By Kemeseng Sanneh (Kexx)
In the murder case of Ousainou Bojang and his sister, Detective Ebou Sowe, the sixth prosecution witness (PW6), told the court that the sister of the first defendant facilitated his escape.
The witness said so while continuing his testimony in the main trial after a voir-dire trial which suspended the main trial.
The Director of Public Prosecutions A.M Yusuf led the witness, Detective Sowe, in his evidence-in-chief. A.M. Yusuf asked Detective Sowe to recount the statements obtained from Ousainou Bojang on the 13th, 14th, and 15th of September.
Detective Sowe informed the court that Ousainou Bojang confessed his escape route out of Gambia, in which his sister Amie Bojang, the second accused facilitated his exit by providing a C Class Benz vehicle that took him from their residence in Brufut to Jiboro via the Transgambia road.
Sowe further said that before heading to Senegal, Ousainou said he gave a bag containing his Senegalese Passport and non-Gambian ID Card to his sister, and he also admitted her sister provided a vehicle and a motorcycle (locally known as Jakarta) for his (Ousainou) escape. Detective Sowe said upon getting the information, Amie Bojang (second accused) was subsequently arrested based on Ousainou’s statement.
Still testifying, Detective Sowe said interrogation of Amie Bojang (second accused) led investigators to the recovery of the bag left by Ousainou. On the following day, the second accused led investigators to taxi driver Abdoulie Drammeh, who confirmed transporting Ousainou to the Gambian border in Jiboro. The Jakarta driver, Buba Manneh, also confirmed driving Ousainou to Senegal.
Furthermore, Detective Sowe said the investigation continued and empty bullet cases were found at the crime scene and sent for ballistic examination. Detective Sowe added that later, a disassembled pistol was found in an empty land, linked to a witness, Lamin Fofana, who said he saw people chasing someone wearing a kaftan, he wrestled the man down, and the man hit him with an object.
Then the man continued running. He tried to chase the man, and the man threw an object at him and the object landed on the fence. After a short pursuit, he came to check the said object only for him to realize that it was a pistol. He then picked up the pieces walked into the empty land and threw it to the empty land where the investigators found the pistol.
Detective Sowe said the pistol was picked by the forensic team, and a Witness statement was obtained from the man (Lamin Fofana) and a ballistic request was also sent to the defence headquarters for ballistic examinations.
Detective Sowe informed the court that during the investigation, the said report was received, the document was reviewed and precisely in paragraph 9 of the said document, it confirms that the empty bullet cases that were recovered at the crime scene were fired by the pistol recovered.
Defence counsel objected to quoting the ballistic report, the presiding Judge allowed Detective Sowe to continue his testimony.
A.M. Yusuf, the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) questioned Detective Sowe to state where the bag recovered from the 2nd accused during the investigation was, in response Detective Sowe said the bag is with the AG Chambers. When asked if he could identify the bag and its contents, Detective Sowe affirmed that he could do so based on the colour of the bag and the documents bearing the name of the 1st accused.
Detective Sowe also informed the court of the existence of post-mortem reports for the deceased police officers, Pateh M. Jallow and Sang J. Gomez, which were also sent to the AG Chambers. He expressed his ability to identify the reports, saying each report contained the name of the deceased and was copied to the Inspector General of Police.
Furthermore, Sowe said items recovered from the 1st accused’s residence, are shoes, a kaftan, and a bucket, which were sent to the AG Chambers as well. When asked if he could identify the items, Detective Sowe stated that he could identify these items based on their colors and packaging.
The Director of Public Prosecutions sought to tender the post-mortem reports into evidence. However, objections were raised by defence counsels, arguing that Detective Sowe was not the appropriate person to present the reports as he lacked expertise and wasn’t involved in the examinations conducted.
Despite the objections, the DPP argued that the admissibility of the documents did not necessitate that only the authors could tender them. He cited sections 45 of the Evidence Act and 136 of the CPC to support his position that such documents could be tendered through a police officer like Detective Sowe.
Justice Jaiteh intervened and expressed concerns regarding the fairness of cross-examining Detective Sowe on the documents since he was not the author of the reports. Justice Jaiteh acknowledging the importance of the documents, decided to return them to the prosecution rather than outright rejecting them to uphold principles of justice and fairness and allow the medical doctor to tender the document.
The case was adjourned until March 25, 2024.
