Lawyers for businessman Abubakary Jawara have written to former secretary general Momodou Sabally warning him to desist from comments ‘defamatory’ to their client – but also gave him seven days to withdraw his initial comments or be sued.
In a bombshell letter seen by The Fatu Network, Jawara’s lawyer Christopher Mene is seen telling Sabally “it has come to my client’s attention that at various periods during the month of January 2020, you Momodou Sabally by means of a number of social media and media platforms made unfounded statements damaging to my client’s reputation”.
“On or about the 11th of January 2021, you made a widely shared post on your Facebook page on which you posted a picture of my client and sought to draw a link between my client and the drug seizure,” the lawyer told Sabally in the letter.
The lawyer argued comments from Sabally linking his client to the Banta Keita drug seizure are clearly defamatory of his client as “it disparages the reputation of my client or tends to lower him in the estimation of right thinking members of the society generally or exposes him to hatred, ridicule, scandal, odium, contempt and similar feelings”.
The lawyer then says his client demands that Sabally ceases and desists from continuing to propagate ‘unfounded’ stories about his client.
“You are further given seven days to publish a detailed withdrawal of your post and tender an unreserved apology to my client for the false statements made against him on all social media platforms through which the falsehoods were perpetrated (WhatsApp Voice Notes, Freedom Radio and Facebook). Should you fail to comply with the above request within seven days from receipt of this letter, I have instructions to bring an action against you before the high court of The Gambia for damages, including exemplary damages for defamation without any further warning,” Mene said in his letter.
Sabally confirmed receiving a letter but says he has not read it.
