By Mama A. Touray
Led in evidence by the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) AM Yusuf, Prosecution Witness Five (PW5) Commissioner MomodouSowe of the Anti-Crime Unit in Banjulindinghas on Tuesday 12 December 2023 disclosed to the court that Gambia Police Forensic Officers are in custody of a pistol and bullet shells as exhibits of the alleged gun attack at Traffic Lights in Sukuta.
He added that the said pistol and the bullet shells were discovered close to the alleged scene of crime, and also discovered wears in the accused person’s room Ousainou Bojangsuspected to be his outfits during the alleged shooting incident.
Explaining the items recovered and how they were recovered during their investigation, Commissioner Sowe told the court that when they returned with Ousainou Bojang the first accused they proceeded to Brufut where they recovered the haftan in Ousainou’s room and canvas shoe at the lodge the accused works and a black jean found inside a bucket of water.
When asked by Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) AM Yusuf where the discovered items are, the witness said “They are with the forensic officers, who are always in custody of police items”.
DPP Yusuf further asked Commissioner Sowewhy they discovered the haftan, canvas and the black jean and he responded that “The reason was some of the eyewitnesses at the crime scene did mention that the accused was wearing a haftan and the suspect was also asked- can you help us recover the dress you were wearing during shooting at the officers? Then he led us to recover those items”.
Apart from those items recovered, commissioner Sowe informed the court that a pistol was recovered and an empty bullet cases close to alleged crime scene and they are in the custody of the police forensic officers.
Commissioner Sowe said during an interrogation the accused later changed his statement that he was not wearing canvas shoes but was wearing desert combat boosts and was subsequently recovered by the investigators in their compound in Brufut.
Explaining on how he came to know about the incident, Sowe stated that on 12 September 2023 after official duty, he received a call from some of his officers that his officers deployed at traffic light were attacked by unknown gunman, who gunned down two of the police officers and the female officer who sustained severe injuries was in a critical condition at the hospital.
Sowe said he later went to the alleged crime scene where he met lots of state security officers and eye-witnesses and that the scene and they were able to discover a pistol and bullet shells.
Commissioner Sowe added that he instructed police officers to continue searching for the alleged gun attacker. And he later visited the hospital to see the victims where he was unfortunately informed that their lives had perished, no more alive, but the female officer was responding to medication.
PW5 further revealed that no arrest was made during night of the horrific incident but the following day he received a call from the Police headquarters that “someone will call me and give me vital information about this issue. When I communicated with that particular person I invited him to my office after that I tried to get details from him”.
When asked who the person was, Sowe replied that it was one Musa Camara.
“He told me that there is a lady that gave them an information that the suspect that we are searching for was arrested at Jululung after the suspect having conversation with the lady. That he was the one that shot those police officers at Sukuta and he was in the run- fleeing to Zikanchor, then I headed a team in a convoy of three vehicles to the border at Jiboro, we met our Gambian officers who are working at Jiboroand I explained my mission to them then I proceeded with one vehicle to Jululung” he explained.
He however, stated that when they met with Mama Jabbi at Jiboro they conveyed her to Jululung and went straight to the Zamdamori(soldiers) where they met the Senegalese’s Zamdamori officers and intimated their mission regarding the suspect.
He continued: “Then the accused was in the custody of the Senegalese Zamdamori. After all protocols were observed they handed over Ousainou Bojang to us. The Zamdamoriescorted us up to the border where finally Ousainou was handed over to us then we drove back to the Gambia through Jiboro border”.
Anti – Crime boss went on to say that Ousainouwas in his vehicle and introduced himself to him as the Commissioner of the Anti-Crime Unit and those officers who were killed were working with him and assured Ousainou of his safety and security as the rule of law will prevail.
“And whilst we were in the vehicle I started questioning him about the incident, initially he said why he flew the Gambia was as a result of a white lady who posted his naked pictures on the social media. When further questioned which social media, he became speechless and discarded that issue, but was bold to explain how the shooting incident occurred and finally confessed to me that he was the perpetrator” Anti-Crime Unit boss further disclosed.
He said while in the vehicle coming from JiboroOusainou explained the routes he escaped which he said was the first junction driving coming from Jabang towards Sukuta end.
“He explained how he escaped that was after the shooting incident- the following day, in the morning that the sister who is the second accused facilitated his escaped by providing a Benz taxi C-class that took them up to the border in Darsilami when they arrived the sister got back home and he entered in Senegal through casamance to Jululung” Commissioner testified.
Commissioner Sowe is expected to continue his testimony on the next adjourned date 24 December 2023.