By Landing Ceesay
Hon. Justice Ebrima Jaiteh of the High Court of The Gambia expressed strong disapproval over the Health Minister’s absence in court on Tuesday, despite a formal summons. Justice Jaiteh described the minister’s non-appearance as “unacceptable and disrespectful.”
The minister had been summoned by the court to provide medical certificates related to the tragic deaths of Gambian children due to Acute Kidney Injury (AKI), reportedly linked to contaminated syrup imported from India.
On November 7, 2024, Justice Jaiteh issued summons to several key officials at the request of lawyers representing families of the AKI victims. These included the Health Minister, the Director of Lamtoro Clinic in Kololi, the Managing Director of AQA Medical Diagnostics Co. Ltd, and the Director of the MRC Unit The Gambia.
In response to the summons, Professor Adama Ahmadou Sallah, a Senior Consultant Pediatrician and Medical Director at Lamtoro Medical Centre, appeared in court on behalf of Lamtoro’s Managing Director. Prof. Sallah explained that he did not bring the required Child Welfare Record of Lamin Sagnia, one of the AKI victims, but assured the court that they could retrieve the medical records if provided with the child’s medical center number.
“It is home based clinics, however we can access some data in our computers if we have the MC numbers. What is written on the summon was 3 digits, while it should be 7 digits,” Prof. Sallah told the court.
Counsel L. Farage, representing the AKI victims, confirmed to the court that he had provided Prof. Sallah with the complete set of digits.
Prof. Sallah reassured the court that the documents would be submitted on the next adjourned date, either directly by him or through a representative from Lamtoro Clinic.
In a separate matter, Hon. Justice Jaiteh issued a summons for the Managing Director of AQA Medical Diagnostics Co. Ltd to appear in court and present four specific documents.
These documents are: AQA Medical Diagnostics Co. Ltd Laboratory results and receipt dated the 15th and 16th of September 2022 of Madeline Mendy (AKI Victim); AQA Medical Diagnostics Co. Ltd Laboratory results of Madeline Mendy from the 14th of September 2022; AQA Medical Diagnostics Co. Ltd Laboratory results of Lamin Sagnia (AKI Victim) from the 15th of September 2022; and AQA Medical Diagnostics Co. Ltd Laboratory results of Lamin Sagnia from the 16th of September 2022.
Dr. Alansana Darboe, the Chief Executive Officer of AQA Medical Diagnostics Co. Ltd, appeared in court to present documents on behalf of his organization.
Dr. Darboe submitted the documents to Hon. Justice Jaiteh.
Regarding the Medical Research Council (MRC), Hon. Justice Jaiteh issued a summons for its Director to appear in court and provide three medical documents.These documents are; Death Certificate of Muhammad Lamin Drammeh (AKI Victim) born on the 15th March 2020, and died at MRC Unit in August/September 2022; Patient ID for the Medical Research Centre (MRC) for Omar Daffeh (AKI Victim) bearing ID No. 2022/5970; and MRC Clinical Services Department Summary of Omar Daffeh dated 29th November 2022.
Representing the MRC before Hon. Justice Jaiteh was Karen Forest, the Head of Clinical Services.
She also submitted the documents that her institution had been summoned to present before the court.
When questioned about the summons served on the Minister of Health, Counsel Binga, the Director of Civil Litigation at the Attorney General’s Chambers, confirmed that the service had been carried out.
“The Minister of Health was served through his record office to appear in court and produce documents. The Minister of Health is expected to be before the court today to produce these documents. Counsel Binga, Why is the Minister not in court today?” Hon. Justice Jaiteh asked. “My lord, this document was served on Friday through the record office. My lord, if the documents were served on Friday, in an ideal situation, the minister would receive them on Monday, which was yesterday. Secondly, The death certificates would not be with the minister, but with the hospital where the children passed away. My lord, these are the realities,” Counsel Binga told the court.
In response, Justice Jaiteh observed:
“Court orders are bound to be respected. If he is served, even if he doesn’t have the documents, he should have come, or send his subordinate to come. But refusal to come and answer the court summon is contempt of court. Prof. Salah was here, and they had issues, he could have also sat and said we don’t have these documents, and we should not go to the court.
“Not coming to the court at all, sitting at your comfort zone drinking coffee, that is disrespectful to the court. I don’t think I can take that because it is criminal pursuant to section 106 of the Criminal Code. The public servants cannot just sit at their comfort zone and disobey the court orders, otherwise this country will turn to a state of anarchy. You are here representing the Attorney General, you should put it to the Attorney General that this is not acceptable. Because they cannot disrupt court proceedings,” Hon. Justice Jaiteh stressed.
Hon. Justice Jaiteh further asserted that: “I am not going to sit here and waste my time. We are here in the name of the republic.”Hon. Justice Jaiteh inquired about the absence of any representatives from the Ministry of Health in court, questioning whether this was a sign of respect, especially considering the loss of lives. He also expressed concern about how the international community might view The Gambia in light of such actions.
“We cannot have obstacles, with officers sitting in their comfort zone drinking coffee. Sometimes, the Ministers don’t even know the law. They don’t know that failing to respect the court orders is criminal and should be in prison for that, not in their offices. We are coming here on Thursday, tell the Minister to come or send his subordinate to come and appear before the court. We cannot afford what happened today to repeat itself again, let them come and comply with the court orders,” Hon. Justice Jaiteh ordered.
At this point, Counsel Farage informed the court that it is the responsibility of the Attorney General’s office to notify ministers of these laws.
“It is the job of the Counsel to advise them of the consequences of not respecting the court orders,” Counsel Farage told the court.
Counsel Binga, representing the state, then assured the court that this message would be conveyed to the Minister of Health.
Hon. Justice Jaiteh subsequently extended the summons for the Minister of Health, requiring them to appear before the court or send a representative on Thursday, 14th November 2024.
Background History of the Case
On July 26, 2022, cases of AKI emerged among children in The Gambia. Investigations in Ghana, France, and Switzerland detected Diethylene glycol (DEG) and Ethylene glycol (EG) in medication samples, leading to the removal of numerous pediatric medicines from the market. The affected products, all from Maiden Pharmaceutical Company, were promptly withdrawn.
The Ministry of Health of The Gambia confirmed that at least 70 children died due to the consumption of cough syrup produced by Maiden Pharmaceutical Company in India.
In response, 27 families of the AKI victims filed a lawsuit against several entities: Maiden Pharmaceutical Company Limited (1st defendant), Atlantic Pharmaceutical Company Limited (2nd defendant), Medicines Control Agency, The Gambia (3rd defendant), the Ministry of Health (4th defendant), and the Attorney General (5th defendant). These families are seeking damages of 15 million dalasis per child.