(BBC) – The sister of a Briton stabbed to death in The Gambia fears his killer could walk free amid a court “shambles” that has seen the case adjourned 44 times, BBC news website reports.
Jack Kenley was knifed by a burglar at his Kotu home in August 2015.
His accused killer was found hiding behind a door, and admitted murdering the 52-year-old to police.
His sister Elaine Kellett from Kent, wants Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson to intervene. The Foreign Office said it was supporting the family.
“We have been waiting three years for justice and there is no sign of that happening any time soon,” the Maidstone woman said.
“Jack was a British citizen but it feels like he has been forgotten and there is a very real chance that his killer could walk free.
“He admitted killing my brother but that was deemed inadmissible.”
She added: “It is a shambles and the state prosecutor seems unwilling to appeal. I am begging Mr Johnson to look at the case and see if there is anything he can do to help.
The accused initially told police that he was 18 but a subsequent bone test suggested he was 17 and should therefore be tried as a child.
Lawyers for Mr Kenley’s family want a second, independent test carried out to check the result.
Father-of-four Mr Kenley was living in Bedfont, west London, when was he was introduced to a Gambian woman, Fatou Sarjo Kenley.
The pair married and in 2009 he moved to The Gambia.
Mrs Kellett said they were both “madly in love” and he was” happier than I have ever seen him”.
The family’s lawyer Magdalena Knez, from Slater and Gordon, said: “We echo Mrs Kellett’s call for the Foreign Office to take a more active role to get this case heard and achieve justice for the family.”
A Foreign Office spokesman said: “Jack’s family have our deepest sympathies, and our staff continue to support them and remain in contact with their lawyer.
“We have raised our concerns about the need for a prompt and thorough investigation into Jack’s death with the Gambian authorities.”
BBC
Sad all round.
Sister of victim says: “He admitted killing my brother but that was deemed inadmissible. It is a shambles and the state prosecutor seems unwilling to appeal”.
Two points on this:-
1. “Vulnerable” accused’s confessions have led to serious miscarriages of justice even here in UK over the past 40 years. It is just right that judges must test, and where necessary challenge, confessions – more so if given in the absence of a lawyer;
2. The prosecutor will only appeal the judge’s refusal to admit the confession IF there is a good chance of success. Why appeal if the judge had good grounds for refusing to accept the confession?
Is the alleged killer aged 17 or 18? Assuming here that there is no birth certificate, then it is difficult to tell. If being tried as a juvenile has adavantages re: sentencing, I am sure that his Defence Barrister will argue vehemently for the lower age. If the confession has been rejected they won’t take the boy’s word that he is 18 … how does the boy know that he is not 17? They need to find some evidence, such as parents date of marriage, maternity/hospital records, etc.
(PS: “Bone Test”?? The British High Court, which has been struggling with the “juvenile or not” question for un-accompied young assylum seekers, would certainly like to know more about a so-called “Bone Test”!! But then if we have “Rock Test” to decide between a billion and 2 billion years, why not a simple “bobe test” to decide between 17 & 18? OK – I am googling “bone test” now!)