He said that four police officers were on their regular patrol, namely 1st Class Sulayman Jarju, Police Constable Mamadou Jallow, PC Ebrima Touray and PC Fa Sainey Cham.
The presiding magistrate further asked the witness to take the court through the apprehension of the deceased by the said officers.
He disclosed that these four police officers were on their routine patrol and saw the late Omar Badjie together with few others smoking cannabis (marijuana) and after seeing the officers, they started to run and the four officers pursued them.
"According to the investigation, Omar ran, collapsed and exhausted, then the officers forced him to stand and the deceased (Omar) told them he's too weak to stand,” he explained.
The investigation, the witness added, showed that the deceased (Omar) was assaulted by one of the officers (Sulayman Jarju).
"He slapped the deceased and the investigation also revealed that Omar was slapped once or twice and that Sulayman beat the deceased on his body with a stick".
Asked by the Presiding Magistrate about the steps taken by the police, the witness replied that he was instructed by commissioners that he (the witness) should form a panel to investigate the death of Omar Badjie.
He told the Inquest that the four police officers were already in custody before the panel of investigation was formed, adding that the investigators included four individuals, namely DSP Amadou Kujabi, Chief Inspector Lamin Sowe, Sub-Inspector Buba Touray and he the witness (Lamin Cham).
The witness also told the Inquest that during the investigation, they invited eyewitnesses all from Mandinary village to enable them have a better understanding of what happened.
The eyewitnesses included Majula Jammeh, Ousainou Keita, Musa Kanji, Malang Keita and Tumani Badjie, all from Mandinary village.
The first prosecution witness also told the Inquest that the material used by the officers was not found, but they went to the scene, which showed indication of a particular mango tree, which “branch was cut and used to beat the deceased (Omar)."
He said pictures were taken and the scene was also photographed and the distance was equally measured and up to the point the deceased fell down.
The day’s hearing was attended by family members, close relatives and natives of Mandinary.
A.J. Njie represented the family of the deceased, while Chief Supt. Lamin Cham stood in for the IGP.
Trial continues on 13 October 2025 at 11am.
