A Gambian went on the run with a fake passport his mum secured for him after stabbing a young man outside a McDonald’s, lawyer told a UK court.
Momodou Faal, 29, stayed at different addresses and obtained a passport, with the aid of 51-year-old mum Haddy Faal and his then girlfriend Elishah Anderson, 41, in a desperate bid to flee to Gambia. A court heard his mother had told the Gambian High Commission Faal needed an emergency passport to attend a funeral in the country.
But detectives arrested Faal at an address in Gillingham, Kent, on December 23, 2021, six days after he had stabbed Jobari Gooden, 27, to death outside a McDonald’s following a confrontation. Faal was jailed for seven years last year but now his mother and ex both deny perverting the course of justice.
Southwark Crown Court heard Faal senior and Anderson took “significant steps” to hide the killer’s identity and protect him. Zarah Dickinson, prosecuting, said: “On December 17, 2021 Momodou Faal fatally stabbed Jobari Gooden during a confrontation on Choumert Road in the Peckham area. Having killed Jobari Gooden, Momodou Faal quickly fled the scene.
“In the hours and days that followed, significant steps were taken to hide his identity, movements and location by both Elishah Anderson and his mother Haddy Faal.
“In the days after, Momodou Faal did not stay at his address, but stayed at three different properties, enlisting the help of a number of people to stay on the run.”
Ms Dickinson told the court that Haddy Faal had told the Gambian High Commission that her son needed an emergency passport to attend a funeral in Gambia.
“She informed them that he was planning to travel to Gambia. On the paperwork she wrote ‘Emergency: Funeral’. She did so in a desperate but futile attempt to get her son out of the jurisdiction and away from justice,” the lawyer added.
The court was told that Anderson had booked a plane ticket for her boyfriend from Manchester Airport to Gambia, and called Covid testing centres so that he could travel. She also sent a text to an acquaintance, Jayden Williams, saying “send me wigs” on 17 December, it is said.
Faal wore a wig at various points. The jury was told that Momodou Faal had had dreadlocks, but he cut them off while he was on the run.
Both Anderson and Haddy Faal claim that they did not know what he had done. Haddy Faal claimed she only became aware that the police were looking for him on 20 December. Ms Dickinson said: “We say it is inconceivable that she was not aware that her son was involved in something serious like a stabbing, and was wanted by police.” Haddy Faal, of Croydon, south London and Anderson, from Camberwell, south London, both deny perverting the course of justice.
The trial continues.
