Justice Ebrima Jaiteh has instructed the National Agency for Legal Aid (NALA) to represent Gorgie Sowe (Yugo Sowe), who is on trial for the capital offense of attempted murder.

A capital offence is one that carries a death or life sentence as a penalty. When someone is accused of a capital offence but cannot afford legal representation, NALA is an organisation under state authority that provides defence.

Yugo Sowe’s wife suffered severe injuries after Gorgi Sowe (Yugo Sowe) allegedly used a cutlass to repeatedly cut her fingers and legs.
The purported incident took place in Jalambang village, Kombo Central, West Coast Region, on November 15, 2023. The guy was accused of unlawfully assaulting his wife with the purpose to cause disability or disfigurement by committing a serious bodily injury offence, which was the basis for the police accusation.

Gorgi Sowe (Yugo Sowe) is currently facing five (5) counts of attempted murder, assault inflicting great bodily harm, deliberate harm, wounding, and domestic abuse, according to the Attorney General’s Chambers.

Attorney General’s counsel was provided by State Counsels F. Drammeh and Abibatou Jarra.

Regarding the attempted murder case, the prosecution stated that Gorgi Sowe (Yugo Sowe) attempted to use a cutlass to fatally injure his wife (name withheld) on November 16, 2023 in Brikama Jalambang. The wife suffered injuries to her arms, legs, and other body parts.

The prosecution said that he had injured his wife on the same day and at the same location by making cuts to different regions of her body with a cutlass.

According to the charges of intentional harm, the husband allegedly tried to use the same methods to disfigure and incapacitate his wife, which resulted in serious injuries.

Regarding the Wounding charge, the State said that on November 16, 2023, the accused unlawfully caused injuries to the victim by severing her with a cutlass.

The accused is charged with domestic violence on the last count, wherein it is alleged that he violated his wife by severely hurting her with a cutlass.

According to Justice Jaiteh’s ruling, the accused is not eligible for bail because they are accused of a capital offense—attempt to kill. The accused has told the court that he cannot afford legal representation, according to Justice Jaiteh.

Accordingly, Justice Jaiteh issued an order to the Principal Registrar of the High Court, stating that it was in accordance with Section 24(3) of The Gambia’s 1997 Constitution, for the accused person’s legal representation to be provided by the National Agency for Legal Aid and the bill of indictment.

The case was postponed to April 23, 2024, at 10:30 a.m., to allow for the taking of pleas.