Preface

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then it will proceed without further ado to determine the merits or otherwise of the
appeal based on the 2 nd and 3 rd issues formulated above. Where however, it holds
otherwise, that will be the end of the matter and the appeal will suffer from
incurable defect of being incompetent for want of jurisdiction.
Section 137 (4) of the 1997 Constitution of the Gambia provides that a Cadi
Court shall have jurisdiction to apply Sharia in matters of marriage, divorce and
inheritance where the parties or other persons interested are Muslims. The above
section limits the jurisdiction of the Cadi Courts to only marriage, divorce and
inheritance where the parties or other persons interested are Muslims. The
case before the lower court as stated by the respondent is as stated on page 1 of the
record of proceedings of the lower court and reproduced hereunder:
"the reason of my being here is that, this Kaddy Samura was my wife
and then divorced, and she waited for three months after that, I
requested from her to go out of my compound with her materials, and
indeed she refuse to do so, and I followed her for that matter but no
avail, while am in need of my house and this is only my request"
From the above, it is clear that the respondent was before the lower court to
seek for the court’s intervention to compel the appellant, when all attempts to
amicably prevail on her failed, to vacate their matrimonial house at Bakau since
they are no longer husband and wife. The lower court from the questions put to the
parties (i.e. the appellant and the respondent) and their replies thereto came to
know, based on the parties’ admission before it that:
(a) The appellant and the respondent were husband and wife prior to 27/4/2010,
(b) That the respondent divorced the appellant on 27/4/2010,