By Louise Jobe
Six residents of Daru Busumbala have been charged with affray, willful damage, incitement to violence and assault at the Brusubi Magistrate’s Court.
The accused persons are; Amadou Ceesay, Alieu Njie, Dambelly Baldeh, Adama Jobe, Edrisa Jobe and Ousman Mboob.
On the charge on affray, according to the particulars of offence, the six accused persons sometime on 15 May 2019 in Daru Busumbala in the Kombo North District fought in a public place.
On count 2, which is about willful damage, Dambelly Baldeh and Alieu Njie on or about the 15th May 2019 at Daru Busumbala Kombo North in the West coast Region willfully and unlawfully broke the windscreen, front windscreen, driver and passenger side glass, lights and rear glass of a vehicle with registration number BJL 6334 M which is valued at (D76,000,00) seventy-six thousand dalasis belonging to Ousman Mboob.
On count 3, Dambelly Baldeh and Alieu Njie are charged with assault causing actual bodily harm. According to the particulars of offence, on the same day in Daru Busumbala Kombo North, the two accused persons unlawfully assaulted Edrisa Jobe on his head causing him actual bodily harm.
On count 4, the charge is incitement to violence and according to the particulars of offence, Amadou Ceesay on or about the 15th May 2019 at Daru Busumbala jointly incited the commission of an offence by mobilizing people to attack Adama Jobe and others.
Superintendent Mballow appeared for the Inspector General of Police while Lawery A.S. Jobarteh represented Adama Jobe, Edrisa Jobe and Ousman Mboob.
When the charge sheet was read for the accused persons to take their plea, Lawyer Lamin A.S. Jobateh objected to the charge sheet saying count 1 and count 4 contradicted each other.
He said count 1 reads: “you took to a fight in a public place thereby committed an offence” and in count 4 reads: “you unlawfully assaulted Edrisa Jobe on his head causing him actual bodily harm thereby committed an offence.”
Prosecutor Mballow did not object to it and the trial Magistrate Fatou Daboe ruled out count 1 and asked all the accused persons to come down of the box leaving Amadou Ceesay as the only accused person in this case. Ceesay now faces a single charge of incitement to violence by allegedly mobilizing people to wit attacking Adama Jobe and others. He was given bail by the court on condition that he shall produce a Gambian surety who shall deposit his national identity card and D5000.
Detective Lamin Jadama while testifying on Wednesday, 21st August 2019 before Magistrate Fatou Darboe told the court that their timely intervention saved Adama Jobe, the complainant.
The First Prosecution’s Witness, Jadama said he is attached to the Latriya Police Station. He said on 15th May 2019, he received a call from Lamin Cham, a senior detective officer attached at the Brusubi Police Station informing him about a problem that was happening in Jabang Layout.
Detective Jadama said after the phone call conversion he went to the area to see what was happening. In his testimony, Jadama said when he arrived at the area, he found Mr. Adama Jobe sitting on top of a fence with a cutlass whilst Amadou Ceesay, the first accused person mobilized a number of aggressive people with their arms to attack Mr. Adama Jobe and they destroyed all the glasses of his vehicle and forcefully stationed the said vehicle at the scene in Jabang Layout.
He said it is because of their timely intervention that saved Mr. Adams Jobe’s life because he was helpless at the time of his arrival.
Mr. Jadama said he asked Adama Jobe to come down of the fence and he asked him to explain the problem. The witness said Jobe told him that he has a plot of land there and he used to visit his land which was not well with Mr Amadou Ceesay but when Mr. Amadou Ceesay was asked, he said he had the power of Attorney from Jatta Kunda family of Busumballa to oversee the area.
“Arrest was effected on Mr. Amadou Ceesay being the head of the group and escorted to Brusubi Station,” the witness said.
The accused person, Amadou Ceesay appeared without a counsel and he was given the chance to cross-examine the witness. The questions were mainly narrative and the trial magistrate told him that he will be given adequate time to explain his side during his defence.
The matter was adjourned to 16th September 2019 for the hearing of PW2
