The constitutional court of The Gambia in Banjul yesterday set freed the famous Batch Fye on murder charge after spending almost decade in the country maximum prison of mile 2 after he was found guilty by a lower court on murder charge almost decade ago.

Mr Fye was convicted and sentenced to death by Justice MA Paul in December 2003 for unlawful causing the death of Malick John alias Njok Malick by stabbing him with a knife at the Senegambia area on 6th December 2003.

He had earlier filed an appeal before The Gambia court of appeal but his appeal was dismissed for lack of merit which prompted his lawyer to file another appeal before the Supreme Court for consideration.
The seven panel- member of judges headed by the chief justice went through the appellant grounds of appeal, the evidence of the prosecution witnesses as well as the history of the case since the onset of the case at the lower court.
The lead judgment which was Delivered by Justice Sock after due examination of the history of the case by other panel-member judges , came to the conclusion that the appellant, Batch Fye was not liable for the death of Malick John.
Justice Shock opined that in order to establish the ingredients of the offence of murder, it is the duty of the prosecution to prove its case beyond all reasonable doubts as it is not the duty of the appellant to prove rather the onus lies on the shoulders of the prosecution.
“In order to determine the actual cause of the death of the decease, we have to go through the evidence and facts as narrated in the case file so as to establish the actual cause of the death of the decease. It is true that the appellant had a fight with the decease but the undisputable fact was that the decease was the first person who used a broken bottle and hit the appellant on his head and the appellant also took a knife in revenge; see the evidence of some of the witnesses. And where as the death of the decease was caused by the appellant, there must be tangible and substantial evidence in order to convict the appellant as charged,” justice Shocks observed.