Haja Jawo from Bahoum Kunda is on trial on a charge of manslaughter. She is accused of causing the death of one Mamu Jawo in the same village by throwing a flip-flop shoe at her which caused her to fall to the ground causing her death. She denied the charge.
Testifying as the state’s first witness, Sub-Inspector Morro Jobe said: “I was informed by my commanding officer that a murder case was reported to him and he wanted me to be at the scene. On my arrival at the said village, we went straight to the accused’s house. She was arrested and taken to the Fatoto Police Station. The slippers was also recovered before we went back to the station. The [body of the] deceased was taken to the Fatoto Health Centre and a death certificate was issued before [it] was brought to Banjul.” Mr Jobe said the accused was then handed to the CID in Basse for further investigations.
At the court yesterday, Mr Jobe could not be cross-examined because Edward Singhatey, the lawyer representing Haja Jawo, was not in court and as a result, to expedite the hearing, the judge asked the second witness to testify.
Detective Lamin Fofana told the court the headchief of Wuli East District called the Fatoto Police Station in June and informed the police that a woman had beaten her adopted child to death. He said he went with Sub-Inspector Jobe to the scene.
At that point, the judge adjourned the case to January 12 for the lawyer to cross-examine the witnesses.
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