Africa-Press – Gambia. Magistrate K.B. Sambou of Brikama Magistrates’ Court Wednesday remanded a woman at Mile Two Central prison and granted bail to two other women.
Fatou Camara was sent to remand while Oumie Sawaneh and Hawa Conteh were granted bail to the tune of D50,000 each with one Gambian surety.
The three women are standing trial in connection with the death of a one-month-old girl in Welingara Village, Kombo North, suspected to be linked to Female Genital Mutilation (FGM).
The first accused, Fatou Camara, faces a charge under Section 32A of the Women (Amendment) Act, 2015 – Prohibition of Female Circumcision – which carries a possible life sentence. According to the particulars of the offence, Camara is alleged to have unlawfully circumcised the infant, Sarjo Conteh, on 9 August 2025 at around 18:50, resulting in her death.
The second and third accused, Oumie Sawaneh and Hawa Conteh, are charged under Section 32B of the same Act as accomplices to female circumcision. They are alleged to have jointly and severally taken the baby to Camara for the procedure.
During the hearing, the charges were read and interpreted in Mandinka, which the accused understood. All three pleaded not guilty.
Inspector E. Ceesay, appearing for the Inspector General of Police, requested that the case be transferred to the High Court due to the severity of the first charge, noting that a conviction could attract a life sentence. Counsel F. Conteh, representing the accused, applied for bail for the second and third accused.
Magistrate Sambou accordingly ruled that Fatou Camara be remanded at Mile 2 Prison and to be tried at the High Court, while Oumie Sawaneh and Hawa Conteh were granted bail.
The case has been adjourned to 26th August 2025 for the next hearing.
For More News And Analysis About Gambia Follow Africa-Press
