A cook from Serrekunda testified on Thursday in a case that prosecutors say began as a dispute over food prices and ended in a violent assault involving hot water.
The witness, Mam Jarra Jarjue, told the court that she was attacked on Jan. 20, 2026, while working at a food stall in Bakoteh. The defendant, Jainaba Faye, is charged in the matter, which is being prosecuted by the state.
Ms. Jarjue said tensions flared after a customer was sold a stuffed pie for 50 dalasis instead of the usual 75 because the kitchen had run out of chips and vegetables. She testified that Ms. Faye confronted staff over the reduced price, questioning their authority to make such decisions and accusing them of stealing, citing information she claimed to have received from a nearby chef.
The situation grew more heated, Ms. Jarjue told the court, after a friend of the accused, identified only as Aja, arrived at the stall. She said Ms. Faye began interrogating her and a co-worker, Marie, about personal matters related to Ms. Faye’s marriage, while directing insults at both women.
By midafternoon, Ms. Jarjue said, the atmosphere had turned hostile. Around 3 p.m., Marie was asked to leave, leaving Ms. Jarjue alone to manage kitchen duties, including heating oil.
Ms. Jarjue testified that she overheard Ms. Faye speaking on the phone shortly before the alleged attack. “These kids know nothing about me; they are lying,” she recalled Ms. Faye saying.
After the call ended, Ms. Jarjue said, Aja suggested counting the day’s sales to resolve the theft accusations. As Ms. Jarjue led the way into a room to conduct the count, she said she was ambushed.
“As I pushed the door open to enter, a plastic bowl with hot water was poured on my face by the accused,” Ms. Jarjue told the court.
Prosecutors later asked Ms. Jarjue to identify the vessel allegedly used in the attack. She described it as a white-and-purple plastic bowl and positively identified one presented in court.
Ms. Faye objected, arguing that the bowl was a standard kitchen tool used for transferring oil into a deep fryer and was not the container involved in the incident. The magistrate overruled the objection and admitted the bowl into evidence as Exhibit PA1.
The case was adjourned until Feb. 16, when proceedings are set to continue in The Gambia.
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