Sub-Inspector Lang M. Barrow, the prosecuting officer, in narrating the facts, told the court that on the 25th March, 2022, at Manjai Kunda, one of the complainants, Fatou Mbye, was travelling with her son and entrusted the sum of D381,352 to the convict. He posited further that when she came back from her journey, she asked the convict about the money but could not account for it.
In his plea of mitigation, the convict told the court that he gave out the money to people to assist them. “I don’t know what has befallen me. I even gave out my own money to people without realizing it. I just give out money like that. Initially, the complainants agreed with me to compensate them with a piece of land. My father has already processed the documents but Fatou Mbye later said that she was no longer interested in the land. I beg the court to temper justice with mercy,” he pleaded.
The convict faced a charge of stealing contrary to Section 252 of the Criminal Code. He is alleged to have stolen the sum of D381,352 belonging to Fatou Mbye and Kaba Kujabie at Manjai Kunda, in the Kanifing Municipality of the Republic of The Gambia, on or about the 25th March, 2022.