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Momodou
Denmark
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 Posted - 19 Oct 2006 : 12:45:52
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BUNJA DARBOE AND CO CASE TRIAL WITHIN TRIAL COMMENCES
By Fabakary B Ceesay
The treason trial involving Captain Yaya Darboe and others by a court martial continued at Yundum Barracks on Saturday; the trial within trial commenced on Saturday and Abdoulie Sowe First Class Detective 1580, the first Prosecution witness, testified that day. He told the court that he was on the investigation Panel which was set up to investigate into the March 21st coup. He said that on that date, Captain Yaya Darboe was brought before the Panel and was asked about his knowledge, role and involvement in the coup. He said that, Captain Yaya Darboe briefly explained to the Panel his role and involvement in the coup. Detective Sowe posited that he was instructed to obtain a cautionary statement from Yaya Darboe. He narrated that, he took Yaya to a different office and got him seated him before himself. He said he showed the cautionary statements to the accused person and then read the cautionary warnings to him, that anything, he said will be taken down in writing and will he used against him in court. He noted that, he then introduced the independent witness, Tijan Bojang, to the accused person. He added that, the accused person wrote his own statements without any force. He said that the accused signed his statement, noting the statement was also signed by the independent witness and himself. He said the statement was later filed.
During cross examination, defence counsel, Borry Touray, asked the witness whether he had watched the television broadcast pertaining to the statement of the accused person, and whether that TV broadcast did not demoralise The Gambia armed Forces. The witness replied that he has watched the TV broadcast, but in his opinion, that broadcast cannot demoralise the Army. Counsel Touray asked him whether he is aware of the removal of the 2nd accused people from Mile 2 to the NIA headquarters to prepare his mind for a statement he was to make on 23rd March. The witness replied in the negative, Borry Touray said. "I am putting it to you that you have offered an inducement to the 2nd accused that if he confessed, he will be used as a state witness, and on the 21st March, when the accused was brought to the NIA, he was received by an officer who introduced himself as the hell manager and that the hell manager told Captain Yaya Darboe, welcome to hell fire." The witness replied that he did not ask the accused person to confess and that he has no knowledge of the said hell manager. Counsel Touray, put it to him that "Captain Yaya Darboe was assaulted by several officers at the NIA, all wearing black and that he was forced to kneel down." The witness replied "not to my knowledge." At this juncture, the acting DPP, Emmanuel Fagbenle, argued that, the defence was going too far. Continuing his cross-examination, Counsel Touray, put it to the witness that at the time of recording the statements from the accused, two armed men were standing over the accused. "There was no armed officer standing over him, but one standing at a distance, for my (Abdoulie Sowe's) protection, the of the accused and that of the independent witness," PW1 said. Lawyer Touray put it to the witness that adequate security arrangements were made during the interrogation, and that the presence of an armed personnel was a threat to the accused person. He also put it to the witness that the two armed security men were telling the accused, "Don't waste our time, say as we want it." The witness replied, "Not at all in my presence." Touray further put it to the witness, that the two armed men were warning Captain Yaya Darboe to learn from the lessons meted out on Captain Wassa Camara and 2nd Lieutenant Faring Sanyang, who were bleeding from wounds at the time. He also put it to him that the accused, Yaya Darboe, was having a swollen left eye that left him blind from that sight. He added that the two armed men were warning the accused to remember what they did to him on his eye and that the accused was taken to RVTH for treatment on his eye and that he surrendered his medical papers to the witness and he (the witness) put the medical papers in a file. The witness replied that he had no knowledge of any swollen eye on the accused and that he had not taken any medical paper from the accused person. "I'm putting it to you that, there was no independent witness present at the time of taking the statements from the accused, and that the independent witness, Tijan Bojang, is an under cover agent for the NIA." He further asked whether, he knew Tijan Bojang before this exercise. Detective Sowe replied that an independent witness was present, but that he did not know him personally, and that he had no knowledge of the witness being an NIA agent. Counsel Touray further put it to the witness that "the accused was intimidated by telling him that his phone had been tapped and that all the communications he was making were recorded and transcribed and that he should confess you also told him that there were transcripts before you, which contained the information from his phone." Sowe replied, " Not at all." Mr. Touray, concluded by telling the witness that, "Mr. Sowe apart from your name and occupation, you are not telling the truth but merely securing your job,' he replied, that he is saying the truth and only the truth.
Another counsel, Lamin S. Camara asked the Prosecution witness to tell him where he found the independent witness, Tijan Bojang, and where the witness came from. Detective 1580, Sowe, said that the witness was brought to him at the Panel and is said to have come from the same village with Detective 1835 Lamin Cham (Sukuta). Counsel Camara, further asked the witness whether the independent witness is a literate and which language he speaks apart from English. The witness replied that that, the independent witness is educated and that he speaks the language of his tribe, that is, Mandinka. Mr. Camara, further asked the witness whether he was present when the independent signed all the documents. He replied that he was present but cannot tell if the independent witness has signed all the documents. Camara also asked him whether the independent witness was notified of what he was coming to do. He replied that, he first introduced the accused to the witness and told him that he was to witness the making of a cautionary statement by the accused person and that the statement would be used against the accused person at the court.
Defence counsel Lamin K. Mboge asked the witness whether he had cautioned the accused before obtaining the statement from him and whether the cautionary statement was obtained before the voluntary statement, he replied in the positive. Defence counsel, Mboge asked the him, "Where did you caution the accused person and where did the Panel sit?" He replied that he cautioned the accused at the Major Crimes Unit and that the Panel was seated at NIA headquarters in Banjul. Going further, Mr. Mboge, asked him, when he obtained the voluntary statements from the accused. He said on 19th April 2006. He further asked, why do you have to wait up to 27 days to obtain the statement from the accused?" He questioned whether accused person gave his cautionary statements at the presence of the Panel. Mr. Sowe, replied that the accused was not the only person they were to obtain a statement from and that the statement was obtained in the presence of the Panel members. Mboge asked him, how many panelists were present and how many armed officers were present at the Panel. He said that he can remember detective Lamin Cham was at the Panel but that there were no armed officers at the Panel. "You will agree with me that all the Panelists who interrogated the accused were all security officers and that the independent witness was not present. Mr. Sowe pointed out that, the Panelists were all security officers but that the independent witness was present. "I'm putting it to you that, you are cooking up a story and that the independent witness was only called to put his signature on the statement but was not present at the time the statement was taken." Detective Sowe, replied, "All I know, is I'm speaking the truth, nothing else but the truth." Sitting was adjourned till Tuesday 17th October.
Source: Foroyaa Newspaper Burning Issue
Issue No. 90/2006, 18-22 October, 2006
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