The murder trial involving Ousainou Bojang and his sister, Amie Bojang, was unable to move forward today, as Justice Jaiteh mandated that the disputed audio transcription be sent back to court transcribers for corrections.
The ruling was issued in the face of strong objections from the prosecution concerning the inclusion of names that were not referenced in the audio itself.
The case continues to attract public attention, as today’s proceedings see a courtroom filled with young people from Brufut showing their support for Ousainou.
At the time the case was called, the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) was present, accompanied by F. Touray, to represent the State. The defendants had the representation of Counsel J. Jeng, F. Bondi, and Counsel A. Sillah.
Following the introduction of the counsels. The DPP formally objected to the transcribed audio, noting that the transcriber included the names Mama Jabbi and Ousainou Bojang in the transcription, whereas the speakers did not explicitly mention these names during the audio playback.
He contended that the transcriber’s action represented an unjustified presumption and the incorporation of unverified facts into the evidence itself. DPP emphasized that including names not verbally mentioned could lead to bias.
The DPP contended that the transcriber had noted the names “Mama Jabbi” and “Ousainou Bojang” in the document, even though these names were not mentioned while the audio was played in court.
The defense attorney vigorously challenged the objection. Counsel J. Jeng contended that, while listening to the audio, Mama Jabbi indeed mentioned the name Ousainou Bojang multiple times.
Counsel A. Sillah endorsed the stance of counsel Jeng, highlighting that the context given by a witness to the court suggested the audio captured a conversation between Mama Jabbi and Ousainou, and that the recording had been extensively circulated.
Counsel Sillah argued that the transcriber was utilizing the contextual information presented to the court.
Justice Jaiteh, in his ruling, provided clarity on the stringent principle that governs court documentation. He emphasized that transcribers “shouldn’t assume” and must instead “transcribe verbatim”.
“The transcriber must not make assumptions; instead, they should transcribe verbatim without including names, as they were not mentioned in the audio that Mama Jabbi or Ousainou Bojang was speaking,” Justice Jaiteh stated.
Justice Jaiteh ordered the prompt return of the audio transcription to the court transcribers, directing them to transcribe it verbatim, ensuring that nothing not present in the audio recording is included.
The case has been adjourned for 2nd December 2025 at 10:00 am, to allow for the submission of a corrected, verbatim transcription of the essential audio evidence.
