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Imprisonment, Hard Labour for Thief

Nov 21, 2008, 4:09 AM | Article By: Yai Dibba

One Yankuba Dibba of Yundum village on Tuesday 18thNovember 2008 was convicted and sentence by Magistrate's Kayode of the Brikama Magistrates' Court of stealing contrary to section 255 on criminal code cap 10 Vol. III law of the Gambia.

Before imposing sentence on him Magistrates' Kayode told the court since the mentioning of the case the prosecutor brought his witness to testify before the court. Both these witnesses testified that the accused Yankuba Dibba had entered the complainant Jarra Manneh house and stole the amount of D5, 000 which the accused denied. He said in the opening of the accused defence the accused brought two witnesses to court. These two witnesses testified that Lamin Saidy, a ten-year-old boy, told the complainant that the accused Yankuba Dibba entered the house of the complainant. He further stated that in the testimony of Lamin Saidy, the prosecution witness, Lamin himself told the court that he saw the accused Yankuba Dibba entering in the house. Magistrate Kayode added that he believed that a ten year old boy cannot come to court and lie and even the accused two witnesses confirmed that Saidy pointed to the accused when they meet him sitting with a group of people under a mango tree. "Therefore the prosecution has proved his case beyond all reasonable doubt," he said. He finally sentenced the accused to one-week imprisonment with hard labour. He added that the accused should pay the fine of D5, 000 in the default to serve 6 months imprisonment.

It will be recalled that the accused Yankuba Dibba earlier this year in Yundum village entered the house of Jarra Manneh and stole the D5,000 belonging to Daira the Islamic Kaffo he pleaded not guilty.