By Sainabou Sambou
Tensions flared in the High Court in Banjul on Wednesday as defence and prosecution counsel traded sharp arguments over the admissibility of evidence in the high-profile murder trial stemming from the October 2024 stabbing death of British national Leonard Dominic in Brufut, Ghana Town, Kombo North.
Justice Omar Cham presided over the session, where defence counsel Samuel Ade and state counsel M.D. Mballow clashed repeatedly as the testimony continued.
The lead accused, Ibra Foli, faces one count of murder under Section 187 of the Criminal Code, with the prosecution alleging he stabbed Dominic multiple times in the chest and neck with malice aforethought on 19 October 2024, causing his death the following day.
Co-accused Alfusainey Jallow, Dawda Sonko, and Malick Njie face charges as accessories after the fact under Section 202, accused of helping conceal the crime.
Pathologist Ousman Leigh (PW5) returned to the witness box for further cross-examination by defence counsel Ade. Leigh confirmed that Crime Records Officer Bonda Bass Manjang photographed the body at the mortuary on 25 October 2024 — after dissection had occurred — though he could not confirm if images were taken beforehand.
The witness admitted the coroner’s formal request for the post-mortem was missing from the medical report and was uncertain if it had been presented in court. He also could not recall the deceased’s clothing during the examination and acknowledged a discrepancy in the documented date of death: the medical certificate listed 22 October 2024 (the date the post-mortem was requested), while the actual death occurred on 20 October 2024. Leigh described the mismatch as a clerical error.
The prosecution next called Isatou Sanneh (PW6), a housewife from Bijilo. Sanneh stated that she recognized all the accused, including her own son. She confirmed being summoned to the Senegambia Police Station on 22 October 2024, but insisted she could not remember any discussions, statements made, or thumb-printing a document due to illness at the time. She described herself as uneducated and unable to identify any police statement in her name, though she verified her phone number (5926555) and Bijilo address as accurate for that period.
State counsel Mballow then applied for a court order directing the Gambia Police Criminal Records Office to compare Sanneh’s thumbprint against the disputed statement, arguing the witness appeared unwilling to testify truthfully because of her familial tie to one of the accused.
Defence counsel Ade strongly objected, invoking Section 237 of the Criminal Procedure Code (as amended by the Criminal Procedure Act 2025). He contended that the provision permits only the accused — not the prosecution — to request copies of extrajudicial statements for cross-examination. Ade described the prosecution’s application as procedurally improper.
“This is a court of law, and the court is bound by rules on how certain things are to be done,” Ade told the bench. “If there is no law that gives the prosecution the right to make such an application, the court knows what to do because everything is based on law, not just human thinking that it might be. We will take it to the Supreme Court if necessary.”
The exchange featured frequent objections, interruptions, and calls for clarification. A debate arose over whether Sanneh could be declared a hostile witness and if her prior statement could be admitted. Ade pressed for a definitive ruling, warning that any adverse decision could face appeal to the Supreme Court.
Justice Cham adjourned the matter to 10 March 2026 at 11:00 a.m. for further proceedings and a ruling on the contested application.
The trial, which began in mid-2025, continues to draw attention due to the victim’s foreign nationality and the serious nature of the charges.
