Essa Marenah, the acting executive director of the Medicine Control Agency, made an appearance yesterday before the high court in Banjul, which is chaired by Justice Ebrima Jaiteh, in a dramatic turn of events at the ongoing court proceedings surrounding the deaths of children connected to the AKI case.
Loubna Farage, the plaintiff’s attorney, cross-examined Mr. Marenah after he accepted his sworn witness statement as his main piece of evidence.
Mr. Marenah acknowledged during the intense cross-examination that some of the children had in fact died from AKI, but he vehemently denied that AKI was the cause of all the child fatalities. He mentioned a case where a child allegedly passed away before the AKI crisis started in early 2022.
Mr. Essa Marenah noted that among other things, the alleged victims may have died from kidney failure, bacterial infections, pneumonia, dehydration, excessive vomiting, malaria, and illnesses linked to COVID-19.
Mr. Marenah revealed that the MCA carries out its duties with due diligence, particularly when it comes to the importation of drugs, and that any goods that don’t meet the MCA-certified analysis standard are seized and destroyed.
According to Marenah, Atlantic Pharmaceutical has a license to import pharmaceuticals.
The hearing will resume on July 3.
