The members of the general public have overwhelmingly reacted to the recent verdict of Justice MM Yamoa-Agyemang sentencing Salifu Nyang, a Sengelese national, to die by hanging for stabbing one Alphone Sowe, his fellow Senegalese, to death.

The popular verdict comes in the wake of rising concerns over the surge in the number of murders and other vile crimes.

The scary trend has achieved such horrific proportions that President Alhaji Dr Yahya Jammeh was recently compelled to issue a strong warning to offenders, a statement which was endorsed by the opposition leader, Lawyer Ousainou Darboe.

Following the verdict of the High Court judge, which was carried on the front page of Tuesday’s edition, the Daily Observer, went around town to sample the opinion of people from various walks of life.
Below, we bring you excerpts of what they had to say.

Alhaji Demba Sanyang
Paramount Chief

The Gambian leader has been calling on people to be law abiding, be they natives or foreigners. People must abide by the law and the law must be respected. So. I’m of the opinion that the judgement passed by the high court judge should be upheld.

Foday Baldeh
UTG  Lecturer

Life is sacred. It is as simple as that. It is God who gives life and it  should be God who takes it away. Those who live by the sword should die by the sword.

Major Lamin Gano,
PRO, Gambia Armed Forces

I think it is a good verdict and I am of the view that it will serve as a deterrent to others who might want to take the lives of other human beings unjustifiably. I am happy with the judgement and I hope that it will be executed.

Imam Gibril Kujabi

Director, Student Affairs, Tallinding Islamic Institute and Tallinding Mosque Imam
What the law says should prevail. If it was under Sharia, the manner in which the deceased was killed would have been looked into to ascertain:
Whether it was deliberate
If it was by mistake or
A combination of the two.
Based on these, a judgement would have been arrived at.

Momodou Sabally,
Economist

I am a Muslim and in Islam if you kill, you should be killed.

Father Joseph Karl Gomez,
Catholic priest
Life is offered by God. Nobody has the right to take a life. Justice must take its course though I don’t support capital punishment. It would be better if the alternative sentence of life imprisonment is applied.

Dr Aboubacar A Senghore,
Head of Social Sciences
UTG

I respect the judgement of the High Court judge. She was not speaking from out of the blues. The High Court is a superior court and as a high court judge, she speaks with legal authority.
The death penalty has not yet been abolished in The Gambia. The issue in question is a murder case, and in murder cases, if a person is found guilty, the verdict is usually a death sentence or life imprisonment.

Fanta Hydara,
Market vendor

The verdict is right. Anyone who commits murder should also be murdered. The culprit should be hanged. The punishment should be imposed so as to considerably reduce deliberate and gruesome actions in society.

Omar Bojang
Imam, Bakau Mosque

This is not the first time this is happening in the country, therefore they should exercise mercy. Others have killed and gone to jail, this one should also go to jail. If they are to hang him, then all those who committed murder before him should also be hung. Allah has said in the Holy Qur’an that if you kill, you should be killed.
However, The Gambia is not practising Islamic law, so the sentence should be a jail term. If they are to hang this man, it should be a continuous process.

Dr Alieu Badara Saja Taal,
UTG lecturer

I support the decision of the court. There are too many violent crimes and if we do not put our feet down, it will lead to an anarchic situation.
Human life is valuable and those who take it wilfully should face what justice has to provide.

Pap Saine,
Managing editor
The Point newspaper

There should be no sympathy for murderers. As stated in the Holy Qu’ran, whenever a person kills his fellow human being, that person should be killed. Without strict measures, killing will become rampant in this generation. We must set an example without mercy.

Ndey Tapha Sosseh
GPU president

I don’t believe in the death penalty. I am a human rights activist and I think that the second option of life imprisonment should be used.