corroboration

A Christian woman born in Nigeria married a Muslim. His parents were against the marriage, and when she was pregnant, they threatened to kill the baby. After her husband died unexpectedly in a car accident, she was forced to drink the water used to bathe his corpse for forty days, and to sleep in the room with this body for three days in a mourning ritual. With assistance, she was able to escape and traveled to Canada, where she gave birth to her son in 2004. Her son suffered from conditions, including a heart murmur, malformation of his meniscus, and attention deficit h

The appellant was charged for carnal abuse of a girl under the age of 12 years and buggery. On 20 April 2009, the appellant was convicted for carnal abuse (but not for buggery). On 9 November 2010 the appellant filed for leave against the conviction and the sentence.

The appellant was convicted of raping his minor daughter and sentenced to 18 years and three years imprisonment, for rape and incest respectively, to run concurrently. He appealed his conviction, claiming that his minor daughter was the only witness to the alleged crime, that the trial judge improperly assumed the complainant was under 18 years old, that the prosecution did not meet its burden of proof, that his rights to legal representation were not explained, and that the sentences were unreasonable.

The appellant was charged with defilement contrary to Section 138 of the Penal Code, Chapter 87 of the Laws of Zambia (unlawful carnal knowledge of a girl under 16 years) and was sentenced to the minimum mandatory sentence of 15 years’ imprisonment. On behalf of the appellant, the appeal was filed on two grounds. On ground one, it was contended that the Court had erred in law by deciding not to conduct a voir dire and proceeding to receive the sworn evidence of a child.

The respondent, a 42-year old man, was charged with child trafficking and rape of five minor girls aged between 9 and 13. The trial court convicted him of trafficking the children and sentenced him to eight years in prison, but not guilty of rape. The Supreme Court affirmed the trial court verdicts after the state appealed, but increased the sentence. The court found that child-complainants’ testimonies were too inconsistent to prove rape.

The defendant was charged with six counts of rape, defilement, seduction, and indecent acts by a tourist against two underage girls. The High Court admitted detailed testimony from the victims and their relatives, medical evidence showing injuries related to sexual abuse, documentary evidence of the victims age, and explored the requirement of corroboration in cases involving sexual abuse.

In the case State v. Kelly Jawara (CC 120 of 2016) [2020] SLHCSOD 1, the defendant was charged with sexual assault against a child, contrary to Section 19 of the Sexual Offenses Act. The High Court found that the prosecution failed to prove the offense beyond a reasonable doubt.

In State v. Mohamed Kamarainba Mansaray & Marion Arouni (Criminal App 01/22), SLHCSOD 1 [2023], the first defendant was charged with sexual assault against a child, contrary to Section 19 of the Sexual Offenses Act. The second defendant was charged with a different violation of the Sexual Offenses Act for aiding and abetting the first defendant in committing the act of sexual assault against a child as part of a conspiracy.

In State v. Musa Keita, the defendant was charged with rape and incest involving a young female relative under the then-applied Section 122 of the Criminal Code, Cap. 10:01. The High Court of The Gambia evaluated the victim’s testimony, and that of other witnesses, as well as the medical and documentary evidence, against the requirement that the prosecution prove each element of the offenses beyond reasonable doubt.