Following the submission of no-case-to-answer, by Borry Touray, the Defence Counsel in the ongoing alleged impersonation trial involving Lamin Jarju of Lamin village, Kombo North, Magistrate EF M’bai of the Brikama Magistrates’ Court, on Tuesday said that the accused Lamin Jarju has a case to answer, based on the evidence of the three prosecution witnesses and the exhibits tendered.

Despite the submission of no case to answer, by Lawyer Borry Touray, the accused’s defence, presiding Magistrate M’bai refuted granting it.

At that juncture Defence Counsel, Touray applied for an adjournment and subsequently it was deffered to Wednesday 24th October for the accused to enter his defence.

It could be recalled that Lamin Jarju is standing trial of impersonation, after barely seven months of arrest at Banjulinding Police Station.

State Prosecutor Cpl H13 Sanyang, stood in for the IGP.

Amie Jaiteh, a native of Lamin village and the complainant in the assault case involving Neneh Jallow, Ousman Gaye, Awa Jallow and Oumie Bahum, on Tuesday told Brikama Magistrates’ Court, presided over by Magistrate EF M’Bai that she was seriously beaten by the four accused persons right from her compound gate to the kitchen.

According to her, on the day of the incident she left her compound to visit a friend in town when one of her daughters came to inform her that the fourth accused person’s child came to their compound and insulted them.

“When I came back home, I met the four accused persons at my compound gate insulting my children. I then told the accused persons to leave my home. Then Ousman Gaye, the second accused person, hit me and the other three joined him and beat me up to my kitchen gate, causing me bodily harm,” she explained.

She concluded that she then reported the matter to the Alkalo of Lamin, and then to Yundum Police Station, where she gave her statement.

Mariama Konateh, a house mate of the complainant, who also testified in the case, expressed similar sentiment.

Magistrate M’Bai then told the court that such disputes are internal cases between neighbours and should be amicably resolved by the village Alkalo, in order not to breach the neighbourhood-relation. He then adjourned the case to Wednesday 12 September, 2007, for continuation.

Police Prosecutor Cpl 413 Sanyang, represented the IGP.

The impersonation trial involving Lamin Jarju, a native of Kombo Lamin was on Monday adjourned for September 4th for the Police Prosecutor 413 Sanyang to open his case.

Lawyer Borry Touray, the accused’s Defence Counsel completed his address before Magistrate EF M’Bai of the Brikama Magistrates’ Court before the case was adjourned.

In his address, Lawyer Touray told the court that, submitted that  “the prosecution needs to prove the following ingredients in order to raise permission which would in law, warrant the accused to enter his defence.

“The prosecution should prove whether the accused was found falsely representing himself as an Alkalo and whether the accused has falsely represented himself to be a person employed in the public service. Also, the evidences called by the prosecution in this case are to that effect. The accused falsely represented himself as an Alkalo of a village. The prosecution therefore has a routine law to satisfy the court, the office where the accused was found personating is an office in the public service,” he submitted. 

Lawyer Touray went on to state that, the office of an Alkalo is not an office in the public service and cannot therefore be described as a public office. “The position of an Alkalo is rather that of a community worker and does not lie with the contemplation of the consensus which creates the offence.  It has been submitted in the cross examination that the office of an Alkalo is not an office of the public service. It is not an office entitled to the payment of salaries, in fact the office is not a permanent personable office to the public service,” he said. 

He concluded by submitting and then appealed before the court that the accused be acquitted and discharged.

The case was then adjourned to Tuesday 4th September for continuation.

Police Prosecutor Cpl 413 Sanyang stood in for the IGP.