President Adama Barrow will officially inaugurate the newly built Roads and Bridges in URR om Saturday October 9.

This fulfills NDP Strategic Priority 5; Building our infrastructure and restoring energy service to power our economy.

The URR infrastructure project is a flagship initiative to connect the north and south of the region to support socio-economic growth.

As part of his engagements, President Barrow will also lay the foundation for Phase 2 of the TVET project in Ndemban on 7th October and Sunday grace the inauguration ceremony of the Koba Kunda School, which now accommodates a Senior Secondary School.

By Batou Saidy

Barely few months after the Euro 2020 was done and dusted, the UEFA Nations League resumes in style. The first semifinal match that will feature Italy and Spain will be underway tonight at San Siro, a famous stadium in Milan, Italy. This tie will reignite the footballing rivalry between the Azzurri and the La Roja.

Italy are the European champions after their heroics at the Euro 2020 finals. This was their maiden success at a European championship. They have won the Wembley final and taken the trophy to Rome. The Three Lions were disappointed that it didn’t go home.

Spain have also gone far in the tournament, all the way to the semis, only to eventually lose to vintage Italy in the shootouts. Many people might not expect them to go that far after their gaffer, Luis Enrique called their squad ahead of the tournament, omitting notable names. But they’ve went on to refute those thoughts of underperformance and expectations of early exit.

The second semifinal clash will be Belgium versus France at the Allianz Stadium on Thursday, with the final to feature victors from either clash at San Siro on Sunday. The Red Devils suffered a shocking exit at the hands of the Azzurri, thanks to goals from Lorenzo Insigne and Nicolo Barella. Romelu Lukaku pulled one back from the penalty spot, but that wasn’t enough to salvage them from shocking exit.

For France, it was a disappointing tournament. Their early exit from the hands of Switzerland was not what many expected. But their problems were also apparent: from the overconfidence of their coach to the premium selfishness of some of their players, and even internal conflict within the squad. That made it so early for France. Les Bleus.

Running a quick analysis on this tournament, here are few points to take home:

Home advantage for Italy

The Azzurri will be locking horns with Spain today in Milan. That is a great home advantage for them to capitalize on. Putting icing on the cake, Italy are still on their unbeaten streak, a 37-match unbeaten run that stretches as far back as 2018.

It’s now or never for Belgium’s golden generation

Belgium are number one in world football ranking. They have a golden generation of players but it’s largely insane how they haven’t managed to win any honor so far. Now that the squad is running out of muscle – with Hazard, De Bruyne, Mertens, Lukaku, Vertonghen and Witsel all aging; for them to win an honor, it’s now or never. If they throw this one away, 2022 World Cup could be their only chance for glory.

France to avoid complacency

Les Bleus have a lot of problems to fix. Internal conflict. Mbappe’s ego. Overconfidence.
Amongst many other things of relevance. They can’t afford to rubbish their superiority and deny themselves of titles they can easily win en masse. However, when they play Belgium on Thursday, the Red Devils may seek to revenge. That will make the match quite interesting. And which ever side is to win this tournament has to play really hard.

The Government of UK will stop advising Britons to avoid non-essential travel to a country not on the red list solely because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Travel advice has been relaxed for 32 countries including Bangladesh, Fiji, Gambia, Ghana and Malaysia, the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) said.

This will make it easier for people visiting those locations to obtain travel insurance.

Advice is expected to be lifted for more countries in the coming days.

This comes amid an easing of the Government’s rules for travellers entering the UK.

From Monday, fully vaccinated residents – and unvaccinated under 18s – from more than 50 countries and territories have been able to arrive without taking a pre-departure lateral flow test, a day-eight post-arrival PCR test, or self-isolating.

The Government is also expected to announce tomorrow it will slash the number of countries on the red list.

