The Gambia’s first blind magistrate tests a system built for the sighted
Summary
Muhammed Krubally became The Gambia’s first visually impaired magistrate in 2016. He uses a screen reader, AI-enabled smart glasses, sound and help from his clerk to handle court work, and says he has presided over more than 1,000 cases. His experience highlights the gap between disability rights set out in law and the barriers people with disabilities still face in practice.Key Facts
- Krubally is 41 and works at the Banjul Magistrates’ Court.
- The Gambia Organisation of the Visually Impaired identifies Krubally as the country’s first person with a visual impairment to become a magistrate.
- He uses JAWS, a screen reader that reads computer content aloud, to access documents and judgments.
- He also uses AI-enabled smart glasses to access information and carry out tasks independently.
- Krubally says he has presided over more than 1,000 civil and criminal cases since joining the bench.
- He says he pursued the judiciary to help make the system more inclusive.
- The Gambia’s Persons with Disabilities Act, passed in 2021, sets out rights including accessibility, equal opportunity and access to justice.
- The National Human Rights Commission has identified discrimination and difficulties accessing services, education and employment as barriers for people with disabilities.
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