By: Isatou Sarr
Ousainou Bojang and Amie Bojang, cleared of charges after trial, walk free on D50,000.00 bail bond as the State pursues appeal against their acquittal.
The two were acquitted and discharged on Monday by Justice Ebrima Jaiteh of the Banjul High Court who ruled that the prosecution had failed to prove its case against them. They were accordingly granted bail with conditions pending the state’s appeal.
In addition to the bail bond of D50,000.00, both are required to provide one Gambian surety and deposit a valid ID, with bail lapsing if the appeal isn’t filed within 30 days.
“The 1st accused, Ousainou Bojang, and the 2nd accused, Amie Bojang, who were charged with offences before this Court, were both been acquitted and discharged on all counts at the conclusion of the trial,” Justice Jaiteh declared in delivering the verdict. “The court found that the prosecution failed to establish the charges against them beyond reasonable doubt, and accordingly entered verdicts of acquittal and discharge in their favour.”
Immediately following the pronouncement of the acquittal, Learned Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) orally notified the court of the State’s intention to appeal against the acquittal pursuant to section 325 of the Criminal Procedure Act, 2025. The DPP further applied that both acquitted persons be remanded in custody pending the intended appeal.
In response, Learned Defence Counsel L. J. Darboe and L. K. Mboge, appearing for the 1st and 2nd Accused persons respectively, opposed the application for remand and instead applied for bail pursuant to section 325(3) of the Criminal Procedure Act, 2025.
Counsel submitted that the acquitted persons are now free in law, and that the Court retains discretion to admit them to bail pending the determination of any appeal. They urged the Court to exercise its discretion in favour of liberty, noting that no exceptional circumstances have been advanced by the prosecution to justify continued detention.
The Court then carefully considered the submissions of the learned DPP and Defence Counsels. The court also made reference to Section 24 of the 1997 Constitution of The Gambia which guaranteed the presumption of innocence and Section 325(3) of the Criminal Procedure Act, 2025 which were relevant to the arguments made by both sides.
According to Justice Jaiteh, in the present case, both Ousainou Bojang and Amie Bojang have been acquitted after a full trial. “The prosecution has not demonstrated any exceptional or compelling reasons to warrant their continued detention. The Court is therefore not persuaded that a remand order is justified,” he remarked.
“Accordingly, the court declines the application by the DPP to remand the acquitted persons and instead exercises its discretion to admit them to bail pending the filing and determination of any appeal,” Justice Jaiteh further ruled.
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