The full list of countries for which the FCDO has eased its travel advice is: Algeria; Armenia; Bangladesh; Belarus; Benin; Comoros; Tokelau and Niue; Djibouti; Equatorial Guinea; Fiji; Gambia; Guinea; Kazakhstan; Kiribati; Kosovo; Liberia; Madagascar; Malaysia; Marshall Islands; Micronesia; Nauru; Sao Tome and Príncipe; Senegal; Solomon Islands; Togo; Tonga; Tuvalu; Vanuatu; Congo; America Samoa; French Polynesia; and Ghana. (Belfast Telegraph)

UDP leader Ousainou Darboe has vowed that a UDP government will end the menace of irregular migration among Gambian youth.

Mr Darboe made the promise on Wednesday while addressing supporters in Ndungu Kebbeh.

“UDP will stop it [back way]. We don’t want any Gambian youth to leave the country to go outside to hustle. If companies in Europe wants to hire Gambians that have the knowledge that’s okay but it will not be ‘back way’,” Mr Darboe told supporters.

UDP’s tour of the nation entered the third day on Wednesday and the party held a meeting in Ndungu Kebbeh.

The tour continues.

By: Christian Alpha Conte

Farmers from the Eastern District of Kono in Sierra Leone have reported the invasion of their farms by buffalos from neighbouring Guinea, a situation which they say has the potential of adversely affecting this year’s crop yield in that part of the country.

Mrs. Finda Satta Komba, the wife of Paramount Chief Sahr Edward Mbawa III, is one of the affected farmers. She said the buffalos have trampled on and eaten a large stretch of her 53-acre rice plantation.

“The animals are huge, they are twice the size of a full-grown cow, and they are very dangerous,” said Mrs. Satta Komba.

She appealed for the intervention of the government to help permanently address what she described as a worrying situation.

“These animals destroy our crops and eat the rice plants so we want to appeal to the government to provide us with specialised security. I have personally employed two specialised hunters who have licensed guns and are knowledgeable about traps to catch the buffalos,” Mrs. Satta Komba said.

Buffalos are large ox-like animals with horns and shaggy fur. In other countries, this huge beast (Buffalo) plays a pivotal role in the agricultural economy. Among farm livestock, the animal is increasingly recognised as an animal for milk and meat. It is also considered one of the best draught animals for field operations.

Despite its significant contribution as a multipurpose animal its wild nature has affected its domestication in Sierra Leone.

In other countries, buffalos play a pivotal role in the agricultural economy.

Sahr Charles is Chairman Gbane Kandor Chiefdom Youth Council. Speaking from the Chiefdom Youth Farm he confirmed that they have also been affected by the Buffalo invasion. He, however, noted that there is nothing they can do about it but appeal to the government to help before things get out of hand.

The farmers who work on the farm on a daily basic lamented that despite their efforts to seek help from stakeholders in the district no meaningful help has been forthcoming. They said residents within the vicinity are sometimes scared to go about their activities freely, for fear of having an encounter with the buffalos.

One of the farmers revealed that not long ago the trap set by the hunters caught one of the buffalos. When the meat was sold he confirmed that the revenue raised was about six million Leones, which is about $650.

Meanwhile, lack of adequate seeds, fertilisers, and herbicides are among key challenges farmers in that part of the country continue to struggle with.

WHAT YOU MIGHT NOT KNOW

With Amara Thoronk

Has it ever crossed your mind that there are people who naturally live with only two toes? Well meet the VODOMA people of Zimbabwe who mysteriously and naturally have only two toes but are however not disabled.

They live in the Kanyemba region in the north of Zimbabwe, especially in the Urungwe and Sipolilo districts around the basins of Mwazamutanda River. They are uniquely traditional hunter-gatherers indigenous to Zimbabwe.

The vadoma speak the Dema language, which is closely related to the dominant Shona language of Zimbabwe and largely comprehensible to those who speak the Korekore and Tande Shona dialects. Living alongside Shona and Kunda people in Kanyemba, they also speak Korekore Shona and Kunda.

According to vadoma tradition, their ancestors emerged from a baobab tree. Upon descending from it, they walked upright to hunt and gather the fruits of the land. The name vadoma is also used in the Zambezi region for a semi-mythical people characterized as magical, capricious, hard to find, and living among the trees. This may refer to Khoisan hunter-gatherers who preceded the migration of the Bantu Shona into the Zambezi Valley, and the vadoma are possibly related to this earlier population. There is this rumored belief that the vadoma are capable of disappearing in the forest and performing magic.

