By Louise Jobe
Modou Secka, an expert in converting audio messages, yesterday March 4th 2019, testified before the General Court-Martial in relation to how he converted ‘WhatsApp’ audio messages of the purported ‘WhatsApp’ group of soldiers, who are standing trial.
The accused persons in the case are WO1 Sulayman S. Badjie and Lance Corporal Private Lamin Kujabi, both officers of the Gambia Armed Force (GAF). The accused persons are jointly charged on three criminal offences namely of incitement to mutiny, conspiracy to commit mutiny and endeavour to persuade members of GAF to take part in mutiny. They all denied committing the offences as charged.
- Suso represented the accused persons, whilst Counsel A.N.M. Yusuph appeared for the State.
When the case was called, witness Secka told the Court that he was given a memory card from a phone, to convert the audios into a CD; that he inserted the memory card in his laptop and converted the audios into a CD.
He was shown the CD and the memory card which he identified. The CD and the memory were tendered and admitted as exhibits.
Witness Secka told the Court that he has been doing this job since 1997; that he was residing in the compound of the first accused person Sulayman S. Badjie, where he had a shop.
The case was adjourned to 11th March 2019, for the defence team to transfer the audio messages into written text.
Readers would recall that this case was first heard in November 2018, and the prosecution was able to call on all their witnesses and closed their case. The case is now on the side of the defence who have started calling their witnesses before the Court-martial.
