Magistrate accuses parents of violating defendant’s rights

The principal magistrate of the Brikama Magistrates Court, Pa Harry Jammeh, on Tuesday said that the parents of one young lady who is standing trial before him have violated her rights by forcing her to marry against her wishes.

The magistrate’s comments came following Oumie Jarju’s ( complainant) confession to the court that she did attempt to murder her newly born baby, but that this was due to the difficulties meted out to her by her father. Oumie told the court that her father forced her to marry a man in Tanji, whom she had never met.

She told the court that when she was taken to the man in Tanji, she returned back to her parents in Brikama, but the father continued to subject her to all kinds of humiliation to force her to return. Oumie Jarju further told the court that when she had the baby with another man, she decided to bury the child in the sand, because she did not wish for her father to know about it.

When Magistrate Jammeh asked her at what time she delivered the baby and when she had buried the child, Oumie said she delivered around 5am and buried the baby at 6am the same day. The magistrate granted her bail and adjourned the case to 19 May 2009.