Magistrate Tabally of the Kanifing Magistrates’ Court on 13th December 2010 convicted and sentenced James Sambou and Modou Njie, reputed to be notorious thieves, to 18 months in prison on a count of shop-breaking, and two years on a count of stealing with hard labour. Both sentences would run concurrently.
In his mitigation plea, James Sambou told the court that his marriage broke down since his incarceration, and that there was nobody to take care of his children.
He appealed to the court not to give him a mandatory custodial sentence and craved the court’s indulgence to temper justice with mercy.
Modou Njie, for his part, told the court that he lost his father while he was in detention for one year, and then begged the court to forgive him.
The prosecuting officer, Inspector Mballow, rose and told the court that James Sambou was convicted more than five times and Modou Njie more than three times.
Inspector Mballow stated that the convicts had not reformed after serving previous sentences, and that they would cause havoc if they were allowed to go back to the society.
