Mr Suso who could not hold back his tears walked out of the courtroom a free man. His freedom came after his lawyer, Ousainou Darboe, urged the court to discharge him for lack of evidence after the prosecution announced the closure of their case. He said there was no evidence linking Mr Suso to the said offence.
Mr Suso, 28, was arraigned in August on a single count of rash act causing death. He was accused of causing the death of Isatou Senghor by knocking her down with his vehicle. He pleaded not guilty. The charge under which Mr Suso was charged with is liable on conviction to imprisonment for a term of ten years.
However, the magistrate held that Mr Suso was not found guilty of the offence. “No evidence has been led by the prosecution to prove the mental state of the accused. The prosecution’s case has been further weakened by the unavailability of evidence to link the act or conduct of the accused and the death of the deceased. It is not enough to only state on a charge sheet that A had done an act that caused the death of B, and leave it at that.
“It will remain there in the eyes of the law as a mere allegation. Evidence is needed to prove to the court, and the rest of society on whose behalf the court is sitting. It is for the prosecution to prove this rather than the defence to disprove it. I cannot help but state that the total evidence adduced by the prosecution in this case is insufficient and has left many doubts in the mind of this court. Doubts of such nature touching on the fundamental of the offence charge are by law resolved in favour of the accused. The accused is therefore found not guilty as charged and is accordingly acquitted and discharged,” Magistrate Jallow said before setting Mr Suso free.
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