His Excellency President Dr Julius Maada Bio has pronounced Antonio Rüdiger as Brand Global Sierra Leone Football Ambassador during a brief ceremony attended by family members, well-wishers and government officials.

Antonio Rüdiger is a Sierra Leonean-German professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for the Premier League club, Chelsea and the Germany national team.

Director of Protocols in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Lamina Paul Vamboi, said it was a remarkable and historic occasion in the history of football in the country as one of Sierra Leone’s distinguished compatriots was awarded by President Bio as a Brand Global Ambassador.

He added that the award ceremony reaffirmed the commitment by the government of Sierra Leone to canvass and promote sports as well as sporting activities with the aim of ensuring the country’s participation in sports on the international stage.

“Today, Antonio Rüdiger is being recognised for his outstanding role and contribution to Sierra Leone in the area of promoting sports. Also, he is a benefactor to His Excellency the President’s top priority of promoting Free Quality Education in the country,” Mr. Vamboi noted.

Reading the citation for the awardee Antonio Rüdiger, Press Secretary and Presidential Spokesman, Yusuf Keketoma Sandi, said the humble personality of Rüdiger was the reason for his successes on the pitch and his highly decorated football career. He added that the footballer had also launched his foundation, focusing on sports education, sports infrastructure, sports inclusivity and literacy.

“Our recipient does not relent or hesitate to donate to causes dear to his heart and that benefit millions of children in Sierra Leone. His mission, it seems, is about changing lives and changing stories. On Sunday 19 January 2020, he met with His Excellency President Dr Julius Maada Bio, on the margins of the UK-Africa Investment Summit in London and pledged Le1 billion ($101,000) for Sierra Leone’s Free Quality Education initiative.

“No doubt, it still remains the largest contribution by a single individual to the Free Quality School Education programme,” he disclosed.

In a brief acceptance speech, Antonio Rüdiger expressed gratitude to President Julius Maada Bio for the recognition and award and extended appreciation to his family without whose support, he said, the award and recognition would have been impossible. He added that he felt honoured and proud to accept the award.

“Thank you very much. I feel honoured to serve this country and put this country in a better light,” he concluded.

While handing over the diplomatic passport to Antonio Rüdiger, His Excellency President Dr Julius Maada Bio congratulated him on his award and thanked him for accepting such a distinguished honour. He added that Rüdiger had shown that he was not only a Sierra Leonean by blood, but also by his action when he donated a billion leones to the endeavour of advancing education to every child in the country.

President Bio further noted that the country appreciated the efforts of Rüdiger in improving the lives of his fellow compatriots and assured that whenever footballer was on the pitch playing, the country had tuned in to watch him with love and passion.

“We confer this on you because we think you deserve it. We need to do more for you as you continue to do more for us. We are proud of who you are, what you are doing. Your humility in greatness is what we admire about you as Sierra Leoneans. We are proud of you and hope that you can represent us,” he noted.

By: State House Media

By Amara Thoronka

Chief Electoral Officer of Gambia’s Independent Electoral Commission (IEC), Sambujang Njie has told political parties, civil society organizations and the media that the issue of marbles not entering the holes of some ballot drums, which was reported in few polling stations during the December 4 Presidential Election, was not something intended by the Commission.

“Marbles not entering ballot drums was not the intention of the IEC. The issue were isolated cases and that might have been caused by the continuous painting of drums over the years, but the IEC was able to swiftly address the issue by instructing the polling officials to slightly open the holes of the drums with a plier which we gave them.”

He made the statement at a one-day consultative forum with political parties, civil society organizations and the media on Thursday 27 January at the Sir Dawda Kairaba Conference Center, in preparation for the forthcoming National Assembly Elections scheduled for 9 April 2022.

Speaking on some party agents refusing to sign the result forms, Mr. Njie said party agents never gave any reason why they refused signing the results, but however added that the refusal by some parties to sign did not render the results legally invalid.

“Parties not signing results does not make the results invalid. Some of the party agents that didn’t sign never gave any reason for their decision. We don’t have the mandate to force someone to sign, and that does not legally prevent us from announcing the results”

He confirmed that the National Assembly Elections will be held on 9 April 2022, and that the Commission is prepared to conduct the said elections with fairness and credibility.

