Despite the fact that the High Court issued a summons to the Minister of Health to provide papers in the pre-trial phase of the Acute Kidney Injury legal claim, the Minister of Health did not show up or send a representative to the courthouse. It is anticipated that the Minister of Health will show up today in court in response to the summons.
On Tuesday, the court, which was presided over by Justice E. Jaiteh of the Banjul High Court, admitted into evidence medical records of the victims of the Acute Kidney Injuries (AKI). These reports included death certificates and laboratory data.
In order to prove their case against the Maiden Pharmaceutical Company Limited, Atlantic Pharmaceuticals Limited, Medicines Control Agency, Ministry of Health, and Attorney General, the families of the victims of AKI presented the court with medical documents of their children. The first defendant was Maiden Pharmaceutical Company Limited, the second defendant was Atlantic Pharmaceuticals Limited, and the third defendant was the Ministry of Health.
The death certificates, laboratory results, child welfare records, and other medical documentation of the victims have been presented by Counsel L. Farage, who is the primary counsel for the families of the victims of AKI.
Counsel Binga D. informed the court that the summons that was served on the minister was delivered on a Friday, adding that “in an ideal situation, the minister would receive them on Monday, which was yesterday.” However, the summons was supposed to be served on the minister of health or a representative from his ministry. The documents that were listed in the summons were supposed to be produced by the minister.
The judge who was presiding over the case, Justice E. Jaiteh, stated that the orders of the court were required to be obeyed. Despite the fact that he did not possess the documents, the minister ought to have appeared before the court and provided an explanation if he was served. When it comes to not following court orders, it is considered a contempt of court, according to Justice Jaiteh. It is not acceptable for them to just remain in their comfort zone and ignore the directions of the court; doing so is not only disrespectful to the court but also a criminal offense in accordance with section 106 of the Criminal Code.
Counsel Farage, on the other hand, claimed that it was the duty of the defense counsel to inform them of the penalties that would result from disobeying the court instructions.
“My Lord, we will make sure that the message is related to the Minister,” attorney Binga D. expressed in response to the question.
On July 26, 2022, cases of acute kidney injury (AKI) were discovered among children in The Gambia. Diethylene glycol (DEG) and ethylene glycol (EG) were found in medication samples as a result of further studies conducting in Ghana, France, and Switzerland. As a consequence of these investigations, a number of pediatric medicines were removed from the market. Immediately, the concerned products, which were all manufactured by the Maiden Pharmaceutical Company, were taken off the market.
It has been established by the Ministry of Health of the Gambia that the ingestion of cough syrup manufactured by Maiden Pharmaceutical Company in India was responsible for the deaths of at least seventy under-aged children.
