GAMBIA: DEATH SENTENCE FOR MURDER CONVICT

July 17, 2013: Justice Emmanuel Nkea of the Special Criminal Court in Banjul, Gambia, convicted and sentenced one Lamin Ceesay, to death after he was found guilty of a murder charge. Delivering his judgment, Justice Nkea revealed that the accused person was charged with the murder in 2001 of one Momodou Lamin Bayo, contrary to Section 187 of the Criminal Code Cap. 10 Vol. III, Laws of The Gambia 2009.
Justice Nkea disclosed that to succeed on a charge of murder, the Law under Section 187 of the Criminal Code, requires the prosecution to prove the following elements beyond reasonable doubts: (a) that the deceased died; (b) that the death was unlawful; (c) that the death was caused with malice aforethought; and (d) that the accused person participated in or caused the said death and that the burden of prove is always on the prosecution. (Sources: The Daily Observer, 19/07/2013)