The international community must stay focused on achieving justice and peace for the people of Darfur, the outgoing Prosecutor at the International Criminal Court (ICC) told the Security Council on Wednesday.

In her final briefing to ambassadors, Fatou Bensouda underlined that the Court is the only institution that promised hope to victims of the brutal conflict in the Sudanese province.

“When this Council referred the Darfur situation to the ICC in March 2005, it brought hope to victims of atrocity crimes in Darfur by sending a clear message that justice was not only important in its own right but also with a multiplier effect in achieving sustainable peace in Darfur”, she said.

The ICC investigations center around allegations of genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity, committed during the fighting which began two years earlier between Government forces, backed by allied militia known as Janjaweed, and Darfur rebel movements.

Five arrest warrants were issued, including against President Omar Al-Bashir who was deposed in 2019 after 30 years in power.

Alleged former Janjaweed commander Ali Muhammad Ali Abd-Al-Rahman, also known as “Ali Kushayb” voluntarily surrendered himself to the ICC in June 2020 and his confirmation of charges was held last month.

Sudan has been moving along a path of political and economic transition, and last October the authorities and two Darfur armed groups signed a landmark peace agreement.

Ms. Bensouda recently led the ICC’s first mission to the country, and reported that the Court and the Government “have turned a new page in their relationship”.

Citing a new era of dialogue and cooperation, she added that investigators are preparing to travel to Darfur soon.

While the visit has rekindled hope, enthusiasm could easily be dampened “through our inaction or half-hearted, ineffective action,” she warned.

“The clear and consistent message I received from Darfur victims in El Fasher, Nyala and Zalingei is that the four outstanding warrants must be executed and that suspects must be handed over to the ICC”, she said, a message which she also stressed to officials during her visit.

The Prosecutor placed particular emphasis on the urgent need to transfer Ahmad Harun, a former Minister of State, to the Court.

“Almost all the suspects are in the custody of the Government of Sudan and there is no legal impediment to their surrender to ICC,” she said.

“In particular, credible reports and other information, indicate that Mr. Harun has expressed his wish to be transferred to the ICC. I appeal to this Council to prevail upon Sudan to immediately honor Mr. Harun’s wish and facilitate his transfer to the ICC without delay.”

Ms. Bensouda saluted the people of Darfur for their courage, perseverance, and unrelenting belief in the course of justice, and their support for the ICC, stating it was the only institution that promised hope to them, and other victims.

In concluding, she highlighted the Court’s importance to the international community.

“I often state that the creation of the ICC must surely be one of humanity’s proudest moments,” she said.

“It is because it represents an awakening rooted in great human suffering throughout the ages, culminating in the recognition that lawless wars and conflict must no longer receive a pass to cause human carnage.” (CGTN Africa With input from the UN News)

Bubacarr Keita’s attorney vowed on Thursday he would press a criminal case against any individual who tried to subvert the course of justice.

During Thursday’s two-hour session, respected lawyer Lamin Camara took a moment to complain that the first prosecution witness who is the accused person’s former wife was talking to her mother as the latter testified in the trial.

Camara said: “My Lord, can I raised something? Something serious is going on in the court. PW1 is talking to the mother from where we are and is prompting the mother. And this was the reason why I said the seat should be far away. And I’m not comfortable with that.

“This is not persecution. We are not here to persecute Mr Keita, we are here to prosecute Mr Keita with a view to finding the truth of what happened. We should be fair to him and we should be fair with the [alleged] victim. But we shouldn’t go the extra mile to try to prove the case by prompting the witness. That is unacceptable. And if I see anything like that again, I will be moving this court to a contempt hearing, a criminal case against any individual that tries to subvert the course of justice.”

The lawyer’s comments were met by a clap from a lady in the crowd but the judge quickly reacted that no one should clap in court.

“Madam you’re not supposed to be holding onto somebody, keep to yourself,” the judge then snapped at another lady who had placed her head on the shoulder of a man sitting by her.

The judge then said after asking the lady to move away from her mother: “I did not notice it, Allah knows that’s the truth. If I had noticed it, it could have been different. But since senior defence counsel has brought it to the notice of the court. And he has informed the court he would take the step of charging any such person for any further occurrence for contempt.

