Principal Magistrate Moses Richards of the Kanifing Magistrates’ Court on Monday issued ultimatum to the prosecution to proceed with the case of the former acting Mayor of KMC, Mr. Alieu Momar Njie or else he would discharge him. Magistrate Richards reasoned that the speed with which the prosecution treats the case matters a lot as the accused faces a serious criminal charge which puts his liberty at stake.

He therefore warned that if on the next adjourned date the prosecution failed to proceed with the case, the court would discharge the accused.

For his part the defense counsel, Lawyer Badou Conteh, in his objection to the prosecution’s application for an adjournment, agreed that since the police had preferred a charge against the accused person, their investigation must have been completed and therefore no need for adjournment. The police should rather proceed with their case, he stated.

The police prosecutor, ASP Bojang, earlier on applied for adjournment on the grounds that he was yet to recover fully from a sickness that made him bedridden.

Mr. Alieu Momar Njie is currently standing trial for alleged embezzlement of funds amounting to D4m, property of Gambia Boy Scouts Association, of which he was the Chief Scout Commissioner. Mr. Njie has denied the charge.

The case was adjourned to 2nd October 2007 for continuation. Meanwhile, the charge sheet of Mr Njie states that in between 2003 and 2004 at Bakoteh and diverse places in the republic of The Gambia, stole an amount of four million dalasis, being the property of the Gambia Scouts Association.