By Landing Ceesay
Sainabou Mbye (1st accused) appearing before Justice Ebrima Jaiteh of the High Court of the Gambia as the first Defense Witness (DW1) said she has never harmed baby Muhammad (deceased) nor took his life.
Sainabou Mbye (1st accused), Cherno Mbye (2nd accused), and Kibilly Dembelly (3rd accused) are charged with two counts: namely, Manslaughter Contrary to section 186 and Exposing Children Contrary to section 210 all contrary to the Criminal Code of The Gambia, Cap. 10:01, Volume 3, Laws of The Gambia, 2009.
The particulars of the offense alleged in count one are that the accused persons on the 4th day of July 2022 at Brusubi in the Kombo North District of West Coast Region of the Republic of The Gambia within the jurisdiction of the High Court “unlawfully” and with “negligence” left one Muhammed Mbye, a two-year-old, locked in the vehicle with Registration Number BJL 9392 Q for four hours and as a result of which caused his death and thereby committed an offense.
The particulars of the offense alleged in count two are that the accused persons on the 4th day of July 2022 at Brusubi in the Kombo North District of the West Coast Region of the Republic of The Gambia within the jurisdiction of the High Court while having the custody and care of one Muhammed Mbye, a two-year-old child, “neglected and exposed” him in a manner that caused “unnecessary” suffering and injury to his health when they (the accused persons) left him locked in a vehicle with Registration Number BJL 9392 Q for four hours, and they thereby committed an offense.
In giving her testimony, Sainabou Mbye (1st accused) told the Court that Cherno Mbye (2nd accused) is her younger brother, and they share the same Mother and Father.
She also informed the Court that Kibilly Dembelly (3rd accused) is her cousin and that their mothers shared the same Mother and Father.
The 1st accused testified in Court that she never locked Muhammad Mbye (deceased) in a vehicle on the 4th of July 2022 in Brusubi.
“I have never done anything that would harm him. Because I love him, and I used to love him a lot. I have never harmed him, not to talk of taking his life,” she testified.
Sainabou Mbye’s lawyer asked her whether on July 14th, 2022, she has custody or care of Muhammad Mbye (deceased). Defendant responded in the negative. She told the court that the deceased was not in her custody but was in the custody of his mother. Furthermore, she denied neglecting Muhammad in a vehicle, resulting in his death.
The defendant also informed the Court that both Muhammad and his mum are under her care because she helps both of them.
“Muhammad (deceased) was not locked in a vehicle on the 4th of July. I could remember alighting from a vehicle and entering the compound. But I could not remember locking him or exposing him. The whole of that day I was on my phone, so I could not remember anything. But I am certain that I did not lock him in a vehicle,” she told the Court
Sainabou Mbye further told the court that she was on her phone the whole day because she was moving to a new house and that prior to Muhammad’s mom putting him into the vehicle, he had a flu and chest pain for which they bought cough and paracetamol syrups for him.
On how her cautionary statement was obtained, Sainabou Mbye told the court that the Police did not read any cautionary warning to her before obtaining her statement.
“They never told me that, what they told me is that just talk we want to help you because there is too much talking,” she testified.
Sainabou Mbye further told the court that the Police did not give her the opportunity to write her own statement. It is her testimony that the police only asked her which language she prefers to speak in, and then they wrote down her statement.
Sainabou Mbye said she did not tell the police that Muhammad is dead.
“They asked me about Muhammad, I told them, Muhammad. But I did not tell them that he is deceased,” she narrated.
Talking about the Presence of an independent witness at the time of obtaining her statement, she told the court that the independent witness was not present.
“He was not there, because my statement was taken at night and in the morning, so they called him after taking my statement. He was called to come and sign,” she said.
When asked why she arranged to have Muhammad taken to Dakar, Senegal, Sainabou Mbye told the Court that she was not satisfied with the way the doctors were treating Muhammad in Banjul, and that’s why she opted to take her to Dakar.
“The reason I arranged for him to go to Dakar is that the way the Doctors in Banjul were handling him, I was not satisfied. There was a test that was supposed to be conducted, and the Doctor instructed them to do that blood test at night, and they did not do that. So, the following morning, when the doctor asked them about it, they told him that they had forgotten something. They don’t have the equipment,”. She told the court.
Sainabou Mbye further told the Court that Muhammad’s blood sample was taken, and the doctor asked her to take it to the Pakala clinic for testing.
She testified that the test was conducted at Pakala Clinic, and she took the results back to the Doctor.
Justice Jaiteh then adjourned the case to Friday, December19th for the continuation of the hearing.