Justice Jaiteh Accepts Replacement of Two Witness Statements in AKI Case

AKI Bereaved Parents at recent court case © Askanwi

By Edward Francis Dalliah

Presiding over the ongoing Acute Kidney Injury (AKI) against the government and two pharmaceutical companies on Thursday, 23rd January 2025, Justice Ebrima Jaiteh accepted the substitution of two witness statements sworn on 30th June 2023 with new statements sworn on 28th October 2024, after the Defendants' Counsel did not object.

The two witnesses, Mariam Kuyateh and Momodou Dembele, are the parents of Musa Kamaso and Aminata Dembele, who died after consuming tainted cough syrups manufactured by Maiden Pharmaceuticals in India. According to the AKI Taskforce Report established by the Office of the President, “the death of the seventy children below the age of five, between July and October 2022 related to Acute Kidney Injury, is as a direct result of contaminated medicines found in four cough and cold syrups imported by Atlantic Pharmacy from Maiden Pharmaceuticals Company Limited in India.”

In July 2023, legal action was initiated by The Gambia Bar Association, the Female Lawyers Association, Farage and Andrews Law Chambers, and Yassin Senghore against the Gambia Government and two pharmaceutical companies on behalf of 19 bereaved parents, which increased to 27 bereaved parents.

During the most recent court hearing on 23rd January 2025, Counsel Andrews, representing the plaintiffs, requested the substitution of the sworn statement of Mariam Kuyateh, mother of Musa Kamaso, with a new statement sworn on 28th October 2024. After no objections from the Defendants' Counsel, Justice Jaiteh ruled to substitute the statement and struck out the first statement. Similarly, Momodou Dembele's statement was also replaced.

During cross-examination, both witnesses testified that their children visited the hospital and had a prescription to give them for ‘paracetamol syrup’. They testified that after buying the syrup and giving it to their children, their conditions worsened, making the children unable to pass urine leading to their death. This, therefore, led them to believe that medications caused their death.

Similarly, the additional six witnesses who testified shared similar accounts. The trial is scheduled to continue on 30th January 2025, with 15 witnesses set to appear for cross-examination.