Africa-Press – Gambia. A witness testified Monday that the late Omar Badjie was repeatedly beaten by a plainclothes police officer shortly before his death in custody, providing a harrowing account to an ongoing inquest into his death.
Majula Jammeh, a resident of Mandinaring, told Principal Magistrate Anna O. Mendy that she saw Badjie slapped and struck with a mango tree branch on the morning of September 26, 2025.
The inquest was launched following Badjie’s death after an alleged confrontation with police officers. Badjie, a young footballer and construction worker, had been pursuing work to support his family.
Before Jammeh’s testimony, the court heard from Badjie’s uncle or stepfather, Tumane Badjie, who described Omar as a healthy, hardworking young man. Tumane Badjie also presented nine photographs of the incident site, which were admitted into evidence.
Majula Jammeh recounted that around 10 a.m. on the day of the incident, she heard shouting while standing on her veranda and saw people running. She observed Badjie scaling a fence with three police officers in pursuit.
“After a while, we heard someone shouting, so we ran towards where the voice was coming from,” she testified.
Majula Jammeh testified that by the time she arrived at the scene, three officers had already handcuffed Omar and brought him onto the road. She said that when the officers asked him to walk, Omar responded that he could not, claiming his legs were weak.
According to Majula, a fourth officer, dressed in plain clothes and separate from the trio who had initially pursued Omar, then began assaulting him.
“This plainclothes officer slapped Omar and told him that he must walk,” she recounted.
When questioned by Magistrate O. Mendy about whether she knew the officer, Majula said she did not know his name but recognized him from the Mandinary Police Station, as she had seen him there before.
Majula further testified that when Omar again insisted he could not walk, the officer’s behavior escalated.
“The same plainclothes officer slapped Omar again,” the witness said. “He (the plainclothes officer) cut a branch from a mango tree, insulted Omar, and said he must walk. He used the branch that he cut from the mango tree and beat Omar.”
Majula Jammeh stated she turned and went home crying, telling her neighbors, “The way I saw them beating Omar, no woman who gave birth to a child would stand and look at that.”
The witness continued her testimony, recounting that she later saw the officers escorting Omar toward her compound gate, still handcuffed, with one officer on each side.
Majula Jammeh stated that when Omar stumbled again, a plainclothes officer intervened.
“They forced him to walk. ‘Get up and walk,’ one of the officers told Omar. I saw the same plainclothes officer strike him again—this was the fourth time. When he was slapped, Omar cried out and fell to the ground, but his hands remained cuffed,” she testified.
Majula Jammeh described her distress as she witnessed the incident, shouting and covering her ears.
“I shouted and put my hands over my ears. I told my neighbours that if Omar survives, he may have issues with his ears. I don’t know why they were slapping him,” she said.
Principal Magistrate Anna O. Mendy adjourned the hearing until Wednesday, December 3, 2025, for the continuation of Majula Jammeh’s testimony.
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