2 GAY MEN JAILED FOR 5 YEARS

Brusubi Magistrate’s Court yesterday sentenced one Muhammed Krubally and Muhammed Jawo to a mandatory jailed term of five years for engaging in a homosexual act.

During the trial, prosecutors led by DSP A Badjie and Cadet Inspector MA Jallow explained how on the 18th of April of last year, the two Muhammeds took a back road in Old Yundum, sneaked into an incomplete building close to a cemetery where they “willingly engaged in an act of gross indecency by one sucking on the penis of the other”.

At the end of the trial, the court found them guilty. Defence Counsel ML Drammeh begged the court to temper justice with mercy, saying the convicts are young men in their twenties and they have been respectful and remorseful. He therefore urged the court to impose fines rather than custodial sentences.

But in delivering the sentence, presiding Senior Magistrate Isatou Jallow stated: “I have taken judicial notice of the demeanour of the convicts in court and their behaviour towards each other while in the dock. This court had to caution them twice to exercise restraint and behave appropriately. They do not seem to have any remorse for what they did.”

She posited that the purpose of criminal justice is not only to punish, but to deter and rehabilitate convicts, while restoring sanctity in the public.

She stated: “The introduction of the actions of the convicts in our communities poses huge risks to societal norms and morality. The Gambian society is not ready now to see its sons getting engaged in acts of homosexuality. So, this case being the first of its kind before me, I cannot imagine a more aggravated act of indecency than what the convicts did, without any remorse to corrupt the minds of the whole nation…

“I also considered that the convicts wasted the court’s time by pleading not guilty to the charge and have shown no remorse for what they did. I shall not invoke Section 34 of the Criminal Offences Act in their favour. I use my inherent powers and impose what is provided by the law. The convict’s are hereby sentenced to serve five years imprisonment.”

Source: The Standard