By Sainabou Sambou
The trial of former Gambian soldier Abdoulie Sanyang continued on Wednesday before Justice Ebrima Jaiteh of the High Court, with a video interview between Sanyang and journalist Peter Gomez played in open court as part of the prosecution’s evidence.
The session featured testimony from Police Constable Paul A. F. Sambou, a four-year veteran of the Gambia Police Force and resident of Abuko, who currently serves in the Force’s Information Technology Unit.
Constable Sambou told the court that he was instructed by Commissioner Jawara of the Serious Crime Unit (SIU) to extract a video of an interview between Peter Gomez and the accused, Abdoulie Sanyang, from YouTube as part of the ongoing investigation.
“I was directed to download the video interview between Peter Gomez and Mr. Sanyang to assist with the investigation,” Sambou said.
He explained that he used his police-issued HP laptop to visit the Coffee Time with Peter Gomez YouTube channel, where he searched for and downloaded the full interview titled ‘Abdoulie Sanyang’s Interview with Peter Gomez.’
After successfully downloading the video, Sambou said he transferred the files onto a new flash drive and delivered it to the Special Investigation Unit. He confirmed that the process took place during his regular working hours.
When asked by State Counsel S.L. Jobarteh whether he could identify the video if played in court, Sambou confidently replied, “Yes. I viewed the content, and it featured Abdoulie Sanyang and Peter Gomez.”
Counsel Jobarteh then requested that the video be played in open court. Defence Counsel Lamin J. Darboe did not object. The one-hour video was subsequently played before the court, but the viewing was cut short as the session’s allotted time expired. The matter was adjourned to Tuesday for continuation.
Earlier in the proceedings, two prosecution witnesses from the Banjul International Airport Police Unit—Officer Filijeh Dibba and Corporal Kemo Korteh—had testified about events leading to Sanyang’s arrest.
Officer Dibba testified that he was instructed by Commissioner Ousman Mboge to immediately place Sanyang’s name on the airport’s stop list and monitor his movements. He said Commissioner Mboge later sent him a short video interview of Sanyang with Peter Gomez, which he showed to his colleague, Officer Jabou Sarr, who recognized Sanyang as someone she had seen earlier that day at the airport.
Following the identification, Dibba, Sarr, and Corporal Korteh searched the airport premises. Korteh testified that he received a tip-off from an informant named Lama, who reported seeing Sanyang at the airport preparing to travel.
“I approached Abdoulie, identified myself as a police officer, and carried out the arrest,” Korteh told the court, adding that the accused cooperated throughout the process.
Justice Jaiteh adjourned the case to Tuesday, November 10, 2025, to allow for the continuation of the video viewing and to accommodate further testimony.