Historically, the vadoma mainly live in the mountains, living a largely nomadic lifestyle of hunting, fishing, trapping, honey hunting, and gathering wild fruits and roots. Before the European colonization of Africa, the vadoma also resisted incorporation into the Korekore Shona kingdom of Mutapa, which resulted in little access to fertile land. Land reform after Zimbabwe’s independence did not change this, despite pressure from the Mugabe government, and the vadoma’s continuing dispossession has made them Zimbabwe’s only non-agricultural society, leading to stereotypes as “Stone Age cave-dwellers”.

The mountain homeland of the vadoma has now become the Chewore Safari Area. In recent years, vadoma have been threatened by game rangers due to a crackdown on poaching. Many abandoned their hunter-gatherer lifestyle and moved to the lowlands. Today, though they have little contact with the majority populace, many vadoma families live settled lives as semi-foragers, building houses on wooden platforms to avoid predators. During rainfall, they cover the shelters with thatching. vadoma are also reluctant to wear textile fabrics. Recently, the Seventh-Day Adventist Church built Mariga Primary School to educate vadoma children.

According to science, such condition is caused by ectrodactyly in which the middle three toes are absent and the two outer ones are turned in, resulting in the tribe being known as the “two-toed” or “ostrich-footed” tribe. This is an autosomal dominant condition resulting from a single mutation on chromosome number. It is reported that those with the condition are not handicapped and are well integrated into the tribe. While possibly an aid in tree climbing, the condition prevails because of a small genetic pool among the vadoma and is propagated by the tribal law that forbids members to marry outside the group.

Their isolation from other people has made them develop and maintain ectrodactyly, and their comparatively small gene pool has resulted in the condition being much more frequent than elsewhere.

Monty Mobile has come to the rescue of Comium by committing to knock off all arrears the crisis-gripped company owes.

Monty Mobile is the new investor of Comium and officials announced at a news conference on Wednesday, the investor has now committed to pay off the nearly 70 million dalasis in license and other fees.

“As we speak now, the investor in the midst of us now just texted me and said if PURA is willing to lift the suspension, they’re going to pay everything now,” Lamin Drammeh, Comium’s director of technical told reporters on Wednesday.

Comium had earlier on on Wednesday issued a statement expressing surprise of its suspension by PURA even amid what the company said was ‘dues settlement’ and ‘promising’ negotiations.

“This surprising news came after thorough positive meetings that were held between Comium new management and PURA, in which Comium and its new international investor showed a sign of goodwill by paying the amount of 14,000,000 Dalasi of its gross dues, and also expressed its determination to pay out the remaining amount, without even relating this payment to its due receivable of 21,000,000 Dalasi from Gamtel,” Comium had said in a statement.

Comium’s staff burst into cheers after their technical director made the announcement of the company’s investor committing to settle the company’s arrears.

Comium officials used the news conference to call PURA to lift the suspension on the company.

Banjul Mayor Rohey Lowe on Wednesday called on the people of North Bank region and Ndungu Kebbeh in particular to vote for UDP.

Mayor Lowe made the call during UDP’s meeting in the North Bank region village as part of the party’s tour of the nation.

The Mayor said: “I appeal to you the people of North Bank particularly people of Ndungu Kebbeh to come out in your numbers and vote for United Democratic Party.

“Because whether you vote for United Democratic Party, the party will only go forward and if you do not we will still go forward. So United Democratic Party will win so come out and vote [for UDP].”

Mayor Lowe also called on citizens who say UDP is a Mandinka party to stop peddling such claims as they are untrue.

Kitabu Fatty has said his PDP did not reach out to NPP instead it was the NPP that invited them for a partnership.

A screenshot of a WhatsApp conversation between Kitabu and NPP’s Dr Demba Sabally emerged online on Tuesday suggesting Kitabu reached out to NPP for a political partnership.

Kitabu told The Fatu Network his PDP did not reach out to National People’s Party.

