The station officer at Sukuta Police Station was ordered to produce the station’s diary from the month when Ousainou Bojang was apprehended and detained in connection with the alleged incident but the order was not carried out by the station officer of the station.
The presiding judge, Justice Ebrima Jaiteh, expressed disappointment at the police for not adhering to court directives. He stated: “Orders of court are to be respected. This is contemptuous, it is tantamount to disobedience to lawful orders. I don’t like that the police who are custodians of the law are found wanting, to break the law, and at the same time they are the ones protecting the law.”
He added: “What sort of police officers do we have in The Gambia when the police officers themselves do not have respect for the law. And they expect citizens to respect the law. That cannot be possible.”
In his testimony on Tuesday, Ousainou Bojang confirmed with the court that his two mobile phones, a pair of shoes, a black jacket and other personal belongings were confiscated from him but were never tendered in court.
Asked by the defence counsel if he, Ousainou Bojang, had seen his mobile phones with anyone, he told the court that he saw the smartphone with the 6th prosecution witness, Ebou Sowe, at the Anti-Crime Unit and the simple phone was with a policeman called Lamin Cham.
Ousainou further testified that Ebou Sowe came to him at the Anti-Crime and asked him to unlock his smartphone, which he said he did and Ebou Sowe went through his WhatsApp call logs and messages. “He realised that what I was telling him was the truth but he seized the phone from me and walked out,” Ousainou said.
Defence counsel L.J. Darboe applied for the State to produce the accused’s phones taken from him. He pointed out that the simplephone was taken away from him by Lamin Cham on their way from Djouloulou while his smartphone was taken away from the accused's residence in Brufut.
Citing the exhibits of the prosecution, Counsel Darboe pointed out that the police had said they used the accused’s telephone code to track his location on the night of the alleged incident.
“We want an independent investigation on that,” Counsel Darboe requested.
The prosecution informed the court that the matter would be investigated and also confirmed to make availability of the materials mentioned by the accused including his mobile phones by the subsequent adjournment date.
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