Abdul Hamid Adiamoh, the editor and publisher of the Today newspaper, yesterday pleaded guilty to charges of false publication and broadcasting.

Adiamoh was arraigned before Principal Magistrate Sainabou Wadda-Ceesay of the Kanifing Magistrates Court. According to Cadet Inspector Keita, the incident happened on the 10th of June 2009. He told the court that the paper was out for circulation, noting that it carried the pictures of the former speaker of the National Assembly, Fatoumatta Jahumpa Ceesay; former minister of Finance and Economic Affairs, Musa Gibril Bala Gaye; the minister of Justice, Marie Saine Firdaus, as well as Local Government and Lands minister,  Ismaila Sambou.

"The story further revealed that Marie Saine Firdaus and Ismaila Sambou had been relieved of their various ministerial positions. Upon seeing the said publication, the police mounted an urgent investigation so as to establish the true state of affairs concerning the said publication," he told the court. Cadet Inspector Keita further stated that during their investigations, it was revealed that both Ismaila Sambou and Marie Saine Firdaus, are still the holders of their ministerial posts.

He adduced to the court that after establishing the facts, the accused made himself available to the police for questioning. "He was questioned regarding the said publication and he confessed to publishing the said story in his capacity as the editor of the said paper," Cadet Inspector Keita told the court. He further narrated to the court that the accused even went further to write apology letters to the various ministers concerned, adding that the following day, he published a corrigendum.

In his plea for mitigation, Lawyer Lamin Ceesay who appeared for the accused, told the court that the accused had not wasted the court's time, adding that by doing so, he had accepted the action and has demonstrated his remorse and regret over the incident. "What the prosecution failed to mention in court is that the accused made desperate attempts to retrieve all copies of the newspaper and had succeeded in retrieving about 90% of the said publication," Ceesay told the court.

Lawyer Ceesay further told the court that the accused is a young man in a foreign land with a young family and that any incarceration will have a very negative impact on his family as well as business. The Today boss was then granted bail in the sum of D10,000 with a Gambian surety. The case was then adjourned to today for sentencing.