The Gambia’s first blind magistrate tests a system built for the sighted

Banjul, the Gambia – It is still early when Magistrate Muhammed Krubally arrives at the Banjul Magistrates’ Court.Before the first case, his clerk goes over the day’s proceedings, running through the files and making sure everything is in place. Krubally listens, asks questions, and prepares to preside.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3Gambian leader pledges halt to rolling blackouts as protests turn violentlist 2 of 3Former ‘death squad’ leader appears in military trial in The Gambialist 3 of 3The Gambia to pay reparations to ex-dictator’s victims from sale of US mansionend of listThen he enters a packed courtroom, where lawyers, witnesses and relatives have gathered for a criminal case.The room falls quiet.Krubally cannot see the people before him, but he can hear them. A lawyer rises. A witness speaks. Papers move across the room. His clerk is nearby.At his desk, his computer speaks back to him.Krubally uses JAWS, or Job Access With Speech, a screen reader that allows him to navigate his computer and read documents and judgements.“This makes my job very easy,” he tells Al Jazeera.He also uses AI-enabled smart glasses to access information and carry out tasks independ...