“If that happens, we will have no option than to try the person there and then. If anybody disrupts my court and I see you, I will just ask you out and you will not enter the courtroom again and that is if I’m calm. But otherwise I will try you myself for contempt immediately and if you are tried for contempt it means you may be taken to jail if you’re so convicted and sentenced.”

Binta Samura who was assisting the prosecuting lawyer Alasan Jobe then stood and said: “The state is deeply sorry and this is to apologise on behalf of PW2. But this is an issue that has been happening since yesterday. It’s not only on our side of our witnesses but you have other people that come to court and be making gestures.

“In fact I took it upon myself that today, if there is any of that sort it should be addressed. This is a court of law. As he rightly mentioned, nobody is here to persecute the accused person but instead prosecution should be done for the interest of justice.

“However, you can’t have counsel addressing and submitting and you have people talking or making gestures. I believe it’s a court of law and we should respect that. You can either listen or you avail us the door. But we apologise.”

And then the judge reacted: “Apology well noted. We want to say that this is the state’s case proceeding and gestures or occurrences might have been from the part of the state because it the witness of the state who has just been cautioned and has been moved from her seat and we accept the apology. But nonetheless any person who is found wanting for any breach we will try you for contempt.”

The mother of the complainant in the rape trial of Bubacarr Keita told the high court in Bundung on Thursday Keita said he wasn’t going to listen to the discussion and left during a family showdown in Lamin.

The businesswoman told Judge Momodou SM Jallow of a meeting she said took place in Lamin: “When we arrived, Awa Nding called him (Bubacarr) and told him [ex-wife] called her and told her this and that. That the reason she did not come to his house is that his mother was there and she didn’t want the issue revealed. Awa Nding told him ‘Bubacarr, [ex-wife] told me [victim] is pregnant, she said it’s you who impregnated her’.

“Bubacarr then came started shouting saying it’s not him and saying all sorts of things. I then told Awa Nding Bubacarr was throwing tantrums; that I was an elder and I went there just to make sure the issue doesn’t come out.

“Bubacarr then stood and said he would not listen to the discussion, since the talk was false talk, that we were accusing him. He then stood and said he would not ignore the issue and would go to police if we did not. He said he would go to police; [that] he would go to Observer (newspaper) and [that] he go to GRTS. His sister told him to sit down but he said he would not sit down and that he was going. He then left us there and went out and left.”

The businesswoman testified in the trial for the fourth and final time detailing how her older daughter told her she could not believe her sister was pregnant and said she would take her to the hospital.

“Yes, she ended up taking her,” the witness replied when prosecuting lawyer Alasan Jobe asked her if she did. The witness also said her older daughter called her and told her what she told her is true – that the younger daughter was checked and that she was indeed pregnant.

Keita’s lawyer had at the start of the session expressed concern over the ‘sitting plan’ of the witness insisting the witness should sit and face the judge. She did after the judge’s intervention.

According to the witness, her general state of mind after her daughter told her sister’s husband impregnated her was one of shame.

“At that time, I was gripped by shame,” she testified.

“Why were you ashamed?” prosecuting lawyer Alasan Jobe curiously asked.

“Because he was her elder sister’s husband and it would be a big shame if people hear about it,” the witness said.

According to the witness, she told her older daughter “we have to see what to do because this was going to be a shame if people learnt it”.

She added: “I then told [older daughter] we have to help her because she is a child. [Older daughter] said she also thought of it but when she told the doctor the doctor said it was late, the pregnancy was at an advanced stage.” When the prosecuting lawyer asked her to say what exactly she wanted to do, she said: “Just like I said, my plan was for us to sit and discuss and see what do you.”

“Tell us exactly what you wanted to do?” the lawyer asked again.

“Since the pregnancy had gone far, we wanted to sit and discuss, us and Bubacarr,” the witness replied.

“She hasn’t answered the question,” the prosecuting lawyer reacted, and added: “You said that you were very ashamed of this whole thing and you wanted to do something about it. What is that something you wanted to do about it?”

In replying, the witness said: “Since I got shame from the issue and the pregnancy was already out, I wanted us to sit and discuss.”

The judge, intervening, said: “What is ‘dumuna gayna? Interpret for her, what is that?”

The witness replied, through an interpreter: “It cannot come out because the pregnancy was advanced.”

“Tell her, so what was she intending to do if it had not come out?” the judge told the interpreter.

