Court Orders Release of Interview Audio as Government Spokesperson Denies Personal Commentary in Police Shooting Trial

In a pivotal moment during the ongoing police shooting trial, Government Spokesperson Ebrima G. Sankareh appeared before the High Court on Monday to clarify remarks he made in a recent radio interview, firmly denying that his statements reflected personal opinions.

Sankareh, who has served as the government’s spokesperson and head of diaspora affairs since 2018, told the court that all his comments were based exclusively on information provided by police authorities. He emphasized that he consistently qualified his statements by referring to the accused’s involvement as “alleged.”

The proceedings, overseen by Justice Ebrima Jaiteh, began with the Director of Public Prosecutions, A.M. Yusuf, formally withdrawing an earlier application to stay proceedings and an appeal at the Court of Appeal. The defense did not oppose the withdrawal, and the court struck out the motion.

During cross-examination by defense counsel Lamin J. Darboe, representing the first accused, Ousainou Bojang, Sankareh was questioned at length about the content of his interview on West Coast Radio’s Coffee Time with Peter Gomez. When pressed on specific claims—such as details about a co-conspirator, the recovery of funds, and the accused’s presence at a related trial—Sankareh maintained that his remarks were based on preliminary police reports or contended that his words had been misrepresented.

“I did not independently verify nor personally witness any of the events I discussed,” Sankareh testified, denying that he had made personal attributions regarding the accused’s alleged ties to the Cassamance rebel movement. He added that he stopped commenting on the case after departing for the United Nations General Assembly in New York shortly after the incident.

Further questioning by Counsel Adama Sillah, representing the second accused, reaffirmed Sankareh’s position that he conducted only one interview concerning the case and that his information originated solely from the police. Sankareh, a trained journalist, said he took steps to confirm the details but declined to speculate on whether the president’s public pledge of one million dalasis to the police might have influenced the investigation.

Concerns about the accuracy and completeness of Sankareh’s testimony led Counsel Sillah to request that the court compel West Coast Radio to produce the full, unedited audio recording of the September 14 interview. With no objections from either side, Justice Jaiteh granted the motion, ordering the station’s proprietor to appear with the original recording.

The judge cited the importance of the order in the interest of justice, referencing relevant sections of the Criminal Procedure Code and the Evidence Act of 1994.

The trial has been adjourned until June 24, 2025, at 2:15 p.m., when the court will review compliance with the order and continue proceedings.

Below we reproduce the exchanges between the defence counsels and the government spokesperson verbatim. 

“Do you remember the interview you had with West Coast?” Counsel Lamin J. Darboe asked.

“Yes”, Ebrima G. Sankareh answered.

“You said in the interview that the first accused is responsible for the shooting at the Sukuta-Jabang”, Counsel Lamin J. Darboe continued.

“I never said that. I said allegedly”, Ebrima G. Sankareh replied.

“You said the shooter is arrested and in custody”, Counsel Lamin J. Darboe questioned.

“I said the alleged shooter was arrested and in custody”, Ebrima G. Sankareh clarified.

“You also said he has a co-conspirator”, Counsel Lamin J. Darboe stated.

“I said alleged co-conspirator”, Ebrima G. Sankareh responded.

“You said he was at the trial of Yankuba Darboe”, Counsel Lamin J. Darboe pressed.

“I didn’t say that”, Ebrima G. Sankareh denied.

“Do you remember that after the shooting, you said the alleged shooter was seen in a mosque with his co-conspirator?” Counsel Lamin J. Darboe asked.

“No, I never said that but something similar”, Ebrima G. Sankareh replied.

“Do you recall telling Peter Gomez that the alleged shooter wanted to kill six officers?” Counsel Lamin J. Darboe inquired.

“According to the information I gathered from the investigators”, Ebrima G. Sankareh explained.

“Do you remember telling Peter Gomez that money was recovered from the alleged shooter?” Counsel Lamin J. Darboe asked.

“No, I said the police said they have recovered money from the alleged shooter”, Ebrima G. Sankareh clarified.

“Did you confirm the amount?” Counsel Lamin J. Darboe followed up.

“No, I didn’t confirm the amount, I acted on the information provided by the police”, Ebrima G. Sankareh stated.

“What did you tell Peter Gomez about the mosque with his co-conspirator?” Counsel Lamin J. Darboe questioned.

