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By Omar Wally Gambia’s Justice Minister Abubcarr Tambadou, said he has been informed by the Prosecutor, handling the case of former NIA boss Yankuba Badjie & CO ,Antouman Gaye,...

Veteran journalist Pap Saine and country representative of global journalists association Reporter San Frontier RSF, has said though the media is now enjoying freedom under the new...

By Omar Wally The Canopy at SereKunda Market has been rehabilitated to help both market women and their customers have a hygienic and spacious place for selling and...

Like most Gambians, I am following the proceedings at the commission of inquiry looking into, inter alia, the business activities and assets of former president Jammeh.   Although I cannot claim to have watched all the testimonies, I have seen enough to discern the level of incompetence and corruption that existed during the Jammeh regime. I do not think that most of us who have been following the workings of the Jammeh regime during the past 22 years are surprised by the magnitude and extent of the corruption.  We have been lamenting about it for the past two decades.  What is surprising and disappointing to me is the level of ineptitude exhibited by experienced and educated civil servants, who should have known better.  Almost all the witnesses who have appeared before the commission thus far have confessed to disobeying civil service rules and partaking in crimes, including theft. In other words, we are dealing with a bunch of criminals who conspired with, and aided and abetted Jammeh to steal money belonging to the Gambian people.  Thanks to Jammeh's impudence and the hubris of his mandarins, it should not be difficult for the current government to make a case against these criminals, hold them accountable, and recover the money they looted from public coffers.     It is sad and nauseating to watch these people admit that while the average Gambian was suffering from poor healthcare, lack of opportunity for the youth, lack of adequate food, water and electricity, they were busy stealing money from the Gambian people, and using the purloined assets to build houses, drive fancy cars, and finance the lavish vacations and education for their children.  If I were any of these people, I will be ashamed to show my face in society today. On the contrary, they shamelessly appear before the Commission and try to lecture us on the workings of government or how terrifying it was to receive directives from Jammeh. Give us a break!  This was garden-variety stealing:  taking something that does not belong to you.  Period.  As mentioned above, the criminal prosecution of these people should be low-hanging fruit for this government.  These people testifying before the Commission clearly broke the laws, and the defenses they are presenting are not credible.  Many have appeared before the Commission and woefully failed to articulate the legal basis for their actions.  They apparently do not understand the probing questioning from the Commission’s counsel. To break things down, there are laws governing how money gets into government coffers and how that money is spent.  Anybody, including the president, who deviates from those laws is acting unlawfully, and potentially committing a crime.  Some are claiming that they were coerced into this criminal behavior.  But none of them has given us an example of a situation where Jammeh jailed, tortured or killed someone who refused to help him steal money.  He has humiliated and jailed those he thought were stealing from him.  That is different from saying that Jammeh harassed civil servants who resigned.  So, no one is buying this notion that civil servants or soldiers participated in these crimes under duress.   Matter of fact, they lobbied hard for their positions and in certain situations even counseled Jammeh to violate the law.  Granted, some of the advice was given out of ignorance because they do not understand how government should work.  But I do not need to tell anyone that “ignorance of the law is no excuse." They need to come up with more creative and credible defenses.  Since the Commission's terms of reference allow it to look into the assets of government servants and whether those assets were lawfully acquired, I respectfully urge the Commission to start focusing these mandarins on that issue as well, in order to build a complete record that will aid the Attorney General in his quest to recover the stolen millions.  We cannot just trust that these people simply withdrew millions of dollars in hard currency and obediently handed the money to Jammeh.   Besides, that is not the threshold for legal culpability in these matters. By aiding and abetting Jammeh in his criminal enterprise, they are as blameworthy as he is; and unless they can prove that they delivered the money to Jammeh, they are responsible for the entire stolen amounts.  If they acted solely on the directives of the President, then they themselves should not have benefited from any of the loot.  And this is why the Commission should look into their own assets and make sure it is all properly accounted for.   The Commission should rely on its Asset Evaluation mandate to develop a record that will ensure that none of these criminals get to enjoy their ill-gotten gains.  If they cannot account for their physical assets in the country, expensive vacations and tuition fees, their assets have to be confiscated and returned to the rightful owners, and people have to spend some time in jail.  It is only in Africa that people will commit the most blatant crimes and then go scot-free in the name of reconciliation.  But this government has to realize that one of the yardsticks with which it will be judged is how it handled the dispensation of justice for the crimes committed during the Jammeh regime.  While I am not trying to preempt the Commission's report, I must point out that Gambians expect a firm response from this government once the Commission's work is completed.  Remember, some Gambians died untimely deaths, because of lack of hospitals and medicine.  Some of our youths died in the desert or in the Mediterranean, on the treacherous journey to Europe to seek greener pastures, out of sheer desperation for the lack of opportunities in The Gambia.  The list of miseries goes on and doesn't even get into the sorry state of the educational system in the country, the bankrupt economy, and the decimated civil service.  These tragedies and more can be traced directly to the criminal behavior being revealed at the Commission.  It is incumbent on the Barrow government to hold these criminals accountable and at the very least make a concerted effort to recover the stolen money for the Gambian people.  In order to serve the Gambian people in this regard, it should be a no-brainer that the Barrow government ensures that the people who participated in these corrupt activities are removed from sensitive positions in this current government while these matters are being investigated.  It also goes without saying that the current government should cease and desist from the culture of spending without legal basis, i.e. spending outside the mandates of the Constitution and the Budget and laws passed through the parliament.  But as I alluded to above, we cannot expect a different outcome if we have the same clueless and lazy mandarins holding sensitive positions in the government.  Muhamad Sosseh, Esq.  Washington, DC  October 9, 2017 

