A soldier of the Gambia Armed Forces (GAF), who served as an instructor at the GAF Training School at the time of the incident, was listed as a State witness in the ongoing trial and was reportedly an eyewitness to the event. However, the State did not include him among the witnesses called to testify. During the last adjournment, Defence Counsel Lamin J. Darboe, representing the first accused, filed an application for Omar S. Jallow to testify as Defence Witness 9 (DW9), citing the fact that Jallow had previously given a statement to the police regarding the incident.
“Can you tell this court whether the user of the alleged gun had knowledge of it?” Counsel A. Sillah, representing the second accused, asked during cross-examination. In response, the witness stated that the alleged Sukuta Traffic Lights shooter was a marksman and an expert, describing him as highly accurate individual.
“Was there any point during the course of the court proceedings that you were called to testify in this ongoing case as an eyewitness?” Sillah asked.
Jallow responded: “There was a time I was called to the Ministry of Justice. When I arrived, they asked whether I was the person who had written the statement regarding the incident, to which I responded in the affirmative. They informed me that I was supposed to testify in the trial on that particular day. However, the witness who was testifying at the time could not complete his testimony. I was then advised to go home and told that I would be called whenever they wished me to testify in the matter.”
“Is it correct that it was the sound of the gun that made you realise something had happened?” Sillah pressed. The witness responded in the affirmative.
When further asked how many shots he had heard during the incident, he said: “I heard five shots.”
Counsel A. Sillah then asked whether he (Jallow) had been notified at any point during the investigation by the investigators regarding the case. The witness replied: “I was not informed about anything during the course of the investigation.”
“Did you make any effort to find out how the investigation was progressing?” Sillah continued. Jallow responded: “Yes, I was following the case through the media. I also occasionally asked my colleagues about it.”
Earlier, Counsel Lamin J. Darboe, representing the first accused, asked the witness whether he could recall where he was on 12 September after 5 p.m. The soldier responded: “At 5 p.m., I was at the GAF Training School. However, we later left the training school and went to Palma Rima Beach for exercise.”
“After leaving Palma Rima Beach, do you recall where you went next?” Darboe asked. The witness replied: “From there, we got a lift in a pick-up vehicle which dropped us off at the Sukuta Traffic Lights Junction, before the driver continued towards the Jabang end.”
“What were you doing at the Sukuta Traffic Lights Junction?” Defence Counsel Darboe further inquired. Jallow responded: “We weren’t doing anything at the Sukuta Traffic Light Junction. We had just alighted from the vehicle that gave us a lift from Senegambia, and we were waiting to catch another vehicle to head to our respective homes.”
“Did anything happen at the Sukuta traffic light junction?” Counsel Darboe further inquired.
The witness replied: “When we arrived at the Sukuta traffic light junction, the three of us decided to buy ‘Afra’ because we were hungry. Ismalie gave me 200 dalasis, and I added another 100 dalasis, making it 300 dalasis in total. We decided to use it to buy afra.”
Jallow continued: “I was the one who went to buy the afra, while Ismalie and Bakary crossed over to the Sukuta side to a nearby shop and stood there. After buying the afra, I took out my phone and called them to find out where they were. As I was walking to meet my colleagues, I saw three PIU officers sitting by the roadside.”
The GAF soldier went on: “As I opened the afra, and we began eating, I suddenly heard a gunshot. When we turned towards the direction of the sound, I saw one of the PIU officers had been shot. I said, ‘This is not normal.’ The female officer who was with them tried to run, but the alleged shooter also shot her in the back.”
“I put it to you that you were not at Palma Rima on that particular day,” Counsel Darboe asserted.
The witness stood firm in his response, stating: “On that day, I was at the GAF Training School, and afterwards, I went to the Palma Rima Beachside.”
“Did you travel outside the country after the incident?” Darboe asked. Jallow confirmed that he had travelled to Türkiye following the incident.
During cross-examination by Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) A.M. Yusuf, the witness was asked whether he had claimed that the alleged shooter was wearing a haftan. In response, the witness said: “Yes, but I can’t say the exact colour of the haftan, because the lights were on and it was difficult to make out the colour.”
“What kind of training does a person need to be able to use a pistol?” the DPP asked. The witness replied: “A person needs to be trained in order to know how to use a pistol.”
