The United Democratic Party has issued a statement thanking Gambians for their support in the 2021 presidential election but also indicating it is now set to focus on the upcoming national assembly and local government elections.

The statement signed by leader Ousainou Darboe reads: “The leadership of the United Democratic Party extends sincere appreciation to all Gambians who believe in our mission, vision and Agenda for change and voted for us.  We are greatly indebted to all those who took their time and resources to join us in the campaign trail. Many from the diaspora flew in, and although some couldn’t vote, joined us in the trenches to sell our Agenda and sensitise communities on their civic rights to vote.

“Similarly, we thank those behind the scenes who rendered unconditional support to the Party when it was most needed.

“To our funders, our supporters; our champions; and to friends of the UDP, we say a big thank you for your trust and faith in the decisions we took on your behalf.  These are the people who see country first; who are committed to the UDP’s cause because The Gambia and Gambians matter to them most of all over their individual and personal gains.

“Today, we stand proud to be part of Gambia’s history, shoulder to shoulder with those who challenged the status quo and fought for justice and peace but are sadly, not alive today to witness the emocracy they gave their lives for.  We sincerely thank the Gambian people and all our supporters, members and sympathisers for their relentless support and for putting The Gambia first.

“Our warm and heartfelt thanks go to all our hosts for the excellent accommodation and catering during both the Five Point Agenda Tour and the Presidential Campaign: from Barra to Passamas in Wuli and from Kartong to Songkunda in Kantora. In the same vein we thank all the security personnel who provided security services for the UDP campaign team.

“We acknowledge with appreciation and gratitude our rank and file supporters for choosing to be on the right side of history by putting country above all else, and for continuing to remain calm, steadfast and law abiding.

“Although the party’s petition challenging the 4th December Presidential Election has been struck out by the Supreme Court, we still have two important and crucial elections ahead of us.  These are the National Assembly and the Local Government Elections in 2022 & 2023 respectively.  We implore each and every one of you to focus your energies on these two elections to ensure we don’t only maintain the seats we have in these important institutions but to make sure we increase our membership.

“The United Democratic Party has since 1996 defended injustice against any person in the Gambia in need of the equal protection of the law.  This is what our Party stands for and it forms the basis of our ethos – Justice, Peace and Progress.  This has been and will continue to be the pillar of our contribution to democracy as a party and responsible members of our society.

“As the struggle continues, I pray for Allah’s continued blessings over The Gambia and her people.My best wishes for the New Year, God Bless you all, and God Bless the Gambia.”

By DailyMail Sport

Guinea President Colonel Mamady Doumbouya has warned his players they must win the Africa Cup of Nations, or pay back the money used to help them prepare for the tournament.

The National Elephants – captained by Liverpool star Naby Keita – are in Group B alongside Malawi, Senegal, and Zimbabwe for the tournament that is set to begin on January 9.

Their best ever finish at a Africa Cup of Nations came in 1976, when they finished runners-up to Morocco in the last edition of the tournament to feature a final group stage.

But military officer Doumbouya – who led a coup d’etat by the country’s armed forces against Alpha Conde and his government on September 5 – has laid down a brutal ultimatum to Kaba Diawara’s men.

‘Bring back the trophy or bring back the money we invested in you. Period,’ the Guinea’s interim president said as quoted by Soccer 24.

The BBC claimed in October Doumbouya is among 25 Guinean officials the European Union has been threatening to sanction for alleged human rights abuses committed in recent years under President Conde.

Meanwhile, his country’s football team will look to defy their 40-1 odds when they begin their latest campaign against Malawi on January 10 at Bafoussam Omnisport Stadium Kouekong in Cameroon.

The Gambian government is set to take a decision on what will be the fate of serving government officials named in the recently released TRRC Report.

However, according to the country’s Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Dawda A. Jallow the decision will only be reached after the report is discussed in cabinet. Cabinet will then put together a white paper that will reflect the position of the Adama Barrow led government on the TRRC Report.

