By: Isatou Sarr
The Ministry of Justice has filed an appeal challenging the acquittal of Ousainou Bojang and his sister Amie Bojang, describing the High Court ruling as “unreasonable” and “erroneous,” officials said.
The appeal, lodged on March 31, 2026, by the Director of Public Prosecutions, A.M. Yusuf, seeks to have the Court of Appeal set aside the acquittal and substitute it with convictions and sentences commensurate with the offences.
According to court documents, the state advanced seven grounds of appeal, arguing that the trial judge erred in both law and fact in his determination of the case.
On the first ground, the state contends that the trial judge improperly discounted the evidential weight of Ousainou Bojang’s extra-judicial statements, arguing that the confessions were lawfully obtained, corroborated and capable of sustaining a conviction even if later retracted.
The second ground faults the judge for allegedly imposing an improper burden on the prosecution by requiring it to disprove an alibi raised during trial, which the State described as an afterthought. It further argued that reliance on WhatsApp messages did not conclusively establish the accused’s location and that insufficient caution was exercised in assessing testimony from close associates.
On the third ground, the State submits that undue emphasis was placed on visual identification principles, while what it described as a strong body of circumstantial evidence was overlooked, including material recovered during investigations and information linked to the alleged weapon.
The fourth ground challenges the judge’s assessment of Ousainou Bojang’s travel to Senegal on September 13, 2023, which the State interprets as indicative of consciousness of guilt, citing what it described as efforts to evade law enforcement.
On the fifth ground, the State argues that procedural shortcomings under the Anti-Terrorism Act, including the absence of video-recording during detention, should not have rendered the confessional statements unreliable after their admission into evidence.
In its sixth ground, the State maintains that any reversal of Ousainou Bojang’s acquittal would revive the case against Amie Bojang as an alleged accessory, pointing to her role in facilitating transportation and the circumstances surrounding their departure from the country.
The final ground asserts that the overall judgment was unreasonable and unwarranted in light of the totality of evidence presented during the trial.
It would be recalled that the Banjul High Court presided over by Justice Ebrima Jaiteh acquitted and discharged Ousainou Bojang on five counts, including the murder of Police Constables Sang J. Gomez and Pateh M. Jallow, acts of terrorism, attempted murder of Police Constable Ansey Jawo, and grievous bodily harm. Amie Bojang was also acquitted and discharged on a charge of being an accessory after the fact to murder.
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