Magistrate A. Manneh has dismissed a defence application seeking to strike out charges against Abdul Wahab Jobarteh at the Kanifing Magistrates’ Court, ruling that the accused’s counsel had provided no evidence to support claims that the same charges were already pending elsewhere.
The trial proceeded today before magistrate A. Manneh, with prosecution witness Assistant Superintendent Mam Berry Touray giving detailed testimony on how police extracted and preserved a video from social media in the case.
Abdul Wahab Jobarteh faces seven charges relating to an incident on 5th June 2026 involving a Mercedes-Benz C-Class car with registration number BJL 6726 J.
Count One is the most serious: causing danger or blocking a public highway (Section 194 of the Criminal Offences Act 2025). The charge relates to the alleged incident where a police sergeant was driven on the bonnet of the vehicle.
Count Two charges him with driving without a valid driver’s licence.
Counts Three and Four relate to additional traffic offences.
Count Five charges careless driving, contrary to Section 51 of the Motor Traffic Act.
Count Six charges unauthorised use of tinted glass on the vehicle, contrary to Section 25C of the Motor Traffic Act (Amendment) Act 2013. Count Seven charges using the vehicle without paying road tax, contrary to Section 22A of the Motor Traffic Act (Amendment) Act 2013.
Abdul Wahab Jobarteh has pleaded not guilty to all seven counts. The defence is now trying to have Counts 2 to 4 dismissed, claiming they are duplicate charges already being heard at Banjul Magistrates’ Court.
When the case was called, defence counsel K. Bojang brought an application to challenge the charges. Bojang sought to have Counts 2 to 4 struck out, arguing that those same charges were already before the Banjul Magistrate’s Court.
After hearing arguments from both the defence and prosecution, Magistrate Manneh adjourned for thirty minutes to consider her decision. When she returned, she dismissed the defence application.
Magistrate Manneh ruled that the defence had failed to provide any material evidence to prove that the charges filed in Banjul were identical to those being tried at Kanifing. She said the court could not act on speculation or mere assertion from the defence without proof. The application was therefore dismissed.
The prosecution then proceeded with its case. DSP Y. S. Colley called ASP Mam Berry Touray to give evidence.
ASP Touray testified that he was ordered by his superior officer to download video footage from Facebook. He explained that he used a software application called Internet Download Manager (IDM) to carry out the download.
When asked what happened after the download, ASP Touray said the video was successfully downloaded to his office computer. He then transferred the video to a flash drive.
ASP Touray described his office computer as a white HP Desktop that was used only for office purposes and was accessed only by him. When asked about the condition of the computer at the time of the download, he stated that the machine was working properly and had never suffered a virus attack.
At that point, Magistrate A. Manneh indicated that it was a convenient time to adjourn, as she had other court engagements to attend to.
The trial adjourned to 24th August 2026 at 1:30 pm and 1st September 2026 at 1:30 pm for continuation of evidence and cross-examination.