Several substantive officials mainly from the security services have been named in the report, most of whom are accused of serious crimes committed during the Jammeh era.

“We shall meet and discuss the report in cabinet, once any administrative action is taken about them [those government officials named in the report], we will come back to the public with that information,” Justice Minister Dawda Jallow said.

Civil society activists, human rights practitioners and media personnel have on several occasions since the release of the report called for government officials implicated by the report to do the honourable thing, which is resign.

Police Commissioner Ensa Badjie, Interior Minister Yankuba Sonko, Ousman Sowe Director General State Intelligence Service (SIS) and Baboucar Sowe are a few of the prominent names mentioned in the report.

Recommendations in the report call for some officials mentioned to be either banned from holding public office or prosecuted.

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) on Monday said that 969 irregular migrants were intercepted off the Libyan coast and returned to Libya in the past week.

The update comes amid reports some Gambians have died while attempting to reach Italy.

“In the period of December 19-25, 969 migrants were rescued/intercepted at sea and returned to Libya,” IOM said.

So far this year, a total of 32,425 irregular migrants have been intercepted, while 573 died and 933 went missing off the Libyan coast on the Central Mediterranean route, according to the Organization.

Libya has been suffering insecurity and chaos since the fall of the late leader Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, making the North African country a preferred point of departure for migrants who want to cross the Mediterranean Sea to European shores. (XINHUA)

The world hit a record number of COVID infections in a week, an AFP tally revealed Wednesday, as the WHO warned that Omicron poses a “very high” risk and could overwhelm healthcare systems.

The highly transmissible variant has seen case records in multiple countries and registered infections were up 37% globally from December 22-28 compared to the previous seven-day period, according to the AFP tally based on national databases.

A total of 6.55 million cases were detected between 22-28 December, the highest figures since the World Health Organization declared a pandemic in March 2020.

The surge, currently worst in Europe, has forced governments to walk a tightrope between re-imposing restrictions designed to stop hospitals becoming overwhelmed and the need to keep economies and societies open two years after the virus first emerged in late 2019.

Studies suggest Omicron, now the dominant strain in some countries, carries a reduced risk of being admitted to hospital, but the World Health Organization still urged caution.

“The overall risk related to the new variant of concern Omicron remains very high,” the UN health agency said overnight.

“Consistent evidence shows that the Omicron variant has a growth advantage over the Delta variant with a doubling time of two to three days.”

More than 5.4 million people around the world have died from Covid-19, but the number of deaths declined to an average of 6,450 a day in the last week, the AFP tally said, the lowest since late October 2020.

The WHO warned further data was needed to understand Omicron’s severity.

By: Christian Conteh

The Country Representative for the African Network against Extrajudicial Killings and Enforced Disappearances (ANEKED) has said that as an organisation they expect that the Adama Barrow led government will keep its word, honour its promise and ensure the implementation of the recommendations in the Truth Reconciliation and Reparation Commission (TRRC) Report, recently made public by the Gambian government.

“They gave the TRRC the mandate to dig out the truth and make recommendations. Now that the truth is out, we expect the government to honour its promise and implement the TRRC recommendations,” Sira Ndow said.

Sira was speaking to the Fatu Network in an exclusive interview immediately after the TRRC Report was made public by the Gambian government through the Ministry of Justice.

“It’s a great feeling that you are seeing progress happening, especially according to plan. The submission of the TRRC Report to various stakeholders is in compliance with the TRRC Act, seeing that being done is very encouraging and shows that we are moving forward,” she said.

She further noted that as an organisation she is looking forward to seeing the government white paper when it is released 5 (five) months from now.

Formed in 2019 and led by women African human rights activists, the African Network against Extrajudicial Killings and Enforced Disappearances has campaigned against forced disappearances and summary executions over the years, whilst supporting the victim’s transitional justice process.

One of its flagship projects has been the TRRC digest, a summarised version of the TRRC public testimonies and sessions to give people an alternative archive.

Japan braced for a feared rebound in coronavirus cases as the highways and airports filled with travellers at the start of New Year’s holidays on Wednesday.

