By: Fatou Krubally
The Bundung High Court on Wednesday remanded an alleged child offender (ACO) to the Juvenile Wing of the State Central Prison following his conviction for attempted robbery and going armed in public.
Justice I. Janneh delivered the ruling in a case involving three accused persons: Abdoulie Badjie, Muhammed Faal and the ACO.
The accused were arraigned on 12 October 2022 on charges of conspiracy, attempted robbery and going armed in public. They all pleaded not guilty.
At the close of the prosecution’s case, the court acquitted Muhammed Faal after ruling that he had no case to answer. The conspiracy charge was also dismissed at the no-case stage, leaving Abdoulie Badjie and the ACO to answer to charges of attempted robbery and going armed in public.
The prosecution called six witnesses and tendered several exhibits. However, the evidence of one witness was expunged after the witness failed to appear for cross-examination.
In his judgment, Justice Janneh held that the testimonies of prosecution witnesses PW1 and PW6 were credible and corroborative. He also found that PW2 and PW3 gave consistent evidence regarding the arrest of the accused and the recovery of weapons.
The court rejected the defence’s submissions, describing them as mere denials that were contradicted by credible eyewitness testimony.
The court found that the prosecution had proved the charge of attempted robbery against the ACO beyond reasonable doubt. The ACO and Abdoulie Badjie were also convicted of going armed in public.
Pursuant to Section 231 of the Children’s Act, 2005, the court ordered that the ACO be remitted to the Kanifing Children’s Court for further orders. Pending his appearance, he will remain at the Juvenile Wing of the State Central Prison or any other appropriate facility designated for child offenders.
Abdoulie Badjie was convicted of going armed in public. Sentencing is expected to be delivered on Thursday.