We humbly ask The Gambian people to join us in praying for our late colleague and brother Lamin Manjang who passed away two weeks ago. Mr Manjang was...

The National Assembly has unanimously passed the Legal Practitioners Amendment Bill at the Legislative Chambers in Banjul. The amended bill has increased the Bar Association membership to 4...

By Yunus S Saliu The rise in the number of mentally ill youth moving around the streets is now a great concern to every parent especially in the...

By Omar Wally The Gambia Democratic Congress has condemned in the strongest terms the questioning of APRC interim chairman Fabakary Tombong Jatta, by The Gambia Police Force. Hon Tombong...

By Omar Wally Journalist Mamour Mbange, a former investigative reporter with Foroyaa Newspaper, is seeking assistance to undergo medical treatment. Mbenga who is now a student at Gambia Press...

By Alieu Ceesay The Minister of Youth and Sports, Henry Gomez has defended his move to appoint a new chairman for the National Sports Council. The Minister...

Gambia’s National Assembly has extended by six months the commission of inquiry probing into the financial activities of the former President Yahya Jammeh and his close associates. Abubacarr...

Last month President Barrow met with International Medical Services (IMS), excerpts of the subsequent press release read: “President Adama Barrow yesterday received a team from International Medical Services...

By Bakary Sambou  Sukuta    Dear Editor    The news ( on The Fatu Network) that UTG is made to pay damages to its former Director of Finance by a competent court in Kanifing is something that should not be taken lightly by all those who have a stake in UTG, especially the Ministry for Higher Education and the UTG staff association. The verdict has highlighted some pertinent questions that need to be answered by the authorities at UTG;     How did it come to this when both staff, students, and indeed the poor  Gambia populace were made to belief that Kojo’s contract ended and was  therefore not renewed by UTG?    Who are those who decided to wrongful terminate Kojo’s contract ( as per  court verdict) leading to this unfortunate scenario we are facing now?    Now that this unfortunate event happened, what will or should be the fate of all those major players involved in this saga? Is it not fair to the general  Gambia populace that such individuals should dance to the tune for taking  such an erroneous decision?    We the general public are keenly following developments. This actually is a litmus test for the Barrow Government. The injustices of the former  government in these kind of situations should be a thing of the past. It is  high time that those in position of responsibility be accountable for  whatever decision they take or fail to take in the execution of their official  functions. The University is a public property and those entrusted to run it  should not be exempted from accountability.     If the Higher Education Ministry and UTG staff association are serious  about the advancement of UTG, this should serve as a window of opportunity to ensure that those responsible are brought to book because the financial implication here can result into thousands dalasis of taxpayers  money being paid out to an individual due to reckless decision making of  a few people. This is really unforgiving and we are waiting to see how this whole saga will end and whether culprit(s) will be justifiably punish or not.   

By Yusef Taylor Gambians in the Diaspora have issued a petition urging The Gambia’s Independent Electoral Commission to commence the process of enfranchising Gambians living abroad. The petition...

Ousainou Darboe, Minister of Foreign Affairs, International Cooperation and Gambians Abroad has denied the alleged US State Department travel ban on Gambian Officials. “I'm not aware of any...

By Omar Wally The Interim Chairman of the opposition APRC Party, FabakaryTombong Jatta, has said that he was summoned and questioned by the police, because they were...

by Alieu Ceesay The Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) of The Gambia is working on doing away with the long time marbles by introducing ballot papers, The Fatu Network...

By Omar Wally The founder of Fandema Theater and Film Production has called on Gambians to partner, support and recognize The Gambian Movie Industry. Sheikh Omar Sawaneh, an...

By Fatou Sowe The director of finance of the Social Security and Housing Finance Corporation Abdoulie Cham, has unveiled to the Janneh Commission the debts owed by...

by Alieu Ceesay A court in Kanifing has on Monday, October 2 upheld it’s ruling and ordered the University of The Gambia (UTG) to pay entitlements and...