IEC’s chief executive officer noted that notice of election, returning officers, polling, counting and collation centers, for the next assembly elections, was gazetted on 20 January 2022.

He added that advertisement for the 9 April assembly election began on 17 January and is still ongoing until 30 January 2022, advising eligible Gambians to apply.

Mr. Njie disclosed that nomination forms for the assembly election will be issued on 4 February 2022 in all regional offices, adding that the nomination exercise will be conducted from 5-13 March 2022, advising intended candidates to engage the Commission on nomination issues they don’t understand as a way of preventing disqualification by the IEC.

He further disclosed that political parties and candidates will be supplied soft copy of the voter register from 14-16 March 2022.

Mr. Njie confirmed that campaigns are scheduled to take place from 17 March to 7 April in all constituencies.

The chief electoral officer of IEC said candidates who want to withdraw their candidature has until 2 April to do so, as no withdrawal of candidature will be accepted after the said date.

The Cameroonian legend who is also the president of the country’s football federation (Fecafoot) has said The Gambia has a “good football team” but many of their opponents have been underestimating them because of their debutant status and football ranking.

The Gambia is one of the lowest ranked team at the African Cup of Nations tournament but has proved that they are not there to make up the numbers.

“Your country (The Gambia) have a compact and good team. For me the problem other countries have done is that they underestimate Gambia, you cannot do this in football.

“The Gambia does not play amazing football that will amaze you but they have a collective [team spirit] and [being] collective is important. I have spoken to the head coach, and I gave him the game plan to win on Saturday and may the best team win,” Eto’to told GamFoot Transfers in Douala.

The Gambia who remains unbeaten after four games at the tournament will face hosts Cameroon in Douala in the quarterfinals on Saturday.

Gambia’s Coach Tom says his team is ready for the encounter with Cameroon, one of the tournament favourites.

“We want the side to be “respected” and become regular participants at the Africa Cup of Nations,” Tom said.

By Yerro Mballow

Magistrate Mben Faal of the Kanifing Magistrate Court on Thursday 27 January 2022 acquitted and discharged one Nderry Touray over rape allegations.

The accused person, Nderry Touray was charged with rape contrary to section 3(2)(b) of the Sexual Offence Act 2013.

The particulars of offence stated that on or about 16 November 2019 at Kotu in the Kanifing Municipality, the accused person, Nderry Touray had intercourse with the plaintiff without her consent, thereby committing an offence.

Delivering her judgement, Magistrate Faal mentioned, “the plaintiff witness one (pw1) went and met the accused person at his home and requested from him an apartment to rent, and that the accused person then told him that his aunty has a house and later took the plaintiff to see if she would choose the said house to rent. When they reached the house, the accused person pointed at the houses and the girl choose the house she wanted. They then exchanged numbers and the accused person took the plaintiff to his house where they had sex and she left as reported by PW 1”

“The accused person thereafter had a telephone call with the plaintiff where she visited him. The accused person then bought a full loaf of bread filled with an egg from the D20 he had which they ate.  She then told the accused person that she wanted him to give her some money because she had to pay for her sewing at the tailoring shop.”

“The accused person told her that he did not have money with him to give her because he was just from the garage where he had paid the mechanics to service his car. The girl (plaintiff) got angered with the accused person’s statement and then banged the door of his house on him and left”

Still on her judgment, Magistrate Faal said, “second Prosecution Witness (PW2) testified that a medical test was conducted where it indicated that they had sex. Pw2 also revealed that the girl did not consent to the act but the accused person threatened her with a pair of scissors, closed the house and demanded sex from the girl”

Making her ruling on the case, the Magistrate noted that the prosecution had not proven their case beyond reasonable doubt, adding that some of the evidences contradicted each other.

Magistrate Faal ruled that since the prosecution did not prove their case beyond all reasonable doubts, “the accused person is hereby acquitted and discharged.”

