The accused is charged with malicious injury to property under section 312(1) of the Criminal Code Cap. 10:1 Volume 3 Laws of the Gambia 2009.
The offence indicated that on March 29, 2024, the accused willfully damaged a BMW car window screen (valued at D15,000), a toilet seat (valued at D2,500), and a window (valued at D1,500); all totaling to D19,000, belonging to one Banji Akambi.
The case was first mentioned on Thursday 4th April, when the accused pleaded guilty with an explanation. However, the court changed his plea to not guilty on his behalf since he maintained his original stand.
The prosecution was then asked to provide evidence to determine the case.
The first prosecution witness (PW1), Banji Akambi, testified that he is a mechanic residing at Pipeline and a tenant of the accused.
He said the accused was giving him problems and was making it difficult for him to leave his house.
Akambi recalled that on March 29th, he called the accused to inform him that he had found a new place to live and wanted to discuss it with him.
“When I arrived at around 8:30 pm, I found Buba standing outside the house. I packed my car and informed Buba that I needed 3 or 4 days to pack my things.”
PW1 reported that when he asked the accused to give him time, he refused and became aggressive.
"I then called my brother, Smart Adebayo, to come to speak with the accused since he was the one who allocated the place for me."
According to PW1, despite his brother's explanation, the accused refused, claiming that someone was willing to pay him D18,000 for the house.
At that point, Smart Adebayo suggested that they leave and return the next day, which was the 30th.
Furthermore, Mr Akambi said as he was about to leave with his brother in the car, the accused stopped him and demanded he take along his belongings.
"We were separated, and the accused ran to the house where I heard a loud noise. It turned out that the accused had broken the toilet seat climbed over the fence of the adjacent house and then started to throw stones at us."
PW1 stated that it was in the process, the accused broke his car window screen. Also, he had previously reported the incident to the police, and after the accused had already caused a disturbance in the compound that was when they were brought to court.
The accused pleaded for bail but was denied after he insulted the prosecution officer and exhibited unruly behaviour in court.
Consequently, he was granted bail in the sum of thirty thousand Dalasis (D30,000) with two Gambian sureties with valid identity cards (ID).
Additionally, the accused is required to submit his ID and refrain from contacting the complainant or committing any crime during the case.
Hearing continuous on 23rd April 2024.
