Gambia’s First Blind Magistrate Tests a System Built for the Sighted

A courtroom navigated by sound

Magistrate Muhammed Krubally arrives early at Banjul Magistrates’ Court, where lawyers, witnesses and relatives gather for criminal cases. Unable to see the people in the room, he follows proceedings through voices, remembered details and the sounds of papers moving.

JAWS, or Job Access With Speech, helps him use a computer and read documents and judgments. He also uses AI-enabled smart glasses to access information and complete tasks independently, and turns to his clerk when necessary.

A path into the judiciary

He wanted to become a lawyer from an early age, both to defend his own rights and to advocate for others. Some fellow students and teachers discouraged his ambitions. “Their discouragement kept me going,” he says. “I knew what I wanted, and see where I am now.” He says he became a magistrate “to change the system, to make it inclusive.”

Law and persistent barriers

The law includes provisions concerning employment, public buildings and services, information and access to justice. The National Human Rights Commission has identified discrimination and problems accessing services, education and employment as barriers facing people with disabilities.

Krubally faces these challenges as a judicial officer and an advocate. Lamin Colley, head of a school attended by 49 pupils aged four to 14, says little has changed since the disability act was passed.

Representation does not ensure access

Secka-Sallah was nominated to the Gambia’s National Assembly and has long advocated for disability rights. GOVI describes her as the country’s only visually impaired parliamentarian. Her place in parliament did not make the institution accessible. Five years after the disability law was passed, Secka-Sallah says implementation remains a major challenge.

Barrow, like Krubally, has faced assumptions about what a visually impaired person can do. Some students have questioned whether he can meet their expectations of a lecturer.