He said: “We didn’t reach out to them. They called us for partnership, we had a meeting, series of meeting but after thorough consultation with my people we realised it’s not necessary for us to partner with them.”

He added in video message: “I am surprised. I think when someone is called a Dr, he should be able to keep secrets. But I will not blame you since during politics people tend to forget about ethics. And it think it’s out of desperation following our Buffer Zone meeting. But I had a meeting with many parties. A lot of parties invited me and I sat with them and talked with them. But I realised it’s Essa Faal that I can work with. With his principles, I believe he can take charge of Gambia’s affairs.”

Dr Sabally reacts

NPP’s Dr Demba Sabally clarified that he never shared any conversation with Kitabu online, instead he showed his conversation with Kitabu to an NPP member Yankuba Dampha only. He said Dampha was insisted people around the president were blocking people from meeting the president.

Dr Sabally said: “I responded to Yankuba, I told him I spoke with Kitabu and what Kitabu wanted was to partner with NPP and for us, as a principle, we cannot partner with somebody who is not a registered political party.

“And secondly if we partner with all these political parties that have very small footprint, it’s just going to create a lot of obligations on the president after the election. That if Kitabu wants to come and join NPP, we will highly welcome him and definitely take him to the president. He said ‘no…’ and I said ‘let me show you my conversation with Kitabu’.

“So I sent him the conversation and I also responded Kitabu by saying ‘I will update the principal and once he is around from URR I will get back to you’. So I was trying to prove to Yankuba. But Kitabu did not want to join NPP, Kitabu wanted his PDP to partner with NPP. I sent this to Yankuba Dampha as an individual. I will never post such on the social media.”

Comium has issued a statement expressing surprise at PURA’s decision to suspend the company despite ‘dues settlement’ and ‘promising negotiations’.

Information Minister Ebrima Sillah on Monday suspended Comium after advice from PURA regarding the company’s inability to settle outstanding license and spectrum fees.

A statement by the company on Wednesday said: “Comium who recently acquired a new international investor with whom it signed a management agreement in the objective of resolving all the current financial and network issues including bringing 4G and 5G to Gambia at a later stage, was shocked by PURA’s decision to suspend the network on October 5, 2021.

“This surprising news came after thorough positive meetings that were held between Comium new management and PURA, in which Comium and its new international investor showed a sign of goodwill by paying the amount of 14,000,000 Dalasi of its gross dues, and also expressed its determination to pay out the remaining amount, without even relating this payment to its due receivable of 21,000,000 Dalasi from Gamtel.

“Despite the dues from Gamtel , Comium new management and its international investor are still committing to proceed immediately in settling the remaining, and they shall provide within one month period, a full-year of network upgrade plan; provided that PURA stops immediately the network suspension and will not tie them to any conditions that would jeopardize the kickoff of the new era of telecommunication in the company and the country.

“Noting that the new move of Comium will not only improve the economic situation in Gambia with the new investment but will also create additional job openings increasing the existing Comium workforce by at least 30%, while safeguarding the main source of living of the current 125 employed families in the company.”

By Amara Thoronka

President Julius Maada Bio has celebrated this year’s World Teachers’ Day at the presidential national best teacher award ceremony, organized on Tuesday 5th October 2021 by the country’s Teaching Service Commission.

In his keynote address the President said:

“If a bare-footed five-year-old village boy, who stared in awe and with great curiosity on his first day at school, today holds degrees from institutions of higher learning, can speak English and French, use technology, think critically, interact freely with world leaders, and is today President of this Republic of Sierra Leone, it is all because of the sacrifice, care, nurture, and patience of teachers.”

He added that as a President, he has prioritised investing in people because it is the only enduring, inclusive, and sustainable pathway to developing the country, noting that central to that investment was the free quality education that was universally and equally accessible to all.

“Therefore, on this day set aside as World Teachers’ Day, it is all appropriate to celebrate, to honour, and to thank every teacher for all they have done. Through war and through pestilence, teachers have been at the very heart of our nation’s resilience and recovery. Even during the COVID-19 pandemic, they kept schools open, imparted knowledge with characteristic selflessness, patiently prepared students for transitional examinations, and continued to mould and open minds as they are wont,” he noted.