The Government of Sierra Leone has formally launched the National Migration Policy with support from International Organisation for Migration (IOM)

The policy contains a comprehensive framework to improve and enforce administrative and legislative procedures towards migration’s management in Sierra Leone. It sets out several prescriptions on how to address some of the issues towards migration governance in the country.

Over the years in Sierra Leone, the governance of migration has been quite challenging as the country continues to grapple with responding to the consequences and impact of both regular and irregular migration. This is compounded by Sierra Leone’s comprehensive policy framework within which migration processes are governed.

“In Sierra Leone, young people see migration as a way out of poverty. Therefore, migration is becoming a threat to national development, peace, and security if it is not well managed” said Mangeh Sesay, who represented IOM Sierra Leone at the launch ceremony.

“So, IOM is very pleased to support the development and launch of the National Migration. The policy will now be the basis for better migration management and governance in the country” he added.

Sierra Leone’s Chief Minister, Jacob Jusu Saffa who launched the policy document on behalf of the President of the Republic of Sierra Leone said: “the Government places not only premium, but an equally great emphasis on human capital development, and closely linked to this is to facilitate citizens of Sierra Leoneans to realize their full potential’’.

“One of the ways to ensure citizens critical potentials can be utilized for their individual and national development is to ensure that the state promotes, and safeguard as requires the free movement of individuals both internally and externally of the country”, the chief minister explained.

The Migration Policy addresses issues related to diaspora engagement, border management, internally displaced persons, asylum seekers, return and reintegration, migration and national disasters, statelessness, human trafficking among others.

“The adoption of national migration public policies, to manage migration in a comprehensive way, addressing migration in all its aspects, is key. We welcome the very important step taken by Sierra Leone towards this goal”, said Juan Antonio Frutos, Deputy Head of the European Union Delegation to Sierra Leone.

He further stated that: “the EU remains strongly committed to better managing migration together with our partner countries, based on the shared and common responsibility of countries of origin, transit, and destination. We stand ready to support the efforts of Sierra Leone in this area”.

The development and launch of the policy were made possible thanks to the support of the European Union, and the Africa Regional, Migration Programme implemented by IOM, the Government, and other partners in Sierra Leone with support from the United States Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration.

SOURCE: International Organization for Migration (IOM)

By Amara Thoronka

Gambia’s Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) has disclosed its calendar of activities for the National Assembly Elections at a one-day consultative forum with political parties, civil society organizations and the media on Thursday 27 January at the Sir Dawda Kairaba Conference Center, in preparation for the forthcoming National Assembly Elections scheduled for 9 April 2022.

According to the IEC, the notice of election, returning officers, polling, counting and collation centers was gazetted on 20 January.

The Commission disclosed that advertisement for election staff started running on 17 January and will continue until 30 January, encouraging qualified Gambians to apply for the advertised polling staff positions.

The issuance of nomination forms to aspiring candidates in the said election will take place in all IEC’s regional offices on 4 February.

The IEC noted that intending election observers should apply for accreditation to the Commission on 1 February, adding that the said accreditation will be issued by the IEC the following day (2 February 2022).

The Commission confirmed that it will train political parties and the police on 1 March, while training for the media will be conducted on 2 February.

Nomination of candidates for the assembly elections will be conducted at IEC’s regional offices from 5-13 March. Intended candidates are encouraged to engage the Commission on nomination issues and criteria as a way of preventing disqualification by the IEC.

Reconciliation of campaign itineraries of candidates will be done from 14 -16 March.

The IEC also disclosed that political parties and candidates contesting in the assembly elections will be supplied soft copy of the voter register from 14 -16 March.

Campaigns are scheduled to take place from 17 March to 7 April in all constituencies.

Candidates who want to withdraw their candidature has until 2 April to do so, as no withdrawal of candidature will be accepted after the said date.

Training of trainers will be observed from 18-20 March, while regional training of polling staff will take place from 1-3 April 2022.

The IEC will hold a briefing with election observers on 6 April, while the deployment of staff will be on 7 April.

The 8 April is cooling-off period as elections hold on 9 April 2022.

