Gambiaj.com – (Brusubi, The Gambia) – A Gambian woman has become the first person convicted under The Gambia’s new Criminal Offences Act for insulting the President, following a court ruling handed down on Monday.
Senior Magistrate Isatou Jallow of the Brusubi Magistrates’ Court found Mariama Naba Darboe guilty of using offensive language against President Adama Barrow during a public altercation on July 5, while traveling in a shared vehicle from Tanji. She was sentenced to pay a fine of forty thousand dalasis (D40,000) or serve one month in prison in default.
Darboe, who works and resides in Sweden, was accused of uttering a parental insult—reportedly involving the “F” word—against the President in the presence of other passengers. The case marks the first conviction since the enactment of Section 107 of the Criminal Offences Act (COA) 2025, which criminalizes insults directed at the President and other public officials.
Prosecuted by ASP Oley Bobb, the state called three witnesses but tendered no physical exhibits. The defense, led by lawyer Adama Sillah on behalf of senior counsel Lamin J. Darboe, presented two witnesses and three exhibits in an attempt to refute the allegations.
In delivering her judgment, Magistrate Jallow noted inconsistencies in the defense’s argument that Darboe only said “Stupid President,” a claim only raised during cross-examination of the third prosecution witness. She held that the failure to present this version to the key prosecution witnesses undermined Darboe’s credibility.
“It will not make sense for a commotion to erupt in a public vehicle merely because someone said ‘Stupid President’ as a joke,” Magistrate Jallow observed. “Three independent witnesses testified to hearing the ‘F’ word—there is no reasonable basis to disregard their accounts.”
The court rejected the notion that the phrase used by Darboe could be interpreted differently depending on social context. “Regardless of peer usage or geographic norms, the phrase remains vulgar and offensive in The Gambia,” the magistrate added.
Defense lawyer Sillah pleaded for leniency, citing Darboe’s status as a first-time offender, a family woman, and primary breadwinner.
In sentencing, Magistrate Jallow emphasized the weight of the offense: “The presidency is the highest office in the land. Punishment must reflect the gravity of the insult while considering the mitigating factors.”
Darboe paid the D40,000 fine immediately after sentencing, bringing the case to a close.
This ruling sets a legal precedent under the new law, which has sparked debate over free expression and the limits of acceptable speech in Gambian society.
