By Sainabou Sambou
The High Court in Banjul was the scene of intense legal sparring on Thursday as the trial of Bubacarr Drammeh, charged with murder and two counts of attempted murder stemming from a deadly 2019 land dispute shooting, entered another tense day.
Justice Omar Cham presided as Prosecution Witness Two (PW2), Ebrima Darboe – himself an alleged victim – faced rigorous cross-examination by defence counsel Lamin S. Camara. State Counsel MD Mballow led the prosecution.
Darboe, a driver by profession, recounted the chaotic events of March 2019 in the forested area between Gunjur and Berending. He told the court that after Drammeh allegedly fired a shot at him, he fled toward the vehicle that had brought him while his companions scattered. Only one of his children, Seedia Touray, remained nearby. Others returned after hearing the gunshot but kept their distance.
Under cross-examination, Darboe insisted he had never taken anyone to court over his family land. However, he acknowledged a previous police report involving Drammeh concerning destroyed property on another plot. That matter, filed at Brikama Magistrates’ Court, never escalated to the High Court.
Darboe detailed extensive family land holdings – 800 metres in Gunjur, 1,800 metres in Kartong, 1,112 metres elsewhere, and 400 metres near Berending – but claimed no knowledge of the late Buba Jammeh’s boundaries. He maintained he arrived at the disputed site before Drammeh and found seven people from Berending already present.
The courtroom atmosphere turned electric when Camara sought to tender Darboe’s 16 March 2019 police witness statement as a defence exhibit. State Counsel Mballow vehemently objected, arguing the witness had failed to identify the document in court, rendering its admission improper and tantamount to “tendering from the bar.”
Camara fired back that Darboe had already confirmed his name, age, telephone number (6437424), and the statement date, establishing sufficient foundation. He noted the document had been formally served on the defence and attached to the indictment.
The heated exchange between the two senior lawyers continued until Justice Cham intervened, adjourning the matter to 2 December 2025 for ruling on the statement’s admissibility and continuation of Darboe’s testimony.
Drammeh stands accused of murdering Buba Jammeh and attempting to murder Ebrima Darboe and Ebrima Colley during the violent confrontation over land boundaries six years ago.