By: Christian Conteh

The rallying call for the prosecution of former president Yahya Jammeh has continued unabated. Lead campaigner Reed Brody is with the International Commission of Jurists, he said he expected pressure to now mount on President Adama Barrow “to deliver justice without further delay for victims who have already waited five years, and in some cases much longer”.

“There is still a lot that needs to be done, but I wouldn’t be surprised if we see Yahya Jammeh in a court sooner rather than later,” said Brody.

Brody who is nicknamed the ‘dictator hunter’ shares this passion with several Gambians particularly those who were victims of Jammeh’s 22-year repressive rule. Brody is known to have played an instrumental role in bringing former Chadian President Hissene Habre to trial at a special court in Senegal.

Whether the Equatorial Guinean authorities would extradite Jammeh should criminal charges be pressed against him is yet unknown.

The much talked about Truth Reconciliation and Reparation Commission (TRRC) report blames the former president for several murders, torture, enforced disappearances, rapes and other crimes that constitute a crime against humanity during his 22-year rule.

“Over a period of 22 years, starting from July 22, 1994, Yahya Jammeh and … co-perpetrators committed very serious crimes against the people of The Gambia,” the Truth, Reconciliation and Reparations Commission’s report said.

The commission was set up in January 2017 by President Adama Barrow, whose election in 2016 put an end to Jammeh’s 22-year dictatorship.

Gambian Justice Minister Dawda A Jallow said the government was “committed to the implementation of the report”, but would not release a paper before May on how it plans to go forward.

When the coronavirus began spreading around the world, the remote Pacific archipelago of Kiribati closed its borders, ensuring the disease didn’t reach its shores for nearly two full years.

Kiribati finally began reopening this month, allowing the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to charter a plane to bring home 54 of the island nation’s citizens. Many of those aboard were missionaries who had left Kiribati before the border closure to spread the faith abroad for what is commonly known as the Mormon church.

Officials tested each returning passenger three times in nearby Fiji, required that they be vaccinated, and put them in quarantine with additional testing when they arrived home.

It wasn’t enough.

More than half the passengers tested positive for the virus, which has now slipped out into the community and prompted the government to declare a state of disaster. An initial 36 positive cases from the flight had ballooned to 181 cases by Friday.

Kiribati and several other small Pacific nations were among the last places on the planet to have avoided any virus outbreaks, thanks to their remote locations and strict border controls. But their defenses appear no match against the highly contagious omicron variant.

“Generally speaking, it’s inevitable. It will get to every corner of the world,” said Helen Petousis-Harris, a vaccine expert at the University of Auckland in New Zealand. “It’s a matter of buying enough time to prepare and getting as many people vaccinated as possible.”

By: Christian Conteh

This year’s Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) reveals that corruption levels are at a worldwide standstill.

The CPI ranks 180 countries and territories around the world by their perceived levels of public sector corruption. The results are given on a scale of 0 (highly corrupt) to 100 (very clean).

While corruption takes vastly different forms from country to country, this year’s scores reveal that all regions of the globe are at a standstill when it comes to fighting public sector corruption.

At the top of the CPI, countries in Western Europe and the European Union continue to wrestle with transparency and accountability in their response to COVID-19, threatening the region’s clean image.

In parts of Asia Pacific, the Americas, Eastern Europe and Central Asia, increasing restrictions on accountability measures and basic civil freedoms allow corruption to go unchecked. Even historically high-performing countries are showing signs of decline.

In the Middle East and North Africa, the interests of a powerful few continue to dominate the political and private sphere, and the limitations placed on civil and political freedoms are blocking any significant progress.

In Sub-Saharan Africa, armed conflict, violent transitions of power and increasing terrorist threats combined with poor enforcement of anti-corruption commitments rob citizens of their basic rights and services.

The Gambia remained as the 102nd corrupt nation, only better than 78 countries, in a list of 180 countries gauged by Transparency International in 2021.

Marr Nyang, Executive Director of the civil society group Gambia Participates is of the view that there have not been proactive or sufficient efforts taken by the government to prevent the occurrence of corruption.

“The fact that the country scored the same points as of 2019 demonstrates that there have not been proactive or sufficient efforts taken by the government to prevent the occurrence of corruption both in the public and private sectors and then also detect and prosecute corruption cases and there has not been any law that has been legislated even though we are anticipating the next legislative assembly will pass the anti-corruption bill,” Nyang said.

