Justice Emmanuel Nkea of the Special Criminal Court in Banjul yesterday sent one Sainey Conta, a prosecution witness, to Mile 2 Central Prison for four days for telling lies to the court.
Sainey Conta was called by the prosecution to testify in the alleged murder case involving one Musa Camara.
Under cross-examination, he was asked by the defence counsel from the Legal Aid agency how old he was, and he told the court that he was 18 years old.
Defence counsel then put it to him that he told the police that he was 19 years old, at the time he was giving his witness statement to the police.
Conta then confessed that he was definitely 21 years old, and that he had decided to reduce his age.
After the completion of the cross-examination by the defence, the presiding judge informed the witness that he would send him to Mile 2 for telling lies.
Justice Nkea noted that a witness should not lie after taking an oath, that all he or she had said he or she shall say nothing but the truth. Sending him to Mile 2, he added, would serve as a deterrent to other witnesses, added the judge.
He consequently sent the witness to Mile 2 prison for four days, and that he shall be freed to go home after the 4 days.
The witness, Sainey Conta, in his evidence-in-chief, told the court that he resides at Sanyang village in Kombo North district of the West Coast Region.
He further told the court that he lived in the same neighbourhood with the accused person, and that the deceased person was his younger brother.
On 25 October 2011, he went on, at around 5 pm, he and his friend, one Muhammed John, were coming from the football field, and the deceased was behind them, when they meet with the accused riding a bicycle.
After the accused passed them, he later saw the accused giving the deceased blows to his head. The deceased fell on the ground, the witness continued, adding that he and his friend took the deceased home.
He said the deceased after being sick, was taken to the hospital several times, and he later died.
The case continues.