President Bio said it is important to honour those teachers who might have been mocked, ridiculed, and under-appreciated for choosing a profession that did not bestow instant monetary wealth upon them.

“Today is about recognising communicators, influencers, opinion makers, caregivers; people who serve with empathy; who mould character, instill discipline and respect; who empower; who give passions, imaginations, hopes, and dreams an opportunity to blossom,” he noted, adding that the day was also about thanking those who when children had doubts, made mistakes, were unsure and frustrated, would patiently stand by and assure them that the best was always in them.

Giving an overview of the selection process that led to the winners of the Presidential National Teachers Awards, the Chief Executive Officer for Teach For Salone, Madam Josephine Saidu, said she was honoured and delighted to have been part of the selection process, saying that many stakeholders like members of Council of Principals, Members of Parliament, the Sierra Leone Association of Journalists, the Inter-religious Council and chiefdom stakeholders were actively involved in the selection process which she described as “very transparent and credible.”

The World Bank Country Manager, Abdu Muwonge, expressed gratitude and congratulated the government for what he called the huge accomplishments in the education sector, adding that the achievement of the country in transforming education was being echoed everywhere around the world.

“It is important to note that as we gather here today to honour teachers, parents too have a role to play to keep the children in school. Teachers have played a critical role in this country, he stated.

The World Bank Country boss affirmed that the bank and other partners would continue to work together to improve the condition of service for the teachers, and make the learning environment more comfortable for all actors.

The Minister of Basic and Senior Secondary School Education, Dr Moinina David Sengeh, told the gathering that the award ceremony was a fulfillment of a manifesto promise in 2018 by President Julius Maada Bio, when he was a presidential aspirant.

Dr Sengeh added that since the SLPP came to power in 2018, a lot of transformation has happened in the education sector, of which he said there had been more than a 30% increase in enrolment and about 22% annual budget allocation to strengthen education in the country.

“Our work and the progress have attracted more funding. Very recently the Global Education Summit in London, Sierra Leone is now eligible for a $40 million grant for the education sector. We have trained more teachers, recruited more teachers and we have empowered Inspectors of Schools to monitor teachers’ performance. We have done a lot, and more is to be done,” he assured.

World Teachers’ Day, also known as International Teachers Day, is an international day held annually on 5 October. It was established in 1994 and commemorates the signing of the 1966 UNESCO/ILO Recommendation concerning the Status of Teachers, a standard-setting instrument that addresses the status and situations of teachers around the world.

A professor at De Montfort University Leicester (DMU) has announced the launch of a $1.3 million project to help bring better education, job creation, entrepreneurship and, ultimately, sustained economic growth to The Gambia

Momodou Sallah, Professor of Teaching and Learning and the Director of the Centre for Academic Innovation at DMU, has formed a partnership with the Gambian Government, which is promoting the importance of entrepreneurship, the enhancement of scientific research and technology, and the developing of skills among Gambian youth.

DMU will introduce entrepreneurship and employability programmes as well as an ‘innovation hub’ and a placement and internship unit.

DMU will also act as a consultancy service for the provision of lectures and making sure courses meet the highest standards.

The work will be with the Emerging Centre of Excellence on Science, Engineering and Technology for Entrepreneurship (ECESETE) under the auspices of The Gambia’s Ministry of Higher Education, Science, Research and Technology.

Youth unemployment is a major concern for The Gambia and it has contributed to the large-scale migration of Gambians to other African nations and continents to find work.

DMU has extensive experience and an excellent reputation for working with industry and cultivating entrepreneurs.

So the university will bring those skills to ECESETE via an Incubation and Innovation Hub, to commercialise products which can then be developed and taken to market.

DMU will aim to make young people more employable in The Gambia by training them as the entrepreneurs of the future.

Professor Sallah said the development was both exciting and poignant time for him as he was born and raised in The Gambia and is aware of the help his home nation needs to boost the prospects of young people.

