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| Journalist Keita |
Mr Keita is charged with giving false information to a public officer when he petitioned his former employer, The Daily Observer Company to the Office of the President claiming, among others, wrongful termination of his engagement.
He however pleaded not guilty.
When the case resumed on Monday, Mr Keita, who was released on bail in the sum of D100, 000.00 was unavailable, but the court has granted his lawyer’s request for the matter to be adjourned.
Journalist Keita’s arrest warrant however came in the wake of reports that he has fled to the United States of America.
“We’ve got information that the accused is not in town,” the prosecutor revealed upon his return in the courtroom almost 25 minutes after the case was adjourned. And the court granted his request for arrest warrant.
Lawyer Cham disapproves
“The matter should not have been called in my absence because the case was already adjourned by the magistrate,” lawyer Neneh M Cham told The Daily News in her office in Banjul on Monday.
“What the court should have done is wait till the next adjourned date and if the accused is absent, it can then issue an arrest warrant.”
Mrs Cham could not confirm reports that her client is not in the country, saying it is news to her. She added: “I don’t see any reason he should be scared of the case and I am not aware that he is not in town.”
Nanama in U.S
Meanwhile, The Daily News has however confirmed that Mr Keita has left the country via Dakar to attend the 2011 Reham al-Farra Memorial Fellowship Programme in New York, USA.
The six-week journalists fellowship, which starts Tuesday at United Nations headquarters brings together 14 young journalists representing media organisations in the Bahamas, Barbados, Cameroon, Croatia, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Gambia, Georgia, Ghana, Kiribati, Oman, Palau, Swaziland, Tajikistan and the United Arab Emirates.
Mr Keita has been confirmed as a participant, representing The Standard newspaper of The Gambia
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