Two Ex Gambian Ministers - A Murder, A Trial, A Verdict

Justice Ebrima Jaiteh of the Banjul High Court has sentenced Yankuba Touray, a former local government minister to death by hanging, after he was found guilty of murder, following the death of former finance minister Ousman Koro Ceesay, which occurred at Touray's residence in Kololi. Relying heavily on the testimony of Alagie Kanyi, an accomplice to Ceesay's murder, the judge said: "Kanyi's evidence was credible and remained uncontroverted by the defence".

Yankuba Touray's trial for the murder of Ceesay started in November 2019 and it is the direct result of the work of the Truth Reconciliation and Reparations Commission (TRRC). It was prompted by Touray's refusal to testify before the TRRC on June 26, 2019, on claims that he has constitutional immunity. His uncooperative behaviour with the TRRC prompted a national outcry. The Commission ordered his arrest on charges of contempt. And the then Justice Minister Abubacarr Tambadou asked that he be charged with murder. In January this year, the Supreme Court ruled that Touray had no immunity from prosecution for the murder of Ceesay. A lot of the evidence in the case was first detailed before the TRRC.