The Balanced

IN THE SUPERIOR COURTS OF THE GAMBIA IN THE HIGH COURT OF THE GAMBIA          Criminal Case No.: HC/365/19/CR/067/AO   BETWEEN:   THE STATE............................................................COMPLAINANT   AND   YANKUBA TOURAY......................................ACCUSED PERSON   CASE CALLED ON 10 th JUNE 2020   BEFORE HIS LORDSHIP HON. JUSTICE EBRIMA JAITEH   PARTIES: - Accused person – Present   APPEARANCES: -         Principals State Counsel A.M. Yusuf, K. Tah, State Counsel M.B. Sowe and A. A. Saho for the State -         Counsel A. Sissoho for the Accused – Present     RULING The Accused person is charged on a single count of Murder contrary to section 187 of the Criminal Code, Cap 10, Volume 3, laws of The Gambia 2009. The particulars of offence alleged is that the accus...

Niang Sarang Jobe, a co-victim of the December 2004 gunshot attack which claimed the life of Deyda Hydara, a co-founder of The Point Newspaper said she won’t relent in her pursuit for justice. Nyang Sarang was in a vehicle together with late Deyda Hydara, and one Ida Jagne on the night of the 16th December 2004, when they were attacked by unknown gunmen. Jobe sustained serious bullet injuries and as a result of the injuries, she could not engage in gainful employment for seven years. On the 18th November 2018, Niang Sarang Jobe brought a case before the High Court seeking an order for Mandamus compelling the Government of The Gambia through the Attorney General to provide her adequate compensation. The application was supported by a 12-paragraph affidavit sworn to by Niang Sarang Jobe. On the 27 th day of May 2020, the High Court presided over by Justice Sainabou Wadda Cisse struck out the case of Niang Sarang Jobe versus the Attorney General. In her judgment, Justice Saina...

The Supreme Court of The Gambia has on the 28 th January 2020 upheld the decision of the Court of Appeal that Lawyer Ousainou Darboe only paid his taxes for the period concerned to fulfil his political obligations to contest in the Presidential elections. The Judgment was delivered by Justice M.M. Sey and the other four judges in the persons of Justices Hassan B. Jallow (Chief Justice), G.B. Samega Janneh, R.C. Sock and Cherno Sulayman Jallow all agreed with her judgment. Darboe’s appeal arose from a decision of the Gambia Court of Appeal delivered on 14 th June 2016 dismissing his appeal against the adverse findings made in relation to him as contained in the report of the Commission of Inquiry into Tax Evasion and other Corrupt Practices in The Gambia from 1999 – 2011. The Commission was issued by the former President of the Republic of The Gambia, in the exercise of the powers conferred on him by Section 200 of the 1997 Constitution of The Republic of The Gambia and...

Many people will tell you that reporting from the courts is not easy because of the language that the lawyers use. Some will say the language used in court is Latin. This is not correct. It is about misconception with regards to what transpires in the courts. At the courts, the lawyers and the judges speak in the English Language. At times, there are unfamiliar terms used in the court but you have to remember as a journalist you have the duty to ask the lawyers or the judge or magistrate to help you with the spellings and the meaning of words. This does not happen always. In fact, it happens occasionally. This post intends to take you through the common words used in court and give the simplest meaning to them. This is to help people understand the meaning and know how to use them in their reports. 1.      Plaintiff : A person who takes another person to court. The plaintiff is called the claimant. He is the one who is claiming for something before the co...

Magistrate's Court: The magistrate’s court has both criminal and civil jurisdiction. Their jurisdiction is also limited in one way or the other. For example, the laws oust the powers of the magistrate’s court to hear cases of economic crimes, rights violation etc. There are different classes of magistrates and each of the classes has a limitation. We will discuss this in detail in our subsequent post. Cadi Court: Their jurisdiction is limited sharia matters with regards to marriage, inheritance and divorce. We will discuss more on this. I will give the District Tribunal a special report. Let us now shift our attention to court reporting and what it entails. As a beginner in court reporting, you have to be zealous in reporting from the court. This means you have to have passion because without it you cannot be effective and you won’t be able to come up with good court stories. Without passion, you won’t be able to write good court stories. Let me take you through some...