By Ali Jaw
An alleged gay, Mustapha Jai, a Senegalese on 21st October, 2020 appeared before the Kanifing Magistrate’s Court presided over by Magistrate M S Jallow for trial.
Mustapha Jai is accused of trying to commit unnatural offence contrary to Section 145 of the criminal Code Cap 10 Volume 3, laws of The Gambia.
According to the bill of indictment, Mustapha Jai sometimes in the month of June 2020 at Kololi and diverse places within the jurisdiction of the Kanifing Magistrate Court in the Republic of The Gambia attempted to have unnatural sex with Hamza Jah by addressing himself, and asked him to do the same which resulted to a scuffle between him and Hamza Jah, thereby commit an offence.
Umar Bah, a police officer of the Serious Crime Unit C.I.D. at the Kololi Police Post, who was the investigator of the case, testified against the suspect.
According to Officer Umar Bah, around mid-June he found the suspect at the Kololi Police Post after been arrested by a police task force (police patrol team).
He continued that at the police station, the accused was sitting behind police counter but he later took him to the office of the CID, whereby an independent witness was brought into this case by him [the witness]. And the accused statement was written by the witness and read to him in Wollof.
He disclosed that the suspect confirmed the contents of the statement and made his thumbprint on it. Officer Bah related that he and the independent witness later signed the statement as well.
However, the statement and investigation report were tendered to presiding Magistrate M S Jallow and later presented to the alleged gay who had confirmed the statement and report to be factual.
The case was later adjourned to the 4th of November, 2020.
