Posted by By Halimatou Ceesay
The trial of a senior Gambian spy who is charged with numerous offenses including conspiracy to murder has been adjourned.
James Mendy, chief Security at the defunct National Intelligence Agency (NIA) appeared today before Justice Wadda of the Banjul High Court.
He was earlier arraigned before the Banjul Magistrate Court on 29th March 2018 before the case was transferred to the superior court.
When the case was called, the state prosecutor, A.M Yusuph informed the court that the case is transferred from the lower court and he is not sure if it has been transmitted to their office. He said in this circumstances he is craving the indulgence of the court to adjourned the case to enable them communicate to the police.
In response, a lawyer representing Mendy, S.K Jobe, urged the court not to adjourn the matter as his client has been languishing in detention since his arrest in March.
He said since the matter was mentioned in the lower courts on 29th March, the state has not make an effort to get the case file from the IGP.
“We do not think that it is in the interest of justice for the state to appear without any case file. It is the constitutional right of the accused to be tried within a reasonable time,” he said.
He added that the state has not shown any correspondence to the court that the case file should be sent to them. He appealed to the court to release his client on bail until such a time that the state is ready to proceed with the case.
Deciding on the matter, the trial judge Justice Wadda, said she will grant the prosecution’s request as this is the first time the case was mentioned before her.
The case continues.