Gambiaj.com – (BANJUL, The Gambia) – The High Court in Banjul on Monday continued hearing the case of The State vs. Ousainou Bojang and Amie Bojang, with the cross-examination of Prosecution Witness 100 (PW100), journalist Bakary Mankajang, who conducted a recorded interview with Mama Jabbi. Mankajang is invited as a witness in the ongoing trial of the accussed for the assassination of two police oficers at Sukuta Traffic Lights in september 2023.
At the previous sitting, the court ordered the transcription of the audio interview between Mankajang and Mama Jabbi. Copies of the transcript were shared with both the prosecution and defence, and Monday’s proceedings focused on its contents and the circumstances surroundMurder of slain police ffing the interview.
Defense Cross-Examination
Counsel Adama Sillah, representing the second accused, began the cross-examination by asking the witness about his professional background. Mankajang told the court he had been a journalist for about four to five years.
Asked where the interview took place, the witness replied:
“The interview was conducted somewhere in Yarambamba, at the compound where Mama said is the compound of the sister of the President.”
He identified the President’s sister as Korka, adding that the location was chosen by Mama Jabbi herself.
Mankajang explained that, based on his background research, Mama Jabbi resides in Sukuta but was staying with the President’s sister at the time of the interview.
When asked whether the venue could have influenced Mama Jabbi’s statements, the witness said he had “no knowledge about that.”
He told the court that the interview took place on 14 September 2023, shortly after the President announced a bounty for information leading to the arrest of the suspect.
Counsel Sillah suggested that Mama Jabbi’s remarks during the interview might have been influenced by the bounty offer.
“Anyway, I cannot say anything about it,” Mankajang replied.
He confirmed that in the interview, Mama Jabbi said she formed an opinion about the first accused upon seeing him, believing that “he must have done something.”
When asked whether Mama Jabbi mentioned the second accused, Mankajang said no, explaining that “the interview was solely based on her interaction with the first accused.”
Prosecution’s Re-Examination
The cross-examination was later taken over by State Counsel A.A. Wakawa, who questioned the witness about his qualifications and adherence to the Journalists’ Code of Conduct.
Mankajang said he was aware of the code, maintaining that journalists “investigate and do all normal journalistic work.”
When asked whether he had volunteered his findings to the police, the witness replied that he was arrested upon arrival and accused of interfering with witnesses. He added that he was not informed of any other reason for his arrest.
State Counsel Wakawa suggested that his actions amounted to “unprofessional journalism,” a claim Mankajang rejected.
He also denied being acquainted with Mama Jabbi prior to the interview.
“I had never seen Mama Jabbi before the interview and did not know she existed before then,” he said.
He told the court he obtained her contact through his own research after discovering an earlier interview she had given.
The State Counsel further asked whether Mankajang considered himself a journalist or a social media content creator.
“I am a journalist; I do both,” he responded.
When asked if the interview was conducted in pursuit of the presidential bounty, he said:
“That was not my intention. I was doing my job for the betterment of the country, not the President. We are answerable to the public, not to any individual or institution.”
Following the cross-examination, Justice Ebrima Jaiteh discharged the witness and adjourned the case to 21 October 2025 for the continuation of the trial with Defence Witness 11.
