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Momodou
Denmark
11740 Posts |
 Posted - 13 Mar 2007 : 12:57:53
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42 WOMEN SENT TO JAIL
By Bubacarr K. Sowe
At least, forty two women were, on Friday, sentenced to seven days imprisonment after pleading guilty to the charge of being rogues and vagabonds at the Kanifing Magistrates Court.
Fifty five women were arraigned in court following a Police raid on Wednesday, March 7th, in the Kanifing Municipality. All of them were charged with being rogues and vagabonds which contravenes section 167 (d) of the Criminal Code, Laws of The Gambia. Eighteen out of the thirty accused persons, who appeared before Magistrate Pa Harry Jammeh, pleaded guilty to the charge. In another development, all, except, one out of the twenty five who appeared before Magistrate Abdoulie Mbackeh also pleaded guilty to the offence they were charged with.
Police prosecutor, Momodou D. Mballow, submitted that their officer commanding the Kanifing Municipality got information that there were certain ladies in the area whose acts of wandering in the odd hours of the night soliciting men for prostitution is rampant. Mballow said that on March 7th, a police patrol in areas like Serrekunda, Westfield Junction, Kairaba Avenue and City Pub in Dippa Kunda led to the arrest of the accused persons. He added that they were cautioned and charged at the Kairaba and Serrekunda Police Stations.
Handing down the verdict, Magistrate Jammeh said the law demands the maximum penalty of three months, for first offenders, and for second offenders, it is one year in jail. The Magistrate, in considering the circumstances that the accused persons were in, gave all the eighteen who pleaded guilty a mandatory term of seven days in jail. He also said that the period will be a time of reflection on their lifestyles. He however released two among the twelve who pleaded not guilty.
One of them was pregnant and the other was breastfeeding. The remaining ten were remanded in custody and should appear before the court today, Monday.
Simultaneously, twenty-four others were also sentenced to seven days in jail by Magistrate Mbackeh. He said prostitution is on the increase and the United Nations has expressed concerns over pornography, adding that such indecent acts should not be allowed in any civilized country.
He said he decided to exercise some degree of mercy on the convicts considering their family responsibilities.
Magistrate Mbackeh also remanded in custody one of the accused who pleaded not guilty. She is expected to appear in court today.
Source: Foroyaa Newspaper Burning Issue
Issue No. 029/2007, 12 13 March, 2007
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A clear conscience fears no accusation - proverb from Sierra Leone |
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