Kumba Sinyan in court
By Landing Ceesay
Kumba Sinyan, the accused in the 2022 murder of her fiancé, Momodou Lamarana Jallow, is scheduled to open her defense during the trial on April 15, 2024.
Sinyan faces a murder charge, contrary to Section 187 of the Criminal Code Cap: 10:01 Revised Laws of the Gambia 2009. Prosecutors allege that on or around September 14, 2022, at the Friendship Hostel in Bakau, she intentionally caused Lamarana Jallow’s death by cutting his stomach with an object. This act falls under an offense punishable by death, as per Section 188 of the Criminal Code.
Throughout the trial, the Prosecution has presented eight witnesses and formally closed its case on March 14, 2024. Kumba Sinyan’s lawyer informed the court that her client will begin presenting her defense on April 15, 2024.
Initially, Mrs. Sagar Twum, Kumba Sinyan’s lawyer, vehemently asserted her client’s innocence. However, as the trial progressed, she shifted the defense strategy to self-defense. Twum repeatedly emphasized that Kumba Sinyan was protecting herself against her ex-fiancé, Momodou Lamarana Jallow.
The upcoming adjourned date provides Kumba Sinyan with the opportunity to commence her defense against the charges brought by the State (Prosecution).