President Adama Barrow, Hon Seedy Njie and Musa Sheriff.
By Landing Ceesay
Seedy SK Njie, the Deputy Spokesperson of the ruling National People’s Party (NPP), testified in court that an article published by the Voice Newspaper on September 23, 2024, regarding the party’s leadership has caused pandemonium, disunity, confusion, and disappointment among its members.
Njie made this statement while appearing as the First Prosecution Witness (PW1) in a criminal lawsuit filed by the Inspector General of Police (IGP) against the Voice Newspaper’s Editor-in-Chief, Musa Sheriff (1st accused), and his Deputy, Momodou Justice Darboe (2nd accused).
Sheriff and Darboe face charges of False Publication and Broadcasting under Section 181A of the Criminal Code. According to the IGP, the accused published a news article on September 23, 2024, titled “President Barrow Chooses Muhammed Jah As Successor and Presidential Candidate for the 2026 Election with the Voice Newspaper,” knowing the information was false and without any lawful authority or excuse.
Njie emphasized in court that, as the Deputy Spokesperson of the NPP, he is responsible for providing the public with accurate and reliable information on behalf of the party.
He further testified that any information about the NPP that does not come from Lamin Queen Jammeh, the Party’s Spokesperson, or himself as the Deputy Spokesperson, is false, speculative, and misleading.
Njie then recounted his interactions with the 1st accused, Musa Sheriff, Editor-in-Chief of the Voice Newspaper, on September 22, 2024.
“Did anything transpire between you and the 1st accused person on that fateful day of 22nd September 2024, which is why you are here today,” Commissioner A. Sanneh, appearing for the IGP, asked.
“Yes, on that fateful day between the hours of 5 pm onwards, the accused, Musa Sheriff, placed a call and told me that he had hot news on his desk, and before going to the press, he wanted to consult me and verify whether it is true or false. I asked him what is that hot news about. He (Musa Sheriff) told me that he had received information from two executive members of the National People’s Party (NPP) that the President (Adama Barrow) has finally chosen Mr Muhammad Jah as the Flag bearer of the party in 2026. He (Musa Sheriff) wanted to know the veracity of the hot news.
“I told him that I was not going to grant him any interview, and I requested for him to tell me the names of the two executive members. He said no, “my brother, I am telling you this is a concern and factual information”. I told him (Musa Sheriff) that I was not granting him any interview and that this was not true and was not factual. I told him that for me to grant him the interview, he must tell me the names of the executive members. He told me that he has been following the issue for the past 9 months,” Seedy Njie told the court.
Seedy Njie informed the court that he was interrupted by Musa Sheriff, who affirmed that the information was accurate.
According to Seedy Njie’s testimony, he advised Musa Sheriff that if he aimed to avoid spreading disunity and falsehoods, he should refrain from publishing the article.
The NPP Deputy Spokesperson stated that he told Musa Sheriff he would not grant any interviews unless Sheriff disclosed his sources.
Seedy Njie further noted that Musa Sheriff responded by saying that, according to journalistic ethics, he could not reveal his sources.
“He (Musa Sheriff) promised to get back to his news desk and get back to me. I told him that I was not granting him an interview. He told me that I had known you, Mr. Njie, for a very long time. I told him that if he were going to publish the story, it would be injurious to the President and would be a false publication. He never got back to me, but before that, I told him that no interview was granted to him.
“Did anything transpire that he failed to come back to you?” Commissioner Sanneh asked.
“Yes, the following day, to my uttered dismay, I saw a newspaper with the caption “President Barrow Chooses Muhammed Jah As Successor As Presidential Candidate for the 2026 election with the Voice Newspaper,” Mr Njie told the court.
“What was your reaction?” Commissioner Sanneh asked. “I was shocked and surprised, and in fact, because I was busy in Parliament that day, I had tons of missed calls. Everyone in the NPP were expressing their dismay, and disappointment about the story,” he said.
“What was the reaction of the NPP Members? Commissioner Sanneh asked again. “Everyone was shocked, disappointed and confused. Because the executive never had any meeting or any discussion about the successor or the flag bearer. So there was pandemonium among the top ranks, and the rank and files of the party,” Njie told the court.
When asked if he recognized the Voice Newspaper publication that allegedly caused disunity, confusion, and pandemonium among the NPP, Mr. Njie responded affirmatively, telling the court that the article in question was featured as the lead story on the front page of Voice Newspaper.
Commissioner Sanneh then requested to submit the newspaper as a prosecution exhibit.
Defense Counsel Lamin S. Camara raised no objections to the newspaper’s admissibility.
Magistrate M. Faal subsequently admitted the newspaper into evidence and marked it as an exhibit.
The article’s author is Binta Jaiteh, a reporter for Voice Newspaper. When asked if he knew Binta Jaiteh, Seedy Njie stated that he did not know her and had never seen or spoken to her.
“What was your reaction when you saw Binta Jaiteh’s name as the author of the story?” Commissioner Sanneh asked.
“I was disappointed. How can people sit and dramatise something? I was so shocked. I don’t know Binta Jaiteh, I have never spoken to Binta Jaiteh,” Njie told the court.
Seedy Njie asserted that there was never a meeting or convergence among the NPP Executive to discuss the issue of flag bearer for the 2026 Presidential Election.
“It has created disunity, mistrust, confusion, disappointment, and pandemonium among the NPP. I placed a telephone call to him (Musa Sheriff) after reading the newspaper and people calling all over expressing their dismay. I told him that I saw the Voice Newspaper publication, and I read the article written by Binta Jaiteh, who claimed to have interviewed me when I was never interviewed. I told him (Musa Sheriff) that you said you wanted to interview me and I told you that I am not granting you an interview. He told me that he was sorry that they went ahead to publish the story.
“I told him that it had caused serious injury to me, my party leader, and the members of the party. I told him (Musa Sheriff) that I was not going to leave this story like that. I told him that you must apologise to me the following day. He told me that he would apologise to me on the top press. Then I asked him what kind of top press, and he said they were going to write that they were sorry that they misquoted me. I told him that, Mr. Sheriff, this is not ethical Journalism. I told him that I had never spoken to Binta Jaiteh. I told him that you must state in your apologies that I did not grant you an interview. He told me that Mr. Njie, you are my guy. If I do that, my credibility and the credibility of my newspaper would be in jeopardy,” Seedy Njie told the court.Seedy Njie continued: “I told him that you are thinking about your credibility. What about me as the Deputy Spokesperson of the NPP and my President?”
Seedy Njie informed the court that neither Musa Sheriff nor the Voice Newspaper issued an apology to him.
The case has been adjourned until December 10, 2024, for cross-examination.