Gambiaj.com – (BANJUL, The Gambia) – Lawyer Lamin J. Darboe has claimed that the real perpetrators behind the fatal shooting of two police officers at the Sukuta–Jabang traffic lights in September 2023 are known, arguing that the wrong people were prosecuted in a case he believes was politicized.
Darboe made the remarks to journalists on Monday shortly after the High Court in Banjul acquitted and discharged Ousainou Bojang and his sister, Amie Bojang, who had been standing trial in connection with the attack.
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 during the attack, which shocked the nation and prompted a major criminal investigation.
Darboe Alleges Case Was Politicized and Real Killers Identified
Speaking after the ruling, Darboe said his legal team had uncovered information during the course of the trial that, in his view, identified those actually responsible for the killings.
“The matter was politicized, and the wrong people were brought before the courts,” he said. “Through our evidence and through the trial, we know what happened. We know the persons who are responsible for the murder of service personnel of the Republic of The Gambia.”
According to the defense lawyer, the proceedings revealed evidence pointing away from his clients and toward other individuals whom he claims authorities failed to pursue.
“The evidence actually pointed out that it was some of those eyewitnesses who were responsible for the murder of our service citizens,” he alleged.
Darboe argued that while the actual perpetrators remain at large, innocent people were arrested and prosecuted in the case.
“Nothing happened to them. Innocent people were followed, arrested, persecuted, and eventually dragged to court with the hope that the courts would close their eyes and convict and imprison innocent people,” he said.
He also suggested that political considerations may have influenced the handling of the case, particularly the failure of prosecutors to pursue what he described as evidence pointing to other suspects.
“This is a shame for The Gambia,” he said, adding that cases with political significance risk being influenced when prosecutorial authority is closely tied to the executive.
Calls for Prosecutorial Reform and Ongoing Pursuit of Perpetrators
Counsel Darboe used the moment to call for institutional reforms, arguing that the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) should be given constitutional independence from the Ministry of Justice.
“The DPP should come out from under the Ministry of Justice. The Attorney General and Minister of Justice are executive appointees, and more than likely they would want to do what the government wants, especially in politically significant cases like this,” he said.
He further argued that the country should appoint a Gambian national as Director of Public Prosecutions rather than relying on foreign appointees.
“We should stop this nonsense of appointing foreigners as directors of public prosecution in The Gambia. We have very qualified young people who are able, far more able than any foreigner you can find, to serve in that role,” he said.
Darboe also vowed that efforts would continue to pursue what he described as the real perpetrators of the killings, suggesting that legal action could still follow.
“We will follow that. Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but we know very well that at some point they will be placed before the courts,” he said.
“They will have that day in court and they can tell us who engaged them and who hired them to do what they did. There is no question about this. The evidence has clearly proven the killers in this case. I have no doubt.”
The acquittal of the Bojang siblings marks a major turn in one of the country’s most closely watched criminal trials, while Darboe’s claims are likely to intensify debate over the handling of the investigation into the killing of the two officers.
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