Gambian President Adama Barrow has pledged to work to jumpstart the economy as he was sworn in for a second five-year term in office near the capital, Banjul.

Barrow, 56, came to power in 2017 by unseating his predecessor Yahya Jammeh at the polls. He comfortably won re-election last month with 53% of the first-round vote.

The United Democratic Party, leading opposition candidate Ousainou Darboe appealed the election results to the Supreme Court, alleging irregularities and corruption in Barrow’s campaign. The plea was dismissed.

“Today we can comfortably conclude that my election to another five years is a vote of confidence in my government, a vote of acknowledgement of my achievements,” said Barrow, dressed in a white cap and robe, after being sworn in on Wednesday before an audience that included several other West African heads of state.

“2022 to 2027 is a period to press on for accelerated growth, expansion and advancement. The focus now centres on economic development,” he said.

He has faced a challenge reviving the economy of mainland Africa’s smallest country. The coronavirus pandemic pushed the economy into recession in 2020, keeping away tourists from its white-sand beaches.

However, growth is estimated to have bounced back to about 5% last year. During his first term, he improved relations with many foreign countries that had cooled under Jammeh’s 22-year tenure and worked to restore civil liberties that were repressed during that period.

Jammeh was accused by human rights group of presiding over a government accused of a litany of abuses including death squads and torture.

During the swearing-in ceremony, Barrow reiterated a previous commitment to introduce a new constitution. He has previously said it would introduce presidential term limits but has not said whether that would prevent him from seeking additional terms.

Debates about presidential term limits have flared in several of Gambia’s neighbouring countries, including Ivory Coast and Guinea, whose presidents in 2020 used constitutional changes as reset buttons on their tenures to stay beyond the two-term limit.

Barrow had pledged as a candidate in 2016 to serve only three years if he was elected but later went back on that commitment.

Health officials are confronting vaccine reluctance among African women, especially those of childbearing age

The health outreach workers who drove past Lama Mballow’s village with a megaphone handed out T-shirts emblazoned with the words: “I GOT MY COVID-19 VACCINE!”

By then, the women in Sare Gibel had heard the rumours on social media: The vaccines could make your blood stop or cause you to miscarry. Women who took it wouldn’t get pregnant again.

Lama Mballow and her sister-in-law, Fatoumata Mballow, never made the 3.4-mile trip (5.5 kilometres) to town for their vaccines, but the family kept the free shirt. Its lettering is now well-worn, but the women’s resolve has not softened. They share many meal preparation duties, child care, and their outlook on the vaccine.

“I definitely need a lot of children,” said Lama Mballow, 24, who has a 4-year-old son, another child on the way and no plans to get vaccinated. And Fatoumata Mballow, 29, struggling to get pregnant for the third time in a village where some women have as many as 10 children, quietly insists: “I don’t want to make it worse and destroy my womb.”

As health officials in Gambia and across Africa urge women to be vaccinated, they’ve confronted unwillingness among those of childbearing age. Many women worry that current or future pregnancies will be threatened and, in Africa, the success of a woman’s marriage often depends on the number of children she bears. Other women say they’re simply more afraid of the vaccine than the virus: As breadwinners, they can’t miss a day of work if side effects such as fatigue and fever briefly sideline them.

Their fears are hardly exceptional, with rumours proliferating across Africa, where fewer than 4% of the population is immunized. Although data on the gender breakdown of vaccine distribution are lacking globally, experts see a growing number of women in Africa’s poorest countries consistently missing out on vaccines. Officials who already bemoan the inequity of vaccine distribution between rich and poor nations now fear that the stark gender disparity means African women are the least vaccinated population in the world.

This story is part of a year-long series on how the pandemic is impacting women in Africa, most acutely in the least developed countries.

“We do see, unfortunately, that even as COVID vaccines arrive in Africa after a long delay, women are being left behind,” said Dr. Abdahalah Ziraba, an epidemiologist at the African Population and Health Research Center.

