In her testimony, she told the court that she lives at Brusubi Phase One and that she is a businesswoman. She stated that on the 6th October, 2020, she was in a room watching television at Kololi. She said they live there as tenants. She posited that she heard an old woman, Ya Sai Joof, shouting that Tijan was fighting outside.
“That was the time we rushed outside. We found Tijan was pushed to the wall by four men while he was shouting, ‘Do not hurt me.’ Those outside arrived at the scene before us. We arrived later. There were some kids and Sainabou Macauley in the sitting room. Yakumba Jaiteh was out of the room but I cannot remember where Yusupha Jaiteh was,” she testified.
She further told the court that Yakumba and Ya Sai Joof were trying to find out what was happening when Tijan was pushed to the wall. “Yakumba then identified herself as a National Assembly Member but this made the four men more aggressive. I heard someone telling Yakumba to call the police. The place was mixed up and the four men, who pushed Tijan to the wall, were not wearing uniform,” she asserted.
The witness told the court that there is a bar around and police officers would come there and arrest people. “People were many and I don’t know who asked Yakumba to call the police. The four men did not identify themselves. This was the time Yakumba tried to call the police and her phone fell down. She bent to pick up her phone. The four men started pepper spraying Yakumba and Sainabou. Yakumba was not affected because she was wearing some glasses. People then ran away,” she stated.
She went on to say that she covered her face and the four men chased them, and the moment they entered their compound, the four men stopped. “Sainabou fell and fainted because the pepper spray affected her eyes. We never attacked the four men. We were just trying to find out what was happening. The four men were strong and I don’t think that anyone would attack them,” she revealed.
She informed the court that the four men took Tijan away after they entered their compound. She went on to say that Tijan was put into a vehicle where some people who were arrested were also in. “Nobody could stop them from taking Tijan. Sainabou was crying and could not open her eyes. I took her to the hospital and she was treated. The four men did not tell us why they handled Tijan the way they did. It was when we went to the police station where we were told why Tijan was cuffed,” she narrated.
To test her credibility under cross-examination by ASP Badjie, she told the court that Yakumba and Tijan are her cousins. She said that Tijan was cuffed at the back. She stated that she did not know the type of work those arrested Tijan were doing and that she did not know the four men before they arrived at the scene. She confirmed that the four men were police officers. “I did not see Tijan resisting arrest. I only saw him in cuffs when we went to the scene,” she told the court.
She will continue her testimony under cross-examination today.
