By: Dawda M. Jallow & Isatou Sarr
The trial of three women charged with conducting female genital mutilation (FGM) Thursday resumed before Justice I. Janneh with a medical doctor testifying that an infant died from excessive bleeding.
It will be recalled that Fatou Camara, Hawa Conteh and Oumie Sawaneh are facing charges relating to the alleged circumcision of a one-year-old girl whose death allegedly resulted from the FGM procedure done by the three women.
During Thursday trial, State Counsel W.S. Madu appeared for the prosecution, while Counsel L.S. Camara represented the first accused. Counsel J. Jeng appeared for the second and third accused persons.
At the start of proceedings, the prosecution informed the court that an additional witness statement had been filed. Defence counsel acknowledged receipt but noted that the citation referred to the defunct Criminal Procedure Code instead of the Criminal Offences Act 2025. With no objection from the defence, the court granted leave for the correction.
The prosecution then called Dr. Stephanie Awa Mendy, a gynaecologist and Deputy Head of Surgery at Bundung Maternity Hospital, as a witness.
After taking the oath, Dr. Mendy told the court that she held a Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery degree from the University of The Gambia and was responsible for clinical supervision, ward rounds, deliveries and surgical procedures at the hospital.
Testifying on the child’s case, she said the infant was brought to the facility already deceased due to haemorrhagic shock following circumcision.
According to her testimony, the family reported that the child had been circumcised two days earlier and had been bleeding continuously. She said the father instructed the mother to take the child to hospital, but the infant was no longer breathing upon arrival.
“A physical examination confirmed excessive bleeding in the vaginal area,” she told the court, adding that the blood loss caused the death.
Dr. Mendy further explained that the initial assessment was conducted by Dr. Irma Font, who documented the findings in the hospital records and later discussed the case during a routine meeting.
When the prosecution sought to tender the hospital report in evidence, defence lawyers objected, arguing that Dr. Mendy neither authored the document nor conducted the examination and therefore could not properly introduce it.
During arguments on the matter, the first accused briefly collapsed in the dock, prompting the court to stand down proceedings momentarily.
Prosecutors maintained that the report was relevant, while the defence argued that the legal requirements for admissibility had not been met.
Justice Janneh adjourned the case to 10 February 2026 for a ruling on whether the hospital report would be admitted into evidence.