By Bruce Asemota
The High Court in Banjul, presided over by Justice Ebrima Jaiteh, has acquitted one Henry Gomez on all seven counts of criminal offences, ranging from conspiracy to commit felony, assault, robbery, and threatening violence .
The offences are alleged to have occurred in October, 2023 and he was arraigned before the court on the 24th March, 2024 , pleading not guilty to all the charges.
In his ruling, Justice Jaiteh disclosed that the prosecution called only one witness, Lamin Manneh and subsequently the case experienced significant and unacceptable delays and adjournments.
The judge asserted that the prosecution repeatedly requested for adjournment spanning over a year, predicated on their inability to secure the attendance of their witnesses.
Justice Jaiteh pointed out that the prosecution’s repeated failures to produce witnesses, coupled with its lack of verifiable evidence to support its application for adjournments demonstrated a lack of due diligence and disregard for the accused person’s fundamental right to a speedy trial.
He said the only evidence presented by the prosecution is the cautionary statement of the accused in which he denied the allegations and provided an alibi.
The trial judge disclosed that the prosecution presented insufficient evidence to justify a continuation of the trial.
He further disclosed that the prosecution’s application for adjournment is untenable and that the court finds their conduct to be deplorable and a clear disregard for the principles of justice and fairness.
Justice Jaiteh added that the lack of diligence displayed by the prosecution has needlessly prolonged the accused’s detention and unfairly infringed upon his fundamental rights.
He said the court finds no prima facie case against the accused based on the evidence presented and therefore acquitted him on all seven counts.
He ordered that the accused be immediately discharged from custody and a review of prosecutorial practices be conducted for lawyers from the state law office to prevent similar failures in the future, whilst ensuring that the rights of all accused persons are protected.
