross-examine the first Prosecution witness (PW1), Seedy Njie.
Commissioner Abdoulie Sanneh, Deputy Commissioner Malang Jarju e, and ASP Yaya S. Colley were the state representatives, while Lawyer Lamin Camara and Lawyer Lamin J. Darboe represented the Defendant.
