By: Nicholas Bass
The Supreme Court of The Gambia is set to deliver its judgment on the appeal of former junta member, YankubaTouray, between April 7 and 11, 2025. Yankuba Touray, a former cabinet minister under the Armed Forces Provisional Ruling Council (AFPRC) and later the Alliance for Patriotic Reorientation and Construction (APRC), was sentenced to death by hanging in July 2021 after being convicted of the 1995 murder of ex-finance minister Ousman Koro Ceesay.
Giving a background of the case, Mr. Touray was charged on July 1, 2021, with a single count of murder under Section 187 of the Criminal Code, Cap. 10:01, Volume 3, Laws of The Gambia.
The prosecution alleged that sometime in June 1995, at Kololi in the West Coast Region, Touray, with malice aforethought, killed Ceesay by beating him with a pestle-like object and other dangerous weapons.
Upon being arraigned before the Banjul High Court on July 8, 2019, Touray invoked constitutional immunity but was overruled. On January 27, 2021, the Supreme Court ruled that Touray was not entitled to immunity under paragraphs 13(1), (3), (4), and (5) of the Second Schedule of the 1997 Constitution, thereby allowing the trial to proceed.
During the trial, the prosecution presented nine witnesses and submitted several pieces of evidence, including voluntary and cautionary statements made by Touray, post-mortem reports of the deceased, and other documentary exhibits admitted into evidence.
His defense lawyer, A. Sissoho, filed a no-case submission, arguing that the prosecution had failed to establish sufficient evidence. However, Justice Ebrima Jaiteh dismissed the submission on June 10, 2019, ruling that Touray had a case to answer. Therefore, he opened his defense, calling two witnesses, Awa Minteh and Mamie Minteh.
In his final judgment on July 14, 2021, Justice Jaiteh stated that he found the testimonies of Alagie Kanyi, Ensa Mendy, Amat Jangum, Lamin Ndure, Pa Abibu M’Baye, and Muhammed L.K. Bojang credible, as they provided a clear and detailed account of how Koro Ceesay was murdered in cold blood.
He concluded that the prosecution had proved its case beyond reasonable doubt, and in his ruling, he said “Having found Yankuba Touray guilty of the murder of Ousman Koro Ceesay in cold blood, and considering that this Honorable Court does not have any discretion under Section 188 of the Criminal Code, Cap. 10:01, Volume 3, Laws of The Gambia, Yankuba Touray is sentenced to death. Pursuant to Section 250 of the Criminal Procedure Code, Cap. 11:01, Volume 3, Laws of The Gambia, the said sentence shall be carried out by hanging.”
Following his conviction, he appealed the decision through his lawyer, arguing that the Banjul High Court failed to properly evaluate the evidence. The defense claimed that apart from the testimony of Alagie Kanyi, none of the witness statements or documentary evidence directly linked Touray to the murder of Ousman Koro Ceesay.
However, the Court of Appeal dismissed Touray’s appeal, upholding the High Court’s ruling. His final appeal now rests with the Supreme Court, which will determine his fate in early April.