The governors of the metropolises of Tokyo and Osaka urged residents to keep end-of-year gatherings small, as more cases of the Omicron variant of COVID-19 come to light, including a suspected cluster at an Osaka nursing home.

Health officials advised travellers to avail themselves of free coronavirus tests before departure, amid fears that an outpouring of city dwellers could spread infections to the countryside.

“The highest risk is meeting people without taking adequate measures to prevent infection,” said Norio Ohmagari, director of the Disease Control and Prevention Center and a top health advisor to the Tokyo Metropolitan Government.

“Also, due to the reports of relatively mild infections caused by the Omicron strain, people are underestimating the risk of corona.”

The consecutive New Year’s holidays mark one of the busiest travel seasons in Japan. Footage from public broadcaster NHK showed Tokyo’s main airports were packed, while public highway data showed a 39 km (24 miles) traffic jam heading southwest of the capital.

Officials in Osaka confirmed five Omicron cases at a nursing home, believed to be the first cluster of the variant in Japan, Kyodo news agency reported on Tuesday.

Community transmission of Omicron has been found in eight prefectures so far, according to a Jiji news agency tally. The variant may comprise 90% of COVID-19 cases in Osaka by early next month, according to a projection released on Tuesday by Kyoto University professor Hiroshi Nishiura.

Concerns that Omicron may be more infectious and evade vaccine protections have prompted Prime Minister Fumio Kishida to accelerate Japan’s booster shot programme and maintain some of the world’s strictest border restrictions.

New COVID-19 infections have ticked up in recent weeks, reaching 385 nationwide on Tuesday. Even so, serious cases and deaths have stayed low, aided by a vaccination push that has fully inoculated almost 80% of the population. Japan has seen just 28 COVID-19 related fatalities in December, on course for the lowest monthly tally since July 2020.

Source: Reuters

A newly unveiled statue of Portuguese football star Cristiano Ronaldo is dividing opinion in India. Placed in the western Goa state, where football is hugely popular, officials hope it will inspire young people.

However, not everyone is happy with the towering brass statue that now graces a park in a coastal village. Critics say local football players should have been honoured, especially since several past and present members of India’s national team are Goan.

Portugal is a popular team in Goa, which is a former European colony, and many locals have lived in Portugal or have family there.

But some people in the Indian state think it is insulting to install the statue during the 60th-anniversary celebrations of Goa finally gaining independence from Portugal, which happened 14 years after the rest of India was liberated from British rule.

Source: BBC

Deputy political adviser to President Adama Barrow has called on supporters of the United Democratic Party to exercise patience over their pain.

UDP lost in devastating fashion in the December 4 presidential election and supporters of the party have been left in a state of pain and shock.

The supporters had further heartache on Tuesday after the Supreme Court threw out UDP’s petition, their last chance at having anything in their favour.

Dou Sano told Gambian Talents TV: “The first defeat came and this is the second defeat for them. Let them go and take heart and be patient. We are all part of nation building.

“This victory is from Gambians and UDP supporters are part of those Gambians. Let them join us to build the nation.

“The country is not owned by President Barrow, not owned by Ousainou Darboe or myself. It’s owned by the citizens. So if the court decides, then it’s over now. Let them stay away from violence.”

Former Information Minister Demba Ali Jawo has called for reconciliation between UDP leader Ousainou Darboe and President Adama Barrow.

UDP saw its last chance at success slipped through its hands when the Supreme Court struck out its petition against the election result.

Darboe and President Barrow had been locked in a bitter fight in the build up to the December 4 presidential election and the bad blood started as far back as in 2019 when President Barrow sacked Darboe as his deputy.

But DA Jawo said on Tuesday: “Now that the case is over, it is time for both sides to take steps to achieve genuine reconciliation between the two bitter rivals; Adama Barrow and his political God-father, Ousainou Darboe, in order to give the President-elect the chance to concentrate on forming his next government, as well as for the UDP and other opposition parties to plan for the legislative elections, which are just as important.

