By Fatoumata Konteh
An accused, Isatou Barry, on Tuesday, 17th September confirmed hitting Fatoumata Jayne with a pestle on the head when she appeared before Bundung Magistrate Court presided over by Magistrate Dibba.
The victim, Fatoumata Jayne in her narration said the accused hit her with the pestle on her head when she was asleep.
According to Fatoumata Jayne, a teacher, and resident of Latrikunda, she said the accused, Isatou Barry also called Anna was the first to beat her child (name withheld) by placing a hot iron on her buttock.
She explained that the incident happened on the 5th of August 2024 when she was sitting in her room with her daughter and the accused called her and wanted to send her on an errand but her daughter ignored her, it was at that time “she placed a hot iron on the child’s buttock and left while my daughter started crying.”
She continued on her narration that when she noticed that the child’s buttock was burnt it was then she attacked her for placing a hot iron on my child’s buttock but she replied that it was not a hot iron.
However, she told the court that it was not the first time that the accused Isatou Barry also known as Anna at home bullied her daughter.
Fatoumata narrated the confrontation between her and the accused whom she said once beat her daughter with electric wires before the incident at hand.
At cock crow while she was in bed sleeping, she said Anna attacked her and hit her on the head with a pestle which caused her injury on the head.
However, she noted that with the pain and injury she sustained she went to the Bundung Maternal and Child Hospital for treatment.
Magistrate Dibba, asked the victim what happened after she went to the hospital, and she said the doctor insisted that he would not touch the wound until the matter was reported to the police station. Then she was told to sit down at the hospital while the escort went to the police station to make a report.
Then the prosecutor asked the victim what happened after they reported the matter to the police and she said the police came and at that junction she was attended to while they later went with the police to write a statement at the police station.
The lawyer for the accused demanded that the magistrate allow his client to answer questions one more time.
But the Magistrate said the court was already appealing because the accused had denied the statement.
The accused’s lawyer said he had just confirmed with the accused if she was still denying the statement and she said no, while the magistrate granted the request.
However, the accused finally accepted every statement that she was accused about saying “I accept that I used the pestle to hit her on the head.”
The defence lawyer, however, affirmed that “What his client did was unacceptable, I as the Defence council, did not see any defense for what the accused did.” He also pleaded for mitigation of his client.
Meanwhile, the case was adjourned to Tuesday 24th September while the accused remains on bail.