Keita’s lawyer then interjected: “I think we have a problem also with the way with interpret. Not ‘birr b gayna’ but ‘birr b fenyutonn’. And the other thing is that I think we can just proceed. At some point it looks like to me my learned friend is cross-examining the witness. Let’s take what the witness said.”

But Alasan Jobe responded: “I’m directing her.”

“What you want her to say, she doesn’t want to say that. You’re not cross-examining her,” Keita’s lawyer Camara countered.

The judge then said, pointing to the interpreter: “Tell the lady she had indicated she had intentions if at all the pregnancy was not out in the open. What were your intentions if otherwise?”

“What I wanted to do was to help my daughter and protect Bubacarr Keita,” the witness responded.

The witness testified elsewhere she had told her older daughter not to tell anyone about her younger daughter’s pregnancy but her older daughter told her she would tell Keita’s elder sister Awa Nding.

She said: “She told me she will call Awa Nding and inform her. I told her the reason I didn’t want you to tell Awa Nding is that I didn’t want many people to know about it, that we should keep it under the rugs and discuss with Bubacarr Keita if he closes. She then told me she too doesn’t want people to know it because if people hear that her husband impregnated my sister she would feel ashamed as they would look at her in that light.

“She told me the reason why she wanted to tell Awa Nding is that Awa Nding is reasonable and could advise her if she told her. She then told me not to be afraid, that the pregnancy will not be revealed, that she made her plan already.

“She said she would do something, [complainant] will go to school until she gives birth and she would say she is the one who gave birth. That she would be taking clothes and attaching them to her stomach. She told me not be afraid if she gives birth she would do it like that and if she spends two weeks at home, she can return to school.

“I then told her it was okay, she could tell Awa Nding. She called Awa Nding and told her. Awa Nding told her she should not say anything to Bubacarr, that she would call Bubacarr for him to go and answer to her at her house.

“When Bubacarr closed, she called me and said he had closed and [older daughter and wife of Keita at the time] was aiming veiled digs at him. I then told her to be patient, that I would come there in the morning. He told me what she is saying we could kill each other if we continue to live together. I then told him I would then have to try and come over though it was late. He then told me he was coming to pick me.”

By AFP

ECOWAS commission President Jean-Claude Kassi Brou said Wednesday the 15-nation West African bloc was “reassured” that Mali’s leaders intend to restore civilian rule in the Sahel state.

Brou travelled to Mali as part of a delegation from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), sent after Colonel Assimi Goita deposed the country’s civilian leaders on May 24.

Goita — who had already led a coup last August — was sworn in as Mali’s transitional president on Tuesday.

As well as appointing a civilian prime minister, the colonel promised to stage elections in February next year.

“On the key points, we were reassured by the transitional president and prime minister,” Brou told reporters in the capital Bamako.

May’s coup sparked diplomatic uproar, marking Mali’s second putsch in nine months.

President Adama Barrow appointed Oreme Joiner as the chairperson of the board of Social Security and Housing Finance Corporation.

In a statement on Thursday, State House said the appointment took place recently and it comes alongside the appointment of two others.

The presidency said: “In exercise of the powers vested in him under section 175(2) of the 1997 Constitution, His Excellency Adama Barrow, President of the Republic of The Gambia, recently made several high profile appointments.

“Mr Oremi Joiner has been appointed as the Chairperson of the Board of the Social Security and Housing Finance Corporation, while Mr Bai Ibrahim Cham, Director General of GAMWORKS, was appointed as Chairperson of the National Roads Authority – NRA.

“The President has also appointed Ms Fatou Jaw Manneh as Honorary Adviser on Strategic Communications, Development and Emerging Social Issues. All the appointments are with immediate effect.”

The president had previously appointment Mr Joiner as deputy chairman of the Independent Electoral Commission but quickly walked it back after it emerged the former banker was a member of the National People’s Party.

Matthew Langhenry from the United States government’s Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) visited Banjul between May 24 and June 5 to conduct consultations with the Gambian government, private-sector, international partners, and civil society as part of MCC’s relaunch of the development of a threshold program with The Gambia.

Mr. Langhenry’s visit was a precursor to MCC Board of Director approval of the proposed program, which will support The Gambia’s efforts to improve generation and delivery of electricity as a key component of economic growth, the US Embassy Banjul said in a news release on Wednesday.

