By: Dawda M. Jallow
One Kebba Leigh who was charged with assault causing bodily harm has pleaded guilty to the offence before Magistrate Thomas Touray of Kanifing Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday. The accused was charged with assault causing bodily harm contrary to section 288 of the criminal code cap 10.01 revised laws of the Gambia 2009.
According to the statement of offence, the accused, KebbaLeigh sometimes on the 15th day of August 2024, at old Jeshwang in the Kanifing Municipal Council, willfully and unlawfully assaulted one Momodou Mbowe with a cutlass on his head and chest causing him actual bodily harm, therein committed an offence against the law.
However, the accused pleaded guilty when his charge was read to him in a local language he understood. He replied ‘’I’m begging for the complainant to forgive me’’.
Inspector E.Jarra in his narration of the incident said it happened on the 15th of August around 1 am at old Jeshwang, whilst the complainant (Momodou Mbowe) was sleeping in his room, the accused person (Kebba Leigh) entered his room and started insulting, the accused remove a cutlass and hit him on his head and his on the chest which causes him injuries.
The complainant ran and reported the matter at the police station at Old Jeshwang, and he was escorted to KanifingGeneral Hospital by the police. Then later the accused was arrested and he was charged with his offence, the accused accepted all the allegations charged against him, and his voluntary and cautionary statements were written which he all accepted. All the statements were tendered as evidence. A medical report given to the complainant on the 22nd day of August by the Kanifing General Hospital was also tendered as evidence.
The accused accepted all the narrated facts by the prosecution whilst maintaining his guilty plea and asking forgiveness from the court.
Magistrate Thomas Touray in his ruling noted that since the accused pleaded guilty on the narration of the facts of the prosecution and accepted his charge, the accused is here convicted as charged. ‘’The convicted accused is hereby sentenced to a year prison term and is to be at mile 2 Central Prisons, and is to pay a compensation to the complainant in the sum of D9,800 failure to pay the said compensation, shall be remanded in the mile for an additional one year to make it two years in prison.’’ Magistrate Thomas Touray stated.