By Isatou Sarr
The High Court in Banjul has adjourned the rape trial of former watchman Ass Malick Njie to 19 November 2026 for final oral addresses after the defence closed its case.
The proceedings came before Justice Ebrima Jaiteh, where State Counsel A. Gibba informed the court that the prosecution had no objection to the defence closing its case and requested a date for final addresses.
Justice Jaiteh directed that the defence would be given 20 minutes to present its address, followed by 20 minutes for the prosecution to respond. The defence would then have an additional 10 minutes to reply on points of law.
The judge indicated that the case could be scheduled for judgment in or before December 2026.
At an earlier sitting, Justice Jaiteh dismissed a defence application seeking to compel five individuals to testify, ruling that sufficient grounds had not been established to demonstrate that their evidence would be material to the case.
The application, brought under Section 160 of the Criminal Procedure Code 2025, sought witness summonses for Musa Secka, Amadou Kebbeh, Ebrima Drammeh, Muhammed Lamin Jarju and Ebrima Luke Silver.
In his ruling, the judge said the provision empowered courts to issue witness summonses but required adequate grounds to establish that the proposed witnesses could provide material evidence or produce relevant documents.
Njie, who worked as a watchman at QCell’s main building on Kairaba Avenue, is charged with rape under Section 3(1)(a) of the Sexual Offences Act 2013.
The charge relates to an allegation that he had anal sexual intercourse with a 12-year-old boy on 5 February 2022 near the QCell building in the Kanifing Municipality.
The accused remains entitled to the presumption of innocence unless and until proven guilty by a court of law.