Cecilia E.L Mendy
Defence counsel F.C. Anyanwu on Monday failed to block the tendering of an autopsy report in an ongoing murder trial before Justice Ebrima Jaiteh at the Banjul High Court, after the court ruled the document admissible.
Counsel M. Sarr represented the State while F.C. Anyanwu appeared for the accused. The prosecution sought to tender an autopsy report prepared by Dr. Ousman Leigh as evidence.
The defence objected, arguing that during examination-in-chief the witness stated the report was prepared in February 2026, a date which did not appear on the document. The defence submitted that the discrepancy rendered the report unreliable and inadmissible.
The prosecution countered that the defence had misconstrued the witness’s testimony, stating that there is a distinction between the date the autopsy was conducted and the date the report was finalised. The State further argued that relevance remains the primary test for admissibility.
In its ruling, the court held that the primary test for admissibility of documentary evidence is relevance, and that any document which is relevant and not excluded by law is admissible.
The court further stated that issues relating to authenticity, accuracy, reliability or probative value go to the weight of evidence rather than admissibility.
Justice Jaiteh noted that the alleged discrepancy raised by the defence could be explored during cross-examination and assessed at the conclusion of the trial, but was insufficient to exclude the document.
The court held that the autopsy report was directly relevant to the post-mortem examination of the deceased and therefore admissible.
Accordingly, the objection was overruled and the report was admitted and marked as Exhibit P4.
The court added that the defence remains at liberty to challenge the document’s authenticity, accuracy and credibility during cross-examination and final submissions.