He said: “I grew up in The Gambia and I had to experience the difficulties involved in education and making progress.

“I am a professor now and to be able to use my position and my privilege and my knowledge to build something better in The Gambia is brilliant. That is what motivates me.

“I see myself as a scholar-activist. I cannot sit in an ivory tower and pontificate about the situations I have come from. I need to do something about it

“We will see 60 engineers come through these courses each year and each of them will be encouraged to use science, engineering and technology for social good and help develop the economy. Imagine the impact that that would have, not just for The Gambia but for the rest of Africa.”

The role of DMU will be to act as a consultancy service for the provision of lectures, guidance on quality assurance, entrepreneurship, and employability programs at ECESETE. There will also be a ‘disruptive lab’ that will pick apart current business methods and rebuild them into something better.

“If we are going to change things, we need to disrupt the methods we are using, break them down completely and see what we can do better”, Professor Sallah explained. “It can be a very uncomfortable process but it changes the mindset of everybody and helps us focus on how to make improvements.

“Education has to be responsive to the environment it is in if we are to progress. DMU has laid out in its strategic plan for the next few years that we are to be an empowering university. This is exactly what DMU is doing here in The Gambia with this partnership. We are empowering people to make a difference in their country.”

Credit:DMU

UDP leader Ousainou Darboe on Tuesday warned against complacency on the part of his supporters regarding the December presidential election.

UDP held a meeting in Juffureh on Tuesday as part of the party’s nationwide tour.

And leader Darboe while addressing party faithful said: “We’re impressed with what we have seen in Juffureh but we must not be complacent and believe that we have won.

“Let’s take it that those we are running against are ahead of us. And we will run after them until we get to them and move past them. And we can do that before the 4th of December.”

UDP’s tour continues on Wednesday.

The Gambia’s first ever export to the English Premier League Modou Secka Barrow arrived at the Scorpions camp in El Jadida at about 3pm local time, after more than 24 hours of travelling.

The Joenbok Hyundai star is making his comeback in a year having missed the March and June windows due to family and personal commitments.

He would’ve missed the September friendlies as well had the camp gone ahead having been granted permission to engineer a move away from South Korea but the former Swansea and Leeds star stayed put.

The 28-year-old took part in the Scorpions second training session of the day which was a recovery session involving some light exercises. After the drill exercise led by fitness coaches, Tom Saintfiet put his players throughout their paces with 11 aside consisting of two sets of teams.

UDP leader Ousainou Darboe is currently in Bakalarr Madina in Nuimi to ‘greet’ the marabout and ask for his prayers.

Mr Darboe briefly addressed a crowd that where he vowed to construct Bakalarr’s road once he gets elected in December.

Mr Darboe said, as broadcast live by UDP TV and Media: “I want to let everyone know that on the 5th of December when it’s announced that Ousainou Darboe is the winner, the construction of this road will begin the next Monday.

“There is no need for the people of Bakalarr to say they need a road. Anyone who is here knows the state of this road.

“When I am sworn in, the person who will be the minister of finance and works will begin work.”

Independent presidential hopeful Essa Faal has insisted Gambians will take back their country come December 4.

Mr Faal made this statement during his huge rally held at Buffer Zone over the weekend.

He said: “The important thing for us is come December 4, we take back our country, do a turnaround and take the government from people whom you know are incompetent, do not have the knowledge, do not have the power and put the government in the hands of those who have the knowledge, the power and can take this country and build roads, give jobs to the youths, introduce medical insurance and buying ambulances and medical equipment instead of pickup trucks for campaign.”

Mr Faal campaign for president has only entered its sixth week but observers say the former TRRC lead counsel is becoming more and more popular among the voters.

Two hundred and fifty Gambian army officers have left the country for Turkey for training ahead of a UN mission deployment.

The military in a statement Tuesday said the troops on last Friday had a pep-talk with defence minister Sheikh Omar Faye and army chief Yakuba Drammeh.

On Sunday, the soldiers flew out to Turkey in a Turkish military aircraft. They will be in Turkey till December.