“I said he was seen with his co-conspirator in a mosque”, Ebrima G. Sankareh explained.

“Did you say the alleged shooting was taken away from the mosque and smuggled into Cassamace by his co-conspirator?” Counsel Lamin J. Darboe asked.

“Yes, I said that based on the information from the police”, Ebrima G. Sankareh confirmed.

“There is a picture of a hoodie. You said the alleged shooter was wearing a hoodie jumper and was at the trial”, Counsel Lamin J. Darboe stated.

“Yes, as a security, not as a demonstrator, just like I’m here with my security in court, as a witness”, Ebrima G. Sankareh clarified.

“Did you say the president pledged a million dalasis?” Counsel Lamin J. Darboe inquired.

“Yes, that was all over the news that the president promised to give one million dalasis”, Ebrima G. Sankareh confirmed.

“What about the family of the victims, about 100,000 dalasis?”, Counsel Lamin J. Darboe asked.

“No, I said 25,000 dalasis was pledged by the police to the family”, Ebrima G. Sankareh corrected.

“Do you agree that the statements you made to the public were not accurate?” Counsel Lamin J. Darboe pressed.

“They were accurate at the time as a preliminary investigation, and after that, I excused myself from the whole issue and never said anything about it again”, Ebrima G. Sankareh responded.

“Did you withdraw yourself from the case, or were you withdrawn from the case?” Counsel Lamin J. Darboe questioned.

“I was neither withdrawn nor being withdrawn. I travelled to America for the UN general assembly a few days after the incident, and I continued with my vacation before I returned. The case has gone too far”, Ebrima G. Sankareh explained.

“Were you aware that the police held a press conference and said all you said came from them?” Counsel Lamin J. Darboe asked.

“All I said came from the police”, Ebrima G. Sankareh affirmed.

At this stage, Counsel Lamin J. Darboe informed the court that he had no further questions for the witness. The court then invited the second defense counsel, Adama Sillah, to proceed with cross-examination.

Counsel Sillah, representing the second accused, subsequently continued the questioning of Ebrima G. Sankareh.

“How many interviews did you have regarding this case?” Counsel Adama Sillah asked.
“One”, Ebrima G. Sankareh answered.

“Did you stand by all you said in that interview?” Counsel Adama Sillah inquired.

“Yes, based on the information and evidence I was given”, Ebrima G. Sankareh affirmed.

“Who gave you the information?” Counsel Adama Sillah asked.

“From the police, as I spoke to everyone in the police”, Ebrima G. Sankareh replied.

“So, you spoke to all the police”, Counsel Adama Sillah pressed.

“I get the information from the police department”, Ebrima G. Sankareh stated.

“Who exactly did you get the information from?” Counsel Adama Sillah pressed.

“From the police”, Ebrima G. Sankareh responded.

“Did you get the information from the IGP or the intelligence unit of the police?” Counsel Adama Sillah asked.

“IGP wasn’t in the country at the time and I got the information from the police department”, Ebrima G. Sankareh explained.

“As the Spokesperson of the government, did you confirm the information first?” Counsel Adama Sillah inquired.

“Yes, as a trained journalist I verified all the information given to me first”, Ebrima G. Sankareh affirmed.

“Do you have the course to tell the police that the information they provided you wasn’t accurate?” Counsel Adama Sillah asked.

“No, I didn’t, but the police held a press conference and confirmed that all that I said came from them, as primarily the investigation”, Ebrima G. Sankareh replied.

“Don’t you think that the President’s one million pledge would have prejudiced the investigation?” Counsel Adama Sillah questioned.

“No”, Ebrima G. Sankareh stated.

“Part of your interview, did you remember saying that Ousainou Bojang is part of the Cassamace rebel?” Counsel Adama Sillah asked.

“I can’t remember”, Ebrima G. Sankareh responded.

“Did you or you didn’t’, Counsel Adama Sillah pressed.

“I can’t remember”, Ebrima G. Sankareh replied.

At this point, Counsel A. Sillah made an application for the court to order West Coast Radio to produce the interview.

“My lord, I apply for the court to order West Coast Radio to produce the audio of the interview with Ebrima G Sankareh”, Counsel A. Sillah stated. 

Counsel Sillah made the application after expressing concerns that some of his questions had not been adequately answered and requested the interview audio to further his cross-examination.

Presiding Judge Justice Jaiteh granted the request, as there were no objections from either defence counsel.