The release added: “On Thursday, June 3, 2021, Mr. Langhenry and U.S. Ambassador Carl Paschall were warmly welcomed by Vice President Isatou Touray on behalf of President Adama Barrow. The Vice President expressed the Gambian government’s strong support for the partnership with MCC, and its intent to expedite completion of the agreement and launch of the threshold program.

“The MCC’s efforts will focus on improving reliable access to electricity, the lack thereof is a binding constraint to Gambian government objectives to spur economic growth and reduce poverty. Greater reliability of the electricity supply will lower economic costs in the form of lost productivity, equipment damage, spoilage of foodstuffs, and the cost for procurement and operation of backup generators by both the public and private sectors. The project aims to support NAWEC’s objectives to improve fiscal and operational management, including structural and government policy reforms, to ensure that the sector will be better positioned to address both near-term challenges and plan for future investments, such as connections to regional power producers and renewable energy sources such as solar, wind, and hydropower.

“The United States government and the government of The Gambia aim to finalize the program agreement and begin activities later in 2021.  Mr. Langhenry, who is presently completing a 4-1/2-year MCC assignment in Sierra Leone, is slated to assume the duties of full-time Resident MCC Threshold Director at the U.S. Embassy in Banjul in the coming months.”

Top imam Chebo Cham has responded to those who say imams should stay away from state affairs, saying they too are citizens.

In a sermon this past Friday, the imam countered: “You say imams should not interfere in state matters. You’re not speaking the truth. Are we not part of the country? Are we not citizens? Are we not the people who read the Quran and the prophet’s sunnah? Are we not the people who studied how Omar ruled? And you say we should not talk? We’re deceiving each other.

““You can have your seat (presidency), we will never seek it. But you should involve scholars on how to govern the country. They are the people who can tell you how God wants it to be done.”

GMC leader Mai Ahmad Fatty has offered his view of attestation as the issue continues to cause controversy across the country.

In a compelling write-up, Mr Fatty argued: “There are specific exclusive rights reserved for their exercise by a citizen. One such right is the right to vote at public elections to choose national leaders at all levels. The right is specific and exclusive because its exercise is predicated on citizenship and proof thereof. To enjoy this right, one must square him/herself within the prescriptions demarcated by law – the Constitution. Obtaining a voter’s card is presumptive of citizenship leading to the exercise of an exclusive right, although the card per se is not evidence of citizenship. It is an incident of citizenship. One is so entitled only upon satisfactory production of citizenship foundation documents such as a birth certificate, National ID card, etc.

“The Elections Act provides for an Attestation to replace all of these documents of nationality where none could be produced; and it did so without adequate safeguards against potential abuse. The emerging controversy that needs to be resolved is that: does a chief/alkalo supported by five unidentified, indescribable elders ipso facto possess sufficient authority in law, to confer Gambian citizenship or prove thereof? Should a mere unsworn paper Attestation serve as evidence of nationality for purposes of acquiring and exercising “the” most important exclusive citizenship right? To my mind, the answer is in the negative. The absence of punitive penal sanctions against the Attestors is troublesome.

“Having further thoroughly accorded the matter due considerations, I am of the considered view that Attestation is in fact unconstitutional and therefore ultra vires. It is a subordinate invention that was permitted to survive by practice. Wrong does not become right by virtue of long practice or acceptance. Wrong is wrong even if widely accepted or tolerated. An unlawful act does not attain legality by virtue of its durability or acceptance. Its wide use in the past or acceptance cannot grant it a superior status of propriety.

“Attestation seeks to perform a dual function: as document of national identification for voter registration and evidence of nationality. It was wrong ab initio and remain so regardless of its undeserved acceptability and perverse utility. It should be litigated. I admit that this medium is not appropriate for me to exhaust the contention but we shall consult further to assert a legal pathway at the appropriate forum, if required.”

Prosecuting lawyers in the rape trial of Bubacarr Keita on Wednesday ditched their plan to call more witnesses.

The high-interest trial resumed on Wednesday after the absence of the judge last week dealt a blow to the trial proceeding.

But it returned on Wednesday where the complainant’s mother who is the second witness in the case testified that her daughter told her it was Bubacarr Keita who impregnated her.

The prosecution had initially lined five witnesses to testify in the trial but had filed a notice of additional summary to enable them invite more witnesses.