“This training arrangement is in fulfilment of a promise made by the Turkish government to train 500 GAF personnel in Turkey. The training package will fulfil part of a series of requirements amongst others that the proposed Gambian Contingent QRF II and QRF III have been scheduled to undergo prior to deployment,” the military said.

The training will prepare the troops for deployment as a Quick Reaction Force (QRF) to a UN mission, the military added.

The Scorpions have held its first training session in El Jadida, Morocco, as part of its training camp in the North African country. The team trained at 10am local time, 9am in Banjul. The one-hour training session is the first of two sessions planned for today.

Amongst the players that took part in today’s first session were the latest newcomer Saidy Janko and the returning trio of Sheriff Sinyan, Ibou Touray and Ebou Adams.

23 of the 26 invited players are already in camp and were all part of today’s session. The initial training was mainly some recovery sessions and drills. Ablie Jallow, Dembo Darboe and Modou Barrow will arrive today and take part in Wednesday’s exercise ahead of Thursday’s first match with Morocco’s local base national team who themselves are preparing for the FIFA Arab World Cup in Qatar later this year.

This camp is part of The Gambia’s technical preparations ahead of its maiden African Cup of Nations match in Cameroon early next year. The Scorpions will also play against Sierra Leone and South Sudan. Gambia, Leone Stars and the Bright Stars are all based at the same Pullman Hotel.

Baboucarr Camara

UDP leader Ousainou Darboe warned on Tuesday politicians are ‘opponents and not enemies’.

Mr Darboe began his tour of the nation on Monday to meet citizens and talk to them about his five-point agenda.

He shared a five-second video on Twitter on Tuesday where he is seen waving gesturing at a group of people standing in the veranda of an NPP office.

And Mr Darboe insisted: “We are opponents and not enemies, we are one people from the same branches of this nation and politics should never be a divider. I waved and cheered at our compatriots at their NPP bureau in Barra.”

The National Human Rights Commission is investigating claims officers of the Drug Law Enforcement Agency assaulted a 24-year-old citizen.

Sara Jawla spent two days in hospital after sustaining injuries during his arrest by officers of DLEAG in Brikamaba last month. Jawla was allegedly dragged by a moving vehicle leaving him injured on his buttocks and heels.

DLEAG spokesman Ousman Saidyba confirmed to The Fatu Network the NHRC has now started investigating the matter.

A statement he shared with The Fatu Network said: “Concerning the alleged assault and abuse incident at Brikamaba, what we gathered at preliminary stages from the operatives is that they conducted an operation in a hotspot area in Brikamaba – Darslameh Junction. This area is a popular joint used to openly abuse and sell drugs.

“After several complaints from residents and the public, the officers on that faithful day earlier arrested one Musa Jawla with five (5) parcels and two (2) wraps of suspected cannabis. As they proceeded, they encountered a person later identified as Sara Jawla alias legal. He was carrying a multi-colored bag on his back. He tried to run away but was apprehended by the operatives.

“Thereafter, a search was conducted on him and they found eighty-eight (88) wraps of suspected Cannabis Sativa. The officers then decided to take him into custody. As they try to get him on board the vehicle, Sara faced the boys gathered there and said that they should not stand by looking while the officers take him into custody. The officers said that at this point, a push and pull ensued and they faced serious resistance and obstruction. They were pelted with stones from different directions. The vehicle that they used for the said operation even sustained damages. Musa Jawla who was earlier arrested with five (5) parcels and two (2) wraps of suspected Cannabis escaped from lawful custody during the commotion. He is one person who has two pending case with the agency. One case is currently ongoing in court while he is awaiting trial for the other case.

“Sara Jawla was however taken into custody. The officers said that they could not detain him at Brikamaba because the mob chased them up to the station pelting them with stones. He was later taken to Bansang Hospital where he was admitted for two days. When he was released on the third day, the officers opened bail for him and once he was able to fulfill the bail conditions, he was granted bail.

“The National Human Rights Council is presently investigating the matter and as such, we may not want to comment further on this issue until they are done with their investigations. I Am sure that once they are done with their probe, they will share their findings with all concerned parties for further action.”