Source: The Associated Press

By Dawda Baldeh

The ongoing TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in Cameroon started with 6 groups (Group A-F) featuring 24 African countries.

Both the Group and Round 16 knockout stages have ended. It is now the quater-finals where 8 countries are to lock-horns in 4 matches.

The eight African nations in the quarter-finals are: Gambia, Cameroon, Burkina Faso, Tunisia, Egypt, Morocco, Senegal and Equatorial Guinea.

Cameroon, Burkina Faso, Senegal and Equatorial Guinea are francophone (French speaking) countries; while Egypt, Morocco and Tunisia are Arabic speaking nations.

Interestingly, of these eight, only THE GAMBIA is an anglophone (English speaking country) and the small West African nation is at AFCON for the first time.

Football enthusiasts across the world are still shocked by the consistent impressive performance of the team from the qualifying series to the group state, Round 16 and now quarter-finals.

The Scorpions of The Gambia remain unbeaten so far, as they won two and drew one of their three group stage matches. They recently eliminated Guinea in the Round 16 Knockout Stage.

The Scorpions will now face the host of the 2021 AFCON tournament (Cameroon), in the quarter finals, on Saturday 29 January 2022 at 4pm Gambian time.

By Sarjo Brito

One week after his presidential inauguration, President Adama Barrow has today Thursday 27 January 2022, presided over the swearing-in ceremony of Cabinet Ministers at the State House in Banjul. The caretaker Cabinet consists of immediate past cabinet ministers who will continue to hold the same portfolios.  All Ministers, except the Minister of Youth and Sports who is currently in Cameroon with the national team, took their oath of office before the Head of State.

Speaking to the Ministers shortly after they swore to the oath of allegiance, President Barrow thanked his cabinet for accepting their appointments and their contribution in the governance process of The Gambia the past five years.

‘’I will not do justice to you if I do not publicly declare my appreciation and gratitude for your laudable efforts and the commendable commitment you demonstrated during my first term in office. You executed your duties responsibly and responsibly and with devotion to ensure that we succeed together on our development aspirations’’

‘’we have managed to create a legacy that will visibly go down in the history of The Gambia. I believe that no matter how long one serves in public office, it is more important than anything else to sincerely make the best use of the opportunity put at our disposal to serve the nation. Longevity does not matter as much as the quality and significance of the service we provide to our people and nation while in office.

President Barrow said while this is just a transitional cabinet, all Ministers sworn in today are expected to perform their functions with the oaths they took today and within the law, and the rules and regulations that govern public office.

By Amara Thoronka

Foni Agency for Rural Development (FARD) has in a press release submitted recommendations to the Gambian Government following the clash between ECOMIG and MFDC rebels in Foni.

“We are appalled by continued occupation of our region by foreign troops and as an organisation representing our people; we submit the following to the state: immediate review of the security posts in Foni and demilitarisation of the area; replacement of the Senegalese with Gambian Security Forces; immediately ban all timber exports via the area; deployment of Gambia National Army around the border and removal of the security check point in Bwiam ,” the organization submitted.

FARD noted that since the incident occurred on Monday 24 January 2022, the people of Foni have been finding life very challenging leading to loss of lives and displacement of many.

“The past few days have been moments of sobering reflection as dark clouds of fear, anxiety; pain and trauma hover menacingly over the people of Foni. The Monday 24 January clash between Senegalese ECOMIG soldiers and MFDC rebels within Foni has disrupted the peace and tranquil of our people. The ugly incident has forced many to flee their homes for fear of losing their lives in a war that has nothing to do with them.”

“The incident has us thinking in many directions. Are we a people of a lesser god? Are we not sovereign citizens? Why are we treated differently and finally, why the continuous occupational forces in Foni and if for security reasons – why not have Gambian military or Ghanaians or Nigerian forces in Foni – Why Senegalese forces with the full knowledge that Foni has close proximity with southern Senegal (Casamance) who are sworn enemies with the MFDC rebels,” they explained.

The Organisation said the focus should be on finding a lasting solution to the issue in Foni.

