In a rape case involving four alleged victims, the accused, Yaya Camara, told a court on Tuesday, August 12, 2025, that he was tortured by a Criminal Investigation Department officer, causing what he described as serious internal injuries.
The matter is before Magistrate Isatou Jallow of the Brusubi Magistrate Court, sitting in Bundung. Camara, who is representing himself, claimed during his testimony that one of the victims had “framed” him, leading to his arrest in Sukuta. He recounted that a CID officer, whose name he did not disclose, approached him while he was speaking with the fourth alleged victim.
“I was severely hurt by a beating from an officer in my waistband, in which I sustained pain and I also continued to beat me in the vehicle until when another officer called Badjie arrived and told him to stop beating me up,” he said.
Camara testified that while in custody at the Sukuta Police Station, he was in pain and “urinating blood” as a result of the alleged assault. Officer Badjie, he said, later escorted him to Sukuta Hospital, where a doctor told him his kidneys had been affected. He added that after being granted police bail, he was later taken to the Cyber Crime Unit in Banjul, where he spent several days before being released again.
“While at the charge office in Banjul Cyber Crime Unit, some officers were assaulting me and calling and shaming me,” he said, insisting that “all the charges against him are false” and claiming that “the police did not find anything on his phone which can indicate that he was engaged in cyber crime.”
“I had not raped this girls, they are just accusing me of a crime I didn’t commit,” Camara told the court.
The prosecution, which has closed its case, called four witnesses — all alleged victims — who testified that Camara unlawfully assaulted them in May 2024 in the West Coast Region. The charges, filed under the Sexual Offences Act 2013, allege that Camara had carnal knowledge of each without their consent.
The names of the alleged victims have been withheld to protect their identities. The case will resume on August 14, 2025, for cross-examination.
