By Amadou Jadama
Principal Magistrate Anna Mendy of Brikama court was rendered speechless yesterday when a man arraigned before her court boldly admitting to pouring gasoline over a suspected thief and setting him on fire in December. The alleged thief died.
Solomon Mendy, 20, appeared before the magistrate along with four other young men charged with a single count of murdering Modou Bah from Brikama Nema.
The first two accused took their pleas before Solomon denied setting Modou on fire, and when asked to respond to the charge, he stated: “Yes, it is true. I poured gasoline and I set him on fire, because he came to our garage and stole a 50-litre gallon of gasoline and that is why I used the same gasoline and poured it on him and set him on fire.”
Taken aback by the witnesses’ apparent imprudent candour, the magistrate held her mouth in awe while shaking her head. After regaining her composure, she asked: “Solomon, are you a Manjago?” He replied in the affirmative adding that he hailed from Kitty near Brikama.
“Honestly, I can’t believe that this is done by you,” she quipped.
“Yes, I set him on fire,” he responded, but added: “He [Modou] did not die as a result of the burning, but as a result of the beating and I did not participate in the beating.”
Both the first and second accused, Saidou Jarju and Lamin Sowe, told the court they participated in beating Modou, but did not set him on fire.
The fourth accused, Zakaria Daffeh, denied the murder charge, claiming he was not present at the scene.
The fifth accused, Edrissa Jawo, admitted to participating in the beating but denied setting him on fire, explaining: “In fact, I am the one who put off the fire on the victim.”
Police Prosecutor Sergeant 4422 Jebel Sallah charged the five men with killing Modou by jointly assaulting and burning him with “malice aforethought” on December 8 last year.
At the closing of the hearing, Magistrate Mendy transferred the matter to the Special Criminal Court at the High Court in Banjul and ordered that the accused men be remanded at the state central prison at Mile 2 pending their appearances at the high court.
