By Dr Ousman Gajigo
The Ousainou and Amie Bojang case is yet another painful illustration of this country’s leadership crisis. The High Court recently acquitted both individuals of involvement in the murder of two police officers in 2023. This sorry affair exposes the incompetence and poor judgement that pervades multiple levels of government.
The first tragedy is the murder of the two officers themselves: Sang Gomez and Pateh Jallow, both killed in the line of duty. Their families still do not know who killed them or why, and no one has been held accountable. That injustice alone is immense.
Responsible leadership at every level of government demands trust in established procedures – thorough investigation before prosecution, not the reverse. An ongoing investigation would have served justice far better than a hasty prosecution ending in acquittal.
From the moment the murders occurred, the hallmarks of unserious leadership were on full display. The National Security Advisor, Abubakarr Jeng, held a major press conference in which he made sweeping claims: about the alleged murder weapon, supposed CCTV footage, a purported affiliation between Ousainou and Casamance rebels, and other wild accusations. Under cross-examination, he could not substantiate a single one. The primary role of the National Security Advisor in this administration is to oversee security sector reforms and other high-level strategic matters – responsibilities Mr Jeng has yet to fulfil. That he had time for inappropriate involvement in an individual criminal case speaks for itself.
Another senior official who made a shameful appearance in this affair was presidential spokesperson Ebrima Sankareh. Within days of the shooting, he publicly claimed that the suspect was a hired assassin, attempted to link the shooter to the UDP, and asserted that the suspect was cooperating with authorities and providing detailed information. All of it proved false. When cross-examined, he retreated behind the excuse that he had received the information from the police.
As for the president: Adama Barrow’s initial public comments on 13 February 2023 were largely restrained, but he blundered in characterising the incident as “an act of terror” before the facts were established. Such a characterization requires knowledge of the shooter’s identity and motive – neither of which was available at the time.
During the trial itself, the prosecution failed to establish the basic pillars of a criminal case: means, motive, and opportunity. Ousainou was not physically linked to the crime scene through credible witnesses or circumstantial evidence. Alleged recordings of confessions never materialized. The accused had an alibi. No CCTV footage existed. No credible motive was presented. The accused could not be tied to the murder weapon. By every measure, it was a weak case, and the judge was right to dismiss it.
Had the government accepted this outcome with dignity, it would have been a point in favour of the rule of law – despite the tragedy and the unanswered questions. Instead, the government acted unlawfully by re-arresting Ousainou and Amie after the acquittal, with no new evidence and no new charges. To re-arrest someone for the same offence of which they have been acquitted is double jeopardy. It should not have taken two days of protests and the tragic death of an innocent bystander to bring the government to its senses.
As of the writing of this article, Ousainou and Amie Bojang have been again released. We are left with compounding tragedies. The families of Sang Gomez and Pateh Jallow are still waiting for justice. Ousainou and Amie have every appearance of having been victimized by the state. The rule of law has been gravely damaged. And senior government officials have shown themselves to be woefully incompetent.
The double standard is instructive. When senior officials of this administration face credible corruption allegations backed by evidence, the government makes a show of following due process – so much so that President Barrow has dismissed audit reports as mere opinions. Yet in this criminal case, when officials sensed an opportunity for political gain, they abandoned all restraint and rushed to judgement without evidence.
As with so many of the Gambia’s problems today, the common thread running through this tragedy is the leadership failure of President Adama Barrow. A competent leader would not surround himself with such advisors. A competent leader would have driven the security sector reforms necessary to build institutions robust enough to prevent crimes, investigate them properly, and prosecute them successfully.