“Where should the reconciliation start? As far as I am concerned, it should begin with Mr. Darboe calling President Barriw to congratulate him on his victory. Also, President Barrow should reciprocate by not only commiserating with Mr. Darboe on his loss but even going further to forgive the UDP the D100,000 costs imposed by the Supreme Court. That would definitely be a very good start for genuine reconciliation between a father and son.”

CA leader Dr Ismaila Ceesay has confirmed meeting President Adama Barrow and congratulating him on his electoral victory.

Alkamba Times broke the news of Dr Ceesay meeting President Barrow but CA supporters online dismissed the news as false.

But Dr Ceesay sharing a photo of himself with President Barrow today said: “It was great pleasure meeting President Adama Barrow to congratulate him, extend our goodwill and explore possibilities of collaboration to build our country.

“We in Citizens’ Alliance believe that political parties should coexist, collaborate, compete and where necessary challenge each other. Let’s move on and start building our country for the next generation. We owe it to them.”

The Supreme Court has ordered that the D100,000 it awarded as in favour of President Adama Barrow against the UDP be recovered from the D300,000 UDP lodged with the court as security for costs.

“This court awards costs in the sum of D100,000 against the petitioner in favour of the applicant/first respondent. Such costs are to be recovered from the deposit of D300,000 lodged with the court by the petitioner,” Justice Hassan B Jallow ordered in a ruling on Tuesday striking out UDP’s petition.

UDP had sued President Adama Barrow over the December 4 presidential election, accusing the president of bribing voters.

But the party’s petition ran into serious trouble on Tuesday over its failure to respect the law around filing a petition.

The Supreme Court had earlier this month asked UDP to provide security in the sum of D300,000 for the payment of all costs relating to its lawsuit.

UDP had prayed for the court to fix the amount the party would give as security for the payment of all costs.

UDP’s commando Momodou Sabally vowed that ‘it’s not over yet’ as he reacted to UDP’s petition collapsing at the first hurdle.

Lawyers for President laid an ambush for UDP regarding the way and manner the party filed its petition – and the Supreme Court on Tuesday agreed UDP failed to comply with the law around filing a petition.

It’s the latest heartbreak for UDP in a space of less than a month, with supporters of the party struggling to make sense of their devastating defeat in the hands of President Adama Barrow in the December 4 poll.

Momodou Sabally told UDP supporters today: “If you (Adama Barrow) think you have escaped, you haven’t. This is not over yet. There is law in this country and its course is not yet exhausted.

“And let it be known this is not an issue for just UDP. GDC is with us, there are people who are not involved in party politics who also want the truth to prevail.

“So let UDP supporters still accept God’s decision again and continue fighting against injustice. The prayers have been answered but only God knows when it will be revealed. We should not our hard work has not gone in vail.”

Momodou Sabally had earlier said it was his belief the Supreme Court would rule in UDP’s favour regarding the petition.

By Premium Times

Human rights lawyer Femi Falana has urged the Africa Union (AU) and the United Nations (UN) to take immediate action on the recommendation by Gambia’s Truth, Reconciliation and Reparations Commission (TRCC) that the former president, Yahya Jammeh, be prosecuted.

The TRCC recommends that Mr Jammeh and several of his accomplices be prosecuted for extra-judicial killings of citizens and foreigners, rape, clampdown on the press and opposition among other crimes perpetrated in his 22-year rule in The Gambia.

Describing the recommendation as a ‘turning point for justice’ in The Gambia, Mr Falana first charged the Equatorial Guinea president, Teodoro Obiang, to not continue to “protect” Mr Jammeh or shield him from prosecution.

He then called on the AU and UN to act swiftly to ensure Mr Jammeh is extradited to Senegal to face trial before the Extraordinary African Chambers.

A statement he released on Tuesday reads, “In view of the fact that the victims were not only Gambian nationals, the Commission recommends that a special international court be set up to try Jammeh and others in West Africa, but outside of Gambia. I call on the leadership of the African Union (AU) and the United Nations to take immediate and effective measures to ensure that Mr Jammeh and senior members of his government are extradited to Senegal to face trial before the Extraordinary African Chambers in the Senegalese courts, for the sake of Jammeh’s victims.

