During the trial, the prosecution called five witnesses and tendered five exhibits, including the accused's police statements and the deceased's medical certificate and post-mortem report. Janneh was the sole witness for the defense.
Delivering judgment, Justice Jaiteh held that the prosecution proved beyond reasonable doubt that Janneh unlawfully caused Jallow's death with malice aforethought.
Janneh had denied the charge, claiming the deceased attacked him with a stick during a dispute over allegedly stolen mobile phones and that Jallow accidentally fell during the struggle.
The court rejected that version, finding it inconsistent with the evidence. Justice Jaiteh relied on the testimony of eyewitness Babucarr Manneh, who told the court he saw Janneh, armed with a knife, stab the deceased after a confrontation.
The judge held that the eyewitness account was corroborated by the medical evidence of Consultant Pathologist Dr. Ousman Leigh, whose post-mortem found that Jallow died from a deep stab wound that pierced his right lung and caused massive internal bleeding.
The judge further ruled that the prosecution's case was not weakened by the failure to recover the murder weapon, holding that credible eyewitness testimony and medical evidence were sufficient to prove the offense.
He also dismissed the defense of self-defense, finding that the use of a knife against a vital part of the body was neither reasonable nor proportionate, even if the deceased had struck the accused with a stick.
Justice Jaiteh found that the prosecution had proved all the ingredients of murder and convicted Janneh under Section 187 of the Criminal Code.
In sentencing, the judge held that because the offense was committed in December 2023, the mandatory death penalty under Section 188 of the Criminal Code applied. He noted that the Criminal Offenses Act, 2025, which replaced the death penalty with life imprisonment for murder, could not be applied retrospectively.
Janneh was sentenced to death and informed of his right to appeal against both his conviction and sentence.