“Today, besides mourning the death of both the military and rebels who lost their lives in this avoidable scenario – we ask ourselves is this sustainable – the answer is NO – is it avoidable – the answer is an emphatic YES. Since hearing, this unfortunate news, Foni Agency for Rural Development (FARD), has sprung to action to show solidarity to our people and gather some resources to help victims who have been internally displaced. This is a short-term reprieve to help our people but what should we do to have sanity, security, safety, peace and dignified living conditions in Foni.”

The emphasized that, “The presence of the Senegalese Forces in our region since 2018 has in no way given us a feeling of safety but rather makes us feel like objects of suspicion. Our people suffer constant intimidation and harassment whilst our women suffer sexual exploitation and abuse. Furthermore, the ill placed security checkpoint in Bwiam has caused several accidents yet there is continued indifference about it.”

FARD stated that Foni has always been known for peace and security but warned that their silence and niceness as a people cannot and should not be taken as cowardice.

President Adama Barrow has already constituted a committee to investigate the issue in Foni.

By Sarjo Brito 

Gambia’s ex-Secretary General under Yahya Jammeh’s presidency and onetime Budget Director, Momodou Sabally has announced his intention to run for the forthcoming parliamentary election slated for April 9th, 2022. The youngest SG now dubbed Darboe’s right-hand man is seeking his election under the ticket of the United Democratic Party. In a statement shared on his official Facebook page, Sabally announced to his followers that he has formally submitted his letter of intent to the selection committee of the United Democratic Party’’

‘’ I have formally submitted a letter of intent to our relevant party officials in my bid to stand for the UDP in the upcoming National Assembly Election for the powerhouse, Busumbala Constituency’’

Sabally promise to pull off a landslide victory if selected by his party to contest the Busumbala constituency seat. Momodou Sabally in a widely circulated audio said his reason to run for Parliament is due to the many appeals he received from community elders and the youths. When elected he said, he’ll serve to attain amongst other things the protection and promotion of the sovereignty of the republic of The Gambia, improvement of the welfare of the residents of Busumbala Constituency, Fight for responsible and responsive fiscal policy so that Gambian taxpayers get their money’s worth in deliverables, promulgation and promotion of real youth and women’s empowerment legislature and supporting environmental protection and Cultural authenticity.

While the selection process is still ongoing at party level, Momodou Sabally said few party members who wanted to contest the seat have decided to withdraw their application following his announcement to run as a show of support to him.

By Amara Thoronka

Justice B.V.P Mahoney has called for the amendment of Gambia’s State Proceedings Act which he describes as a ‘pre-independence law’ that gives the State ‘blanket protection.’

He made the call for amendment to the said law on Tuesday 25^th January 2022 when handing in his ruling on a motion in the ongoing case between the Kanifing Municipal Council (KMC) versus the Minister of Lands and the Attorney who recently established a commission of inquiry to probe into corruption allegations at KMC. In the said case, which is in progress, KMC had filed in a motion for the court to restrain the commission from progressing with its inquiry proceedings.

Citing supreme court cases in which the State Proceedings Act was referenced, Justice Mahoney ruled that the said law, in cases of such, prevents the court from restraining public officers in the exercise of their statutory powers.

“I must confess that I find it hard to digest that the State Proceedings Act would give such blanket protection to the State to make any decision which although the courts are permitted to review or even set aside but cannot in any circumstance prevent the performance of the impugned decision until the final hearing of the dispute.”

Also on State Proceedings Act, Justice Mahoney quoted from page 5 of the Gambia Supreme Court ruling in the case of Gambia Participates versus The Clerk of Parliament & 3 others dated.

“It is by virtue of this provision [section 17(2) of the State Proceedings Act] that no relief pertaining to an injunction or specific performance will be granted by a court against the State in any civil proceedings.”

The high court judge therefore called for an amendment to the State Proceedings Act.

“I am of the humble opinion that the provision in the State Proceedings Act, which is a pre-independence Act, ought to be revisited as injunctions may be granted against the State in many other jurisdictions which, if were not available, would have resulted in great material loss or breach of fundamental rights.”

When ruling on cases before them, judges sometimes give their opinions on legal issues to enhance fair justice, peace, orderliness and positive change in society.