Dawda Bojang and Kawsu Jarju were yesterday sentenced to life imprisonment by Magistrate Buba Jawo for their involvement in the murder of Ron Ford, a British national who was on holidays in The Gambia.

Delivering his judgement at yesterday’s sitting at Kanifing Magistrates’ Court, Magistrate Buba Jawo stated that the accused persons were charged with murder, the particulars of which mentioned that on 27th May 2002, at Kerr Serign village the accused conspired to murder one Ron Ford and buried him at Kaberkel village in Cassamance.

Magistrate Jawo recollected that when the charge sheet was read out to the accused persons they both pleaded not guilty. He added that the prosecution subsequently called 13 witnesses in a bid to prove their case, noting that after the prosecution closed its case, the 1st accused, Dawda Bojang, opened his defense and called witnesses while the 2nd accused, Kawsu Jarju, testified but did not call any witness.

Magistrate Jawo further stated that prosecution witnesses 1 to 7 testified that the accused persons had had the intention to cause murder, explaining that according to the prosecution witnesses the 2nd accused shot the deceased and the 1st accused bludgeoned him with a stick until the late Mr. Ford lay lifeless. They afterwards buried him in Kaberkel in Cassamance, he quoted prosecution witnesses. He also added that prosecution witnesses 1 to 7 told the court that they were led to the scene in Kaberkel where the accused persons buried the body of the deceased.

He thus inferred that it was clear from the prosecution witnesses that the accused persons were the murderers of the late Ron Ford and it was also clear from the prosecution’s evidence after the murder that the accused persons benefited from the money and other properties of the victim.

He said that after weighing the evidence of the prosecution against that of the defence, the court believed the evidence of the prosecution witnesses.

Magistrate Jawo at length stated that the evidence before the court had clearly shown that the prosecution has proven its case against the accused persons and that accordingly the court found the accused persons guilty of the offence with which they were charged, consequently sentencing them to life imprisonment.