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Rape case transferred to Special Criminal Court

Nov 30, 2011, 12:07 PM | Article By: Bakary Samateh

The Banjul Magistrates’ Court yesterday transferred a rape case involving one Sana Kah to the Special Criminal Court Division of the High Court in Banjul.

According to the particulars of offence, the accused, Sana Kah, a Guniea Bassau national, on 2 November 2011, at Lamin Village, in the West Coast Region, allegedly raped a girl under the age of 18 and thereby committed an offence.

In delivering his ruling, the trial magistrate told the court that the offence under which the accused person is charged is a capital offence, adding that the lower court “lacks the jurisdiction to try” the accused person on the charge of rape.

It is the duty of the state to provide the accused person with a lawyer who would represent him in court during the trial, the trial magistrate says.

He consequently transferred the case to the Special Criminal Court Division of the High Court in Banjul.