Emotional testimony gripped the Brikama Magistrates’ Court as the inquest into the death of 27-year-old Omar Badjie continued.
Two witnesses provided harrowing accounts of the September 2025 encounter, alleging that the young boy (Omar Badjie) was humiliated, slapped, and beaten with a tree branch by police officers before his death.
The proceedings, presided over by Principal Magistrate Anna O. Mendy, investigate the events of 26th September, 2025. While the Gambia Police Force (GPF) claimed Omar Badjie collapsed while fleeing a drug-related pursuit in Mandinary, eyewitness accounts presented in court painted a far more violent picture.
“Saliva Coming Out of His Mouth”
The eighth witness, Malang Keita, a local teacher and Imam, broke down in tears as he described seeing four officers carrying a handcuffed Omar Badjie.
“I saw four police officers two held his hands and the other two held his legs,” Keita testified. “Late Omar Badjie was humiliated, and the police treated him badly.”
Malang Keita told the court that as the officers carried Omar Badjie, the young boy’s head hung toward the ground. “Omar’s body was not moving, and saliva was coming out of his mouth,” he said.
The Imam’s testimony was briefly interrupted when he began to cry (shedding tears), prompting family members in the gallery to cry out, leading Magistrate Mendy to briefly stand down the court to allow emotions to settle.
Malang Keita also revealed he had been threatened by an officer when he attempted to intervene and plead for Omar Badjie’s life.
Following the incident, Keita faced further trauma when rumours circulated in the village that he had assisted the police. He testified that he had to seek refuge at the Banjulinding Police Station after receiving reports that angry youths planned to burn his house down an allegation he denied in court.
The ninth witness, Ousainou Keita, also a teacher from Mandinary, corroborated the claims of physical abuse. He testified to seeing an officer with dreadlocks (described as “lucss”) confront Omar Badjie while he lay in tall grass.
“The one on ‘lucss’ told him to get up, but Omar Badjie said he cannot get up, and that is the time he slapped Omar,” the witness told the court.
Ousainou Keita further alleged that the abuse continued under a mango tree. According to his testimony, when Badjie again insisted he was unable to stand, the officer “caught a branch of the mango tree and beat Omar around his neck” before ordering other officers to carry him away.
When asked by Magistrate Mendy what he believed caused the death, the witness replied bluntly: “Because of the torture.”
The two witnesses’ statements of the witness were entered into evidence as MK1 and OK1, respectively
The death of Omar Badjie in September 2025 sparked widespread unrest and remains a flashpoint for national discussions regarding police conduct and accountability in the country.
The inquest has been adjourned to Wednesday, 14th January, 2026, at 2:00 PM, as the court continues to seek the truth behind the encounter that claimed a young life.
By Kexx Sanneh.
