By Amadou Jadama
The Banjul Magistrates’ Court has convicted and sentenced Mamudu Saidy, a Senegalese, to a mandatory jail term of eight years for burglary and stealing.
Appearing before Principal Magistrate Muhammed Krubally, Saidy admitted guilt on all counts.
According to court records, in March last year, Mamudu broke into the workshop of Ebrima Sarr on Lasso Wharf Street in Banjul and stole a grinding machine valued at D3,500, three jigsaws totalling D9,000, a drilling machine worth D3,000, a sander priced at D2,500, a crowbar, chisel, hammer, two compass saws and a pincher totalling D19,150.
The workshop owner Ebrima Sarr was later alerted that someone was selling tools bearing the descriptions of his stolen items. He notified the Crab Island police who arrested Saidy.
At the end of the trial, Magistrate Krubally convicted Saidy. In his plea for mitigation, Saidy told the court: “It’s an unfortunate situation; I am the only person left in my family. My father passed away, and my mother is unaware of this because telling her would have serious consequences for her. I work as a labourer, and any money I earn goes to support my mom.”
In passing sentence, Magistrate Krubally stated: “Stealing and burglary are very bad offences which no one should entertain. Stealing, and having the propensity of depriving the owner the tools of his livelihood is a cause of trauma and long financial losses of earning. This is what the accused did here.”
He then sentenced him to five years on the first count and three years on the second and ordered him to pay Sarr a D7,500 compensation in default to serve an additional six months in prison.
Magistrate Krubally instructed the prison authorities to train the inmate by imparting him with gainful skills for a productive life upon his release.