“I believe that the recommended trial will not require separate structures and institutions. With the existence of the Extraordinary African Chambers, the AU leaders do not have to reinvent the wheel. Immediately extraditing Mr Jammeh and others to face trial before the Chambers would save time and resources. The Chambers’ statute gives it competence over crimes against humanity and torture as defined in the statute. The definitions of these crimes generally mirror those used in the Rome Stature of the International Criminal Court and other international tribunals.

“Mr Jammeh will be entitled to his fair trial rights before the Extraordinary Chambers, including those guaranteed by the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights both of which Senegal has ratified. These human rights treaties outline the minimum guarantees that must be afforded to defendants in criminal proceedings.”

Mr Falana appealed to the European Union and other global bodies committed to the cause of justice and accountability for international crimes in Africa to support the trial with adequate funds.

The Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) went further to explain the workings of the Extraordinary African Chambers and the process Mr Jammeh’s trial should follow.

“The Extraordinary African Chambers have four levels: an Investigative Chamber with four investigative judges, an Indicting Chamber of three judges, a Trial Chamber, and an Appeals Chamber. The Trial Chamber and the Appeals Chamber each have two Senegalese Judges and a President from another African Union member state. The chambers also have an administrator to ensure the smooth functioning of their activities and to handle all non-judicial aspects of the work.

“Jammeh’s victims must be afforded the opportunity to participate in proceedings as civil parties. Should he be convicted of the charges against him, the victims of his crimes must receive adequate compensation, and reparations, including guarantee of non-repetition.”

The TRCC after the release of the report had called on individuals who made full and remorseful disclosure before the commission and were not involved in crimes against humanity to apply for amnesty.

The Gambian government promised to release a white paper on or before May 25, 2022, on the commission’s report.

United Democratic Party executive official Yankuba Dabo has advised the party to take its petition to the ECOWAS court.

The Supreme Court on Tuesday threw out UDP’s petition for failing to comply with the law around filing a petition. The top court also ordered the party to pay D100,000.

Unhappy with the striking out of the petition, Yankuba Dabo said: “I would advise my party, UDP Gambia, to continue with our petition appeal matter to the ECOWAS court of Justice.

“The overwhelming evidence of election fraud that marred the December 4th presidential elections cannot be ignored!”

He is the second UDP executive member to react aside leader Ousainou Darboe.

China put hundreds of thousands more people under lockdown on Tuesday to try and stamp out a worsening coronavirus outbreak, as infections hit new highs in multiple US states and Europe.

Covid surges have wreaked havoc around the world, with many nations in Europe and North America trying to strike a balance between economically punishing restrictions and controlling the spread of the virus.

The United States halved the isolation period for asymptomatic cases to try and blunt the disruptions, while France ordered firms to have employees work from home for at least three days a week.

Despite facing a much smaller outbreak compared with global virus hotspots, China has not relaxed its “zero Covid” strategy, imposing stay-at-home orders in many parts of the city of Yan’an.

The hundreds of thousands of affected residents there joined the 13 million people in the city of Xi’an, who entered a sixth day of home confinement as China battled its highest daily case numbers in 21 months.

I’m about to be starved to death,” wrote one Xi’an resident on the Twitter-like Weibo platform.

“There’s no food, my housing compound won’t let me out, and I’m about to run out of instant noodles… please help!”

Many Xi’an residents have similarly complained on social media about the restrictions, which include a ban on driving and only one member of a household permitted to go outside for groceries every three days.

This lockdown is the most sweeping in China since the similarly sized city Wuhan was cut off from the world in the early days of the pandemic.

Source:  AFP

By Amara Thoronka

Childhood, Poverty and desire for films

I grew up at Jalloh Terrace, a large, populated community in east Freetown, the capital of the West African state of Sierra Leone. The movie ‘Issakaba’ was released in 2000 at a time when most of the houses in the Jalloh Terrace community [mine inclusive] were without television. I was in my early stage at primary/elementary school.

