He added that he ran after the “thief” and took a stone and threw it at him while the “alleged thief” also “threw a gun” at him but he said he dodged the gun.
He said he was sitting on a fence, after returning from praying Maghrib, when he saw his uncle chasing the “thief”.
“I ran after him to get hold of him but then I had to go where I was seated because my door was not locked,” the witness said.
He added that when he got back to where he was seated, he saw the gun dismantled on the ground and he picked it up and threw it onto an empty land next to his house.
After he threw the gun, he said, he called his boss, Ansumana Tunkara and told him about the gun but the boss told him not to tell anybody about what happened and that he was going to call somebody to come and pick up the gun.
He added that the boss eventually called someone but that was on Friday, three days after the shooting incident.
Asked whether he knew what type of gun he found on the ground, the witness responded: “I don't know guns and the types of guns. So, if you asked me what type of gun, what would I answer?”
He further said he could not describe the man, however, he added that he was wearing a ‘kaftan’.
Director of Public Prosecution, AM Yusuf, further asked the witness that if he happened to see the man would he recognise him, but the defence counsel, L. Darboe, objected to that, saying it was a leading question in order to lead the witness.
The presiding judge, however, overruled the objection and the witness responded to the question, saying he would not be able to recognise the man.
The witness further testified that he could not remember the12th September 2023 when the shooting of the three PIU officers took place.
In his cross-examination, defence counsel L. Darboe applied to the court to tender the statement of PW5 as exhibit D5, which indicated the phone number, thumbprint, and two other individuals.
The witness said he could not remember the day he gave his statement to the police regarding the incident. “I don't know whether it was the Friday immediately after the incident,” he stated.
