A police officer on Friday took the stand and testified he initially charged businessman Bubacarr Keita with defiling a minor.
Heavily-built Musa Dumbuya entered the witness box at 11:20am on Friday to testify in the rape trial as the fourth prosecution witness.
The CID officer told Judge Momodou SM Jallow he was ‘stationed’ at Piccadilly Police Post in November 2019 when he one day reported to work and found the ‘complainant, the victim and the accused’.
“It was around 8[am] onwards,” Dumbuya who is a sergeant and has been a police officer for 11 years said.
He testified: “The case file was prepared and forwarded to the gender and child welfare unit under Serious Crime Unit. The file was assigned to a gender and child welfare officer. As I work together with the gender and child welfare officers, often assisting in their investigation, we both confronted both the accused person and the complainant together with the victim. The accused strongly denied the allegation. During the interview, we came to know that the accused, complainant and the victim live in the same house.
“Subsequently, I left with both the complainant and the accused together with the gender and child welfare officer 2Couple Lisa Colley to visit the house located at Tabokoto. The house of the complainant and the accused was shown to us together with the house of the victim, where she was living, her bedroom. From there we returned back to the station.”
The police officer said Keita was charged once they got back to the police station.
“Bubacarr was cautioned, he was charged,” Dumbuya who was at one moment asked by the judge to speak up so everyone could hear him said.
When asked by prosecuting lawyer Alasan Jobe what offence Keita was charged with, the witness said: “Initially I charged him [with] defilement of a child under the age of 18.”
Dumbuya said Keita ‘again’ denied strongly when the charge was read to him. He was then asked whether he would recognize the document where he charged Keita and he said he would.
How will you recognize it?” Jobe asked him.
In replying, Dumbuya said: “If I see my handwriting I will recognize it and my signature.” Dumbuya then confirmed the voluntary statement shown to him was indeed the one he wrote. The judge admitted it into the records only for identification purposes.
Still, the witness testified elsewhere he knows a person by the name Pa Modou Johm.
The case continues on Monday.
Dumbuya began his testimony on Friday by saying ‘he’s the guy I’m facing’ when asked by the prosecuting lawyer to look around and identify Bubacarr Keita after saying he knew him.