Children who wanted to watch films would have to go to the privileged few, behave themselves and watch films from Nollywood (Nigerian film industry), Bollywood (Indian film industry) Hollywood (United States film industry) and Ghallywood (Ghanaian film industry).

Sometimes we are carried away by the appealing scenes of some movies which would cause us to be late to return to our respective homes. Such lateness could warrant knocks on the head and/or lashes on the buttocks as a form of punishment for staying away from home at a time we should be studying or be in bed. The few families who had television were highly respected. We sometimes helped them draw or fetch water from the well as a way of having undenied access to their homes to watch more movies.

The plot of Issakaba

To date, many adult Africans are of the assertion that the Nollywood movie, Issakaba, is the greatest African action movie ever. It is a 2000 Nigerian film in which a secret society turned vigilante boys called “Issakabba Boys” use charms and cutlasses to fight against serious crimes such as armed robbery, murder, ritual killing and more.

The justice-driven Issakabba boys are led by the protagonist (main actor) of the movie, Ebube (Sam Dede). They are dressed in black and red with cutlasses in their hands and charms on their bodies. The kingdom is overwhelmed with crime and evil everywhere. Armed robbers have a superpower that is given to them by evil traditional medicine men. The robbers are also being protected by some corrupt elders and security personnel occupying influential positions in the kingdom.

Amidst challenges, the Issakaba were able to bring to book all armed robbers, corrupt police officers, crooked elders and evil medicine men. Issakaba punishes evil and crime doers by either chopping off their limbs or heads or burning them alive.

Impact on childhood

I was eight years old when the movie was released. After a few weeks of watching Issakaba, I and other male children started using the actions in the movie in our interactions and fun games. Some could take the role of Issakaba boys while others acted as the armed robbers, native medicine men, elders, police and other villagers.

Instead of using cutlasses like the Issakaba boys, we instead used dry okra sticks and other light objects to punish the wrongdoers. We used palm oil or any red-coloured liquid to symbolize the blood of an amputated criminal.

In the absence of black clothes used by Issakaba, we tied a small piece of black cloth on our wrists and heads. When the hand or head of a criminal was to be cut off, the leader of our own Issakaba play would shout “Eeeeee” and the rest would say “Sakabaaaaaa.”

The Issakaba play influenced our play style for years. We put so much effort, time and energy to imitate characters, actions and even sounds in the Issakaba film. Even when we were often warmed and beaten to stop such a play, we were adamant and resistant. The play was everywhere. People talked about the movie in schools, offices, marketplaces, homes, social gatherings, public transport – everywhere.

We could watch the film twice a week but would still want to watch it the following week. Personally, at around 10 years old, I had a small notebook for proverbs, idioms and other unique expressions used in the play.

The ones I will never forget are: “The river does not flow throw down the forest without bringing down trees,” “The child who says the mother will not sleep, he too will not sleep,” “The smoke and the rabbit have never been friends,” “Your evil deeds have come to light so this is the end of the road,” “When the fire dies the ashes remain to bear testimony of the flames,” and “When the birds become too big for its cage you let it go.” The film preoccupied the leisure moments of kids both on-screen and in their playing.

To parents and other adults

The media, especially televised content, have an indelible and influential impact on someone. Television is far much powerful in influencing the attitude and behaviour of kids than any mass medium. TV is audiovisual, a blend of video and audio. Its contents are graphic and captivating.

Parents and all adults should endeavour to guide the TV contents which their children are exposed to. Children should not be exposed to films or TV/video programmes with sexual, gory and violent scenes. Research has shown that cartoons and teaching videos can help children to be smart, bold and friendly; while violent, drug-addicted and sexual TV content can influence children to engage in antisocial activities and early sex.

Schools should also embrace visual teaching aides to enable pupils to have lasting imagery of concepts, practices, techniques and principles.