By Landing Ceesay
The prosecution has presented personal documents of a British woman, allegedly murdered by Augustine Bangura, a Sierra Leonean national.
These documents were submitted through Chief Inspector Landing Nasso, who has been with the Gambia Police Force since 1993 and is currently stationed at the Tujereng Police Station in the West Coast Region (WCR).
Chief Inspector Nasso confirmed his recognition of the accused, Augustine Bangura, having encountered him at the CID office in Brikama Police Station, the divisional headquarters of Tujereng Police Station. He stated that Bangura was brought in for investigation in connection with a murder case.
“I recognized him (Augustine Bangura) at the Brikama Police Station at the CID office, which is the Divisional Headquarters of the Tujereng Police Station,” Chief Inspector Nasso told the court.
Chief Inspector Nasso informed the court that the accused, Augustine Bangura, was brought in connection with a murder case he allegedly committed.
Augustine Bangura is charged with murder and theft under sections 187 and 252 of the Criminal Code Revised Laws of the Gambia 2009.
According to the prosecution, on February 14, 2024, in Sinchang Village, West Coast Region of the Gambia, Augustine Bangura allegedly caused the death of Shakina Chinedu by striking her at the back of her neck with a hammer, leading to her death.
The prosecution further alleges that on the same date and at the same location, Augustine Bangura unlawfully took items belonging to Shakina Chinedu, including D80,000.00, two laptops, a tablet, flash drives, keys, a Canon camera, and bank and correspondence cards from her bag and apartment.
Chief Inspector Nasso, who is in charge of the Tujereng Police Station, led the investigation at the crime scene. He stated that when the case was reported to his office, he visited the scene where Shakina Chinedu’s body was later found buried in a septic tank.
“Besides the crime scene, which other places were visited by the team of investigators?” State Counsel Fatoumatta Drammeh asked the witness.
“The police and team of investigators visited the suspect (Augustine Bangura) house in Sukuta,” Chief Inspector Nasso told the court.
Chief Inspector Nasso stated that the police and a team of investigators visited the accused person’s house during the daytime on February 17, 2024, around 4:00 PM.
“Where a cash amount of D80,000 with a black hand pistol was recovered. The accused (Augustine Bangura) also led us 15 meters away from his house, where he pointed to a hole covered with sand. When we removed the sand from the hole, we found a bunch of keys, some documents, such as a Gambian driving license, Gambia Alien Card, Identity Cards and some other documents that they had listed all bearing the names of Shakina (deceased). Photographs were taken by the Criminal Records Officers who were within our team,” Chief Inspector Nasso told the court.
“Who directed you to the house?” Counsel Drammeh asked the witness.
“It was the accused person who directed us to his house,” Chief Inspector Nasso told the court.
“You told this court that you found money equivalent to D80,000, where exactly in the house did you find this money,” Counsel Drammeh asked the witness again.
“My lord, the money equivalent to D80,000 was found in the accused person’s house together with the pistol under his pillow on his bed. The money was found contained in a plastic bag,” Chief Inspector Nasso testified.
When asked if he would recognize the money his team of investigators recovered, Chief Inspector Nasso responded affirmatively.
Chief Inspector Nasso stated that the money was primarily in 200 Dalasis denominations, with a few in 100 Dalasis denominations.
The money was handed over to Chief Inspector Nasso for identification, and he confirmed that the D80,000 was indeed the money recovered from the accused person’s house.
The prosecution then applied to tender the D80,000 as evidence.
Counsel Susso, the lawyer representing the accused, did not object to the admissibility of the money into evidence.
After the court registrar confirmed the amount by counting the money, Hon. Justice Ebrima Jaiteh, the presiding judge, admitted it into evidence and marked it as Prosecution Exhibit P1.
“Mr. Nasso, you also told this court that you found a Gambian driver’s license Alien Card, and other Personal documents belonging to the deceased. If you see these documents you mentioned, would you be able to recognize them?,” Counsel Drammeh asked the witness.
“Yes, my lord, if I see these documents I will be able to recognize them,” Chief Inspector Nasso responded.
“How would you be able to recognize them?,” Counsel Drammeh asked the witness again.
“The documents are bearing the names of the late Shakina Chinedu and their serial if I see them I will be able to recognize them. These documents include the deceased Gambian driver’s license, Deceased British driver’s license, deceased alien card, deceased British ID Card, deceased Business Card, Deceased UK Master Card, and Deceased Tesco Club Card,” Chief Inspector Nasso told the court.
Chief Inspector Nasso received the documents for identification and confirmed them as those recovered from Augustine Bangura, attributed to the deceased Shakina Chinedu.
The Prosecution subsequently requested to submit these documents as evidence and have them designated as exhibits.
Counsel Susso, representing the accused, raised no objections to admitting these documents as evidence.
Hon. Justice Jaiteh then admitted the documents into evidence and labeled them as follows: Alien Card (Exhibit P2), Driver’s License (Exhibit P3), Residence Permit (Exhibit P4), UK Driver’s License (Exhibit P5), Tesco Club Card (Exhibit P6), and Master Card (Exhibit P7).
Regarding the keys reportedly found at the accused person’s residence, Chief Inspector Nasso affirmed his ability to identify them upon sight.
“How would you be able to recognize them?” Counsel Drammeh asked the witness.
“My lord, the keys were bunch and some of them are labelled by the deceased (Shakina Chinedu) as the office key, the garage and that of the apartments,” Chief Inspector Nasso told the court.
Chief Inspector Nasso was given the keys for identification, confirming them as those purportedly retrieved from the accused’s residence in Sukuta. The Prosecution subsequently sought to submit them as exhibits, a move unopposed by Counsel Susso. With no objections raised, Hon. Justice Jaiteh admitted the keys as exhibit P8.
During his testimony, Chief Inspector Nasso further disclosed to the court several items recovered by his investigative team from the crime scene.
“My lord, at the crime scene, we discovered a wooden spade with a black handle, a wooden hammer, and that of the African paint bag, made of wax as the handbag of the deceased and other items that were discovered during the search,” Chief Inspector Nasso told the court.
“In what part of the compound were these items discovered?” Counsel Drammeh asked.
“There is a house built by the deceased as a garage or store where the spade, the hammer, and the African Paint bag, together with other materials were retrieved,” Chief Inspector Nasso testified.
After concluding their investigation, Chief Inspector Nasso informed the court that Augustine Bangura had made a confession.
The witness stated that he subsequently drafted his witness statement based on the accused’s confession.
Chief Inspector Nasso confirmed that he would recognize his witness statement, noting it contained his details, telephone number, and signature.
He further testified that the statement presented was the one he had prepared regarding the case.
The Prosecution requested to submit the witness statement as evidence.
Counsel Susso raised no objections to its admissibility.
Hon. Justice Jaiteh admitted the statement as exhibit P9.
The case was adjourned until July 8, 2024.