A man who piloted a dinghy across the Channel off which four migrants drowned has been found guilty of manslaughter.
Ibrahima Bah, a Senegalese migrant, offered to steer the dinghy in December 2022 in exchange for a free crossing.
He denied charges of manslaughter, claiming he was forced by violent smugglers to make the journey across the Channel from Calais with at least 40 other migrants.
Bah, whose age is in dispute but was determined to be an adult by a court, also said he changed his mind when he saw the size of the boat. The low-quality inflatable was too small and should not have carried more than 20 people.
The man claimed he was assaulted by the smugglers, with them threatening to kill him if he didn’t pilot the dinghy.
At least 43 passengers, all male and one as young as 13, were on the inflatable, some paying up to £6,800.
The inflatable was “unseaworthy” and there were insufficient lifejackets, no safety equipment such as flares or a radio, and no deck boards. It was being navigated without lights and by mobile phone.
It started taking on water and split in half. The 40-plus occupants fell out or clung to the side, screaming for help. At least four men, only one of whom is known (Hajratullah Ahmadi), drowned.
They were rescued by British fishing dredger Arcturus, alongside the RNLI, air ambulance and UK Border Force.
The case is the first time a migrant who navigated an inflatable has been found responsible for harm to other occupants.
Bah was said by the prosecution to have ‘voluntarily consorted’ with the smugglers and as the pilot had a “duty of care” for his fellow passengers
Libby Clark, a specialist prosecutor for the Crown Prosecution Service, said: “He could’ve turned back. That’s what some of the migrants wanted to do. But Ibrahima Bah carried on. Those aren’t really the actions of somebody who’s acted under duress.”
A jury at Canterbury Crown Court also found Bah guilty of facilitating a breach of immigration law.
It took the jury just over 19 hours to deliver their verdicts today (February 19) after the retrial. Bah could face life imprisonment.
