When the case resumed, ASP Sanyang reminded the witness that she told the court that she did a lab test, and she confirmed it. She was asked where she did the lab test. She responded that she did it at Westfield Clinic, and that the doctor prescribed a medication for her.
She stated that the second time she went to Westfield Clinic she had a pain on her rib. She noted that the doctor made a referral for her to go to Sharab Clinic. “After the test at Sharab Clinic, I was given the test result and I in turn gave it to the doctor at Westfield Clinic. Because of the case, the doctor wrote a report and a prescription which I attached. I gave the report to the police,” she revealed.
She posited that she was not given a receipt at the Westfield Clinic but was stored in their system. She added that she was given a receipt at Sharab Clinic. At this juncture, she was shown the referral note from Westfield Clinic and a medical receipt from Sharab Clinic which she identified.
Prosecutor Sanyang applied to tender the documents but the defence counsel, Haddy Dandeh-Jabbie, objected to the tendering of the document from Sharab Clinic but it was admitted by the court when the prosecutor argued that it emanated from the clinic. He said it was relevant.
The witness further told the court that she was issued a receipt from Westfield Clinic which contained her name and the letterhead of the clinic. It was shown to her and she identified it. Prosecutor Sanyang applied to tender it but the defence did not raise any objection. It was admitted by the court.
“On the day of the incident when I went to the police, they took photos of my injuries. I went to print them out at the photo lab. It was my sister who snapped them with her telephone,” she told the court.
She was then shown the photos, which she identified. The prosecutor applied to tender them. The defence team did not raise any objection. They were admitted by the court.
Under cross-examination by the lead defence counsel, the witness adduced that she is 33 years old and has three children. She confirmed that her children are fathered by her former husband. She also said that she got married to her former husband for 9 years and nine months.
It was put to her that her marriage was more than 9 years. “I left the compound in April, 2021, and asked for divorce. We are in the process of the divorce,” she said. She agreed that she is still legally married to her husband. She asserted that it is almost one year she did not stay with her husband. She confirmed that she separated with her husband.
It was put to her that she handed a divorce letter to her husband after they left the court during the last sitting. She said that it was the third letter. She also confirmed that her children were born in the presence of the accused and she was staying with the accused. She told the court that she had a happy marriage with her husband. She stated that the children lived with the accused as they grew up, adding that the accused is an aunt to her children.
“I put it to you that the accused would take care of the children and they looked up to her as their mother,” the defence counsel challenged her.
“I cannot say anything about that,” she responded.
When it was put to her that the children developed good relation with the accused, she replied that she did not see that. It was also put to her that she was not happy with her husband and that was why she left. She answered in the positive and further stated that there was interference. She denied that she was not happy because her husband married another wife.
It was put to her that her husband’s other wife’s name is Isatou and she said that was what she heard. She confirmed that it was not her first time to leave her matrimonial home. It was put to her that she had a problem with her husband when he married another wife but she denied it.
She also denied spitting at the accused and insulting her at Marina International School. “I never stopped my husband from picking the children,” she told the court. She denied that she had a verbal agreement to separate with her husband and further posited that she packed and ran away.
The case was adjourned to the 22nd June, 2022, for further cross-examination.
