Gambiaj.com – (BANJUL, The Gambia) – The High Court in Banjul on Monday acquitted and discharged Ousainou Bojang and his sister, Amie Bojang, in the high-profile case linked to the fatal shooting of two police officers at the Sukuta–Jabang traffic lights in September 2023.
Police Constables Sang J. Gomez and Pateh Jallow were shot dead on September 12, 2023, while on duty at the Sukuta–Jabang junction. A third officer, Ansey Jawo, sustained serious injuries in the attack, which shocked the nation and triggered a major criminal investigation.
Ousainou Bojang, the first accused, had been facing five counts, including murder, attempted murder, and acts of terrorism in connection with the incident. His sister, Amie Bojang, was charged with one count of being an accessory after the fact to murder, accused of helping him flee to Senegal following the shooting.
Delivering judgment from a detailed 130-page verdict, Justice Ebrima Jaiteh reviewed the bill of indictment, the testimonies of prosecution and defence witnesses, and the legal submissions presented by both sides before announcing the court’s findings.
In his ruling, Justice Jaiteh emphasized that under Gambian criminal law the burden of proof rests entirely on the prosecution. He framed the central question before the court as whether the state had proven its case against the accused beyond reasonable doubt.
The judge raised concerns about statements attributed to Ousainou Bojang, noting that the accused denied making them. He observed that under the Anti-Terrorism Act, any extrajudicial confession must be video recorded, a safeguard the prosecution failed to meet. According to the court, the absence of such recording cast serious doubt on the authenticity of the statements and rendered them unreliable.
Justice Jaiteh also highlighted several contradictions in witness testimonies regarding the identification of the alleged shooter. He pointed to inconsistencies in the accounts given by three soldiers who claimed to have witnessed the incident, as well as discrepancies over the number of shots fired during the attack.
The court further questioned the credibility of a recording presented by prosecution witness Mama Jabbie, noting that the witness claimed there had been an audio loss in the recording that allegedly indicated Ousainou Bojang’s presence in Diouloulou, Casamance.
In addition, the judge observed that the surviving victim, police officer Ansey Jawo, testified that she did not recognize Ousainou Bojang at the scene and only later saw his image on social media. Justice Jaiteh held that her inability to identify the accused as the attacker created reasonable doubt in the prosecution’s identification evidence.
The court also criticized the investigators for failing to examine the alibi presented by the defence. Justice Jaiteh described the investigation as “incomplete, unbalanced, and unverified,” stating that once an alibi is raised, it is the duty of the prosecution to investigate it.
Rather than seeking the truth, he said, the authorities appeared to focus on intimidation, harassment, and detention.
The judge further noted a key flaw in the prosecution’s evidence: a shoe allegedly worn by Ousainou Bojang during the shooting did not fit him, a discrepancy the court said further undermined the state’s case.
Citing these evidentiary weaknesses, Justice Jaiteh concluded that the prosecution had failed to prove the charges beyond reasonable doubt and ordered that both Ousainou Bojang and Amie Bojang be acquitted and discharged.
The State has expressed intention to appeal.
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