Justice Sonia Akinbiyi issued a ruling that narrowed a lawsuit filed by Kanifing Municipal Council against eight defendants, allowing only one claim to proceed to trial. The case originally sought five reliefs but has now been reduced to a single issue concerning trespass and damages.
The defendants had moved on May 23, 2025, to dismiss the entire suit, arguing the Supreme Court of The Gambia had already resolved all claims in the case SCCS/02/2023. Justice Akinbiyi agreed that reliefs one through four were conclusively settled by the apex court, citing the doctrine of stare decisis. She stated that revisiting those issues would amount to an unnecessary use of judicial resources.
However, she found that the fifth relief on trespass and damages was explicitly excluded from the Supreme Court’s ruling. The higher court had clarified in its judgment that matters involving the legality of administrative actions, such as those raised in this claim, fall outside its constitutional jurisdiction and belong before a lower court. Justice Akinbiyi therefore ruled that this issue remains active and ready for trial.
As a result, the motion to strike out succeeded in part. The court dismissed the first four reliefs but preserved the fifth, setting the stage for a focused trial on trespass and damages.
The defendants had moved on May 23, 2025, to dismiss the entire suit, arguing the Supreme Court of The Gambia had already resolved all claims in the case SCCS/02/2023. Justice Akinbiyi agreed that reliefs one through four were conclusively settled by the apex court, citing the doctrine of stare decisis. She stated that revisiting those issues would amount to an unnecessary use of judicial resources.
However, she found that the fifth relief on trespass and damages was explicitly excluded from the Supreme Court’s ruling. The higher court had clarified in its judgment that matters involving the legality of administrative actions, such as those raised in this claim, fall outside its constitutional jurisdiction and belong before a lower court. Justice Akinbiyi therefore ruled that this issue remains active and ready for trial.
As a result, the motion to strike out succeeded in part. The court dismissed the first four reliefs but preserved the fifth, setting the stage for a focused trial on trespass and damages.
