20 December 2022 :

Justice Landing M. Sanneh, the presiding Judge of the High Court in Basse, in the Upper River Region (URR) has sentenced Bakary Jallow, a driver by profession to death for reportedly killing one Alieu Sanyang, The Point reported on 20 December 2022.
“This particular case is very unfortunate as the deceased (Alieu Sanyang) was on his way for his marriage transactions when he untimely died,” Justice Sanneh said.
“I have listened to the defence counsel’s plea of mitigation on behalf of the convict Bakary Jallow, I must, however, say that the court’s hands are tied by the provisions of Section 188 of the Criminal Code Cap 10 Volume 3 Revised Laws of The Gambia which makes the punishment for the offence of murder once proved to a mandatory and statutory punishment to death sentence,” he said in his ruling.
“The offence of murder is increasing in this jurisdiction and by large extension in the country and in most cases, it’s the youthful population whose lives are taken recklessly which the courts have an endless role to avert the frequent occurrence in the society.”
“Fortifying myself under the provisions of Section 188 of the said Act, the convict Bakary Jallow, is hereby sentenced to death.”
The sentence, he added, is to be carried out by his Excellency the President of The Republic in a manner prescribed by the law. He equally reminded the party of their right to appeal the judgment.
The accused person Bakary Jallow when arraigned for the offence of murder contrary to Section 187 of the Criminal Code Cap 10 Volume 3 Revised Laws of the Gambia 2009, pleaded not guilty to the charge.
The particulars of the offence alleged that the accused person on 24 July 2020 at Yorro Berry Kunda (YBK) in the Central River Region within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court caused the death of one Alieu Sanyang wit: stabbing him with a screwdriver causing his death; thereby committed an offence.

14 July 2022 :

A Gambian court on 13 July 2022 sentenced former intelligence chief Yankuba Badji and four other members of the intelligence service to death for the killing of a political activist Ebrima Solo Sandeng during the rule of former strongman Yahya Jammeh.
The country has observed a moratorium on the death penalty since 2018, so the sentences handed down by Gambia’s high court will be converted to life imprisonment.
Badji was found guilty of the killing of Sandeng, an important figure in the opposition United Democratic Party.
The deceased was arrested by state security after leading a peaceful opposition march for political reform in April 2016.
Sandeng died two days later in detention and was buried in an unmarked grave, witnesses said, resulting in anger among Gambians who voted Jammeh out eight months later.
The other four agents found guilty of the same charges as Badji and sentenced to death were the agency’s former operations chief Sheikh Omar Jeng, officials Baboucarr Sallah, Lamin Darboe and Tamba Mansary.
Jammeh ruled The Gambia for 22 years and was widely accused of human rights violations, including torture and arbitrary arrests.
He fled the country in 2017 to Equatorial Guinea and remains in exile.
His successor Adama Barrow’s government has said it will prosecute Jammeh and others for killings, rapes and other crimes committed during his 1994 to 2017 rule in line with recommendations by a truth and reconciliation commission last year.