Court finds it lacks jurisdiction to try a capital offence; orders accused held pending High Court appearance.
Momodou Bah, also known as “Area,” has been remanded at the Mile 2 Central Prison after the Magistrates’ Court transferred his murder case to the High Court’s Special Criminal Division, having determined that it lacked the jurisdiction to hear the matter.
Momodou Bah appeared before Principal Magistrate Sallah Mbye, facing a charge of murder contrary to section 155 of the Criminal Offences Act 2025. The charge was read to him in English and interpreted for him in Wolof.
The police alleged that on the 15th of June 2026, at Fajara, the accused stabbed Ba Yunusa Mbye with a bottle on his neck, causing his death.
Before the accused could enter a plea, Inspector Baba Jallow, appearing for the Inspector General of Police, raised a preliminary application challenging the court’s jurisdiction to hear the matter.
Inspector Jallow submitted that the charge before the court is murder, an offence that carries a penalty of death or life imprisonment. He said by virtue of Section 3 of a legal notice issued under the directive of the Chief Justice, offences of such nature are required to be tried before the Special Criminal Division of the High Court, and not before the Magistrates’ Court.
“We apply for the matter to be transferred to its proper jurisdiction while the accused is remanded at the Mile 2 Central Prison pending the appearance at the High Court pursuant to Section 72 of the Criminal Procedure Act,” Inspector Jallow submitted.
Principal Magistrate Sallah Mbye, having reviewed the charge, agreed with the prosecution’s position. She ruled that it lacked jurisdiction to entertain the matter and accordingly transferred the case to the appropriate court.
The court also ordered the remand of the accused at the Mile 2 Central Prison pending the hearing and determination of the case before the High Court.
