By Mariama Marong
Defence Counsel for Ousainou Bojang, lawyer Lamin J Darboe on Tuesday, 28 November 2023 tendered an Africell call log of Mama Jabbie as evidence in the ongoing murder trial involving Mr Bojang and his sister.
Senior Counsel Darboe in the last adjourned date applied for the court to give an order for witness (Mama Jabbie) call logs from Africell and Qcell respectively be made available to the defence.
However, the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) Abdourahman Maitama Yusuf objected to the application which was overruled by the court on the grounds that it was relevant to the trial.
The Defence, therefore, tendered the call log document from Africell through one Abubacarr Jallow, a data analyst at Africell Company Limited, which the court admitted as an exhibit.
DPP Yusuf, in his attempt to get the document rejected, objected to its admissibility, arguing that the document sought to be tendered by the Defence was a computer-generating document and the interpretation of the document is needed under section 22 of the Evidence Act.
However, Justice Jaiteh intimated to the State’s DPP that the Computer did its calculation and its advance calculation, and whatever was generated from it was accurate and he marked the document as exhibit C1.
The statement of the witness (Mama Jabbi) was also admitted as an exhibit without objection from the state.
Under cross-examination, Mama Jabbi told the court that she had met with Ousainou around 2 pm in Jululung, took his picture, and recorded the conversation they had.
Defence counsel read out Africell and Qcell numbers of witness (Mama Jabbi), with the witness (Mama Jabbie) responding that the numbers were hers but the insult she had been receiving from the public made her remove the sim cards.
Ousainou’s lawyer asked the witness (Mama Jabbi) “Have you recorded your entire conversation with him?
“No. When I was recording and he told me he killed someone, that’s the time I left him in the room and went out and made a call,” said the witness.
“So, you did not record that part where he allegedly told you he killed someone?” Counsel Darboe asked. The witness responded that the record contains their conversation, where he (OusainouBojang) told her he killed someone.
Lawyer L.J. Darboe asked the witness (Mama Jabbi) whether she still had the audio recording but she responded that when she came back, people started insulting her and she deleted her WhatsApp number and she lost everything in her WhatsApp.
At this juncture, Counsel Darboe asked the witness whether she knew that the audio was all over the internet, and the witness said that may be possible.
He added: “According to the statement tendered from 12 August to 12 September 2023 for the entire month, you were out of the Gambia?” The witness said: “I can’t remember.”
Mr Darboe intervened and quizzed further: “Exhibit C1: According to the call records from 17 August 2023 to 25 August 2023, you were in the Gambia, you didn’t go anywhere.”
“My mind doesn’t capture that. I don’t know,” she responded.
The lawyer cited exhibit C1, saying ‘the call recorded that you were at Brufut junction on the 13th of September 2023 at 9:22 pm”, with the witness answering in the negative.
Lawyer Darboe added: “In fact, you did not go home at Sukuta, you went to old Yundum after Brufut. According to the call record, you were at Old Yundum at 11:28 pm on 13 September when the first accused was apprehended.”
“I can’t remember that,” she responded.
The lawyer told her that she spent the night at old Yundum on the 13 to 14 September.
“The day he was apprehended was the day I spent the night at the old Yundum because people were insulting me. I could not go back to Sukuta because People were insulting me on all social media platforms. That’s how I went to old Yundum,” the witness added.
The lawyer asked the witness whether the number she gave to the police 3829711 was registered under her name, with the witness (Mama Jabbi) saying she only used it for her WhatsApp because they gave the number to someone else.
At this juncture, lawyer Darboe put it to her that what she was saying was a fabrication because the telephone number was registered under Musa Camara’s name. And she said the number was her WhatsApp and not Musa’s number but she cannot remember it and cannot memorize it.
The case is adjourned to the 4 of December 2023 at 2:15 for continuation of cross-examination.