On Wednesday, they dropped the idea by asking the judge to strike out the request.

“You have given us that they are Pa Modou Johm and Fatoumatta Mbye dated 20th of April, having being rescinded as struck out,” the judge while agreeing said.

During the session on Wednesday, Keita smiled twice as the complainant’s mother gave evidence. His first smile was when the mother testified her daughter told her Keita threatened to do a ‘terrible’ thing to her if she ever spoke to her sister who the businessman was married to about him trying to sleep with her. He also smiled when the mother testified that her daughter said she would run out of the house when Keita ask her to come to his room.

President Adama Barrow has congratulated veteran journalist Pap Saine on bagging the 2021 Africa’s Most Respected Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) award in the media-print category by The African Industry CEO Awards.

Mr Saine who is the co-founder of The Point newspaper landed the top award last week.

In a statement posted to his official Facebook page, the president said: “I have the pleasure to extend heartfelt congratulations to Mr. Pap Saine on his recent remarkable achievement as winner of the prestigious Africa’s Most Respected CEOs Award.

“We are very proud of this career defining moment for Mr. Saine as it solidifies his exemplary professionalism and dedication towards his work and importantly upholding the principles of good #journalism over the years.

“Mr. Saine has once again earned the respect and honour the profession demands.”

The mother of the rape complainant in the rape trial of Bubacarr Keita testified on Wednesday her daughter told her she slept with the businessman only once – while testifying elsewhere she told her daughter she would kill her and kill herself if she did not tell her who impregnated her.

The businesswoman returned to the stand on Wednesday to testify in a trial that has attracted national attention.

Keita, 29, is standing trial for allegedly raping his former wife’s 15-year-old sister, with the incident alleged to have taken place in 2019.

The complainant’s mother had testified last week she felt something like a rock in the belly of her daughter when she personally examined her.

And picking up from where she stopped, she said “when I touched the stomach it was like a rock, I touched again and it felt like something breathing”.

She then testified: “I looked and confirmed it’s a pregnancy. I then asked her to get up. When she got up, I told her ‘I told you it’s a pregnancy and you said it’s not and what I touched is a pregnancy as I have passed through it’. I then told her ‘you’re pregnant, which man did you sleep with’. She told me, ‘no man had penetrated me’. I told him ‘of course yes, because getting pregnant doesn’t come from drinking from a jar, a man must penetrate you to be pregnant’.

“I kept asking her and she kept crying and I took a stick laying beside me. I continued asking her who she slept with but she kept crying and wasn’t looking at me. I think took the stick and said I would beat her if she didn’t tell me. She was still bent and crying. I then slapped her and said to her ‘if you don’t tell me, I will kill you and kill myself’.”

The woman testified that she found the stick from her house when asked by prosecuting lawyer Alasan Jobe about its origin.

“It was in my house. It’s a cooking  spoon. It was laying on my dressing table,” she testified.

And continuing, the woman said: “When I slapped her was when she told me ‘mom, let me now tell you’. She told me, ‘It’s Bubacarr who impregnated me’. I asked her which Bubacarr because there are many Bubacarrs. She told me Bubacarr Keita. I asked her which Bubacarr Keita, she said ‘Bubacarr Keita, [elder sister’s] husband’. I told her not to play with me and tell me who was responsible for her pregnancy.”

Keita’s lawyer protested saying the woman’s last statement about her daughter telling her it’s Bubacarr Keita, her elder sister’s husband is “clearly hearsay and it’s not admissible under Section 19 [of Evidence Act]”.

“If and only if Section 19, my learned friend and the witness is coming from under 19(b) under the exception just the fact that the statement is made, not the veracity of the statement, then it is admissible. But a word a caution my lord: this is a rape case,” Lamin Camara protested.

The judge reacted that the objection would only be viewed as a “pointer on the foregoing”. The prosecuting lawyer then reacted that the witness’s statement was ‘direct evidence’.

“My Lord in fact it is direct evidence. It is evidence that she perceived with her senses. She is in no way saying it’s Bubacarr who impregnated her or not. She is relaying direct evidence of what she heard from her daughter,” Jobe said.

But Camara countered: “My Lord I raised the option in my objection to save time. Because I could have gone beyond what I have just said. I’m not preempting what he is saying. Even if it comes under direct evidence, it’s not still admissible. Direct evidence must be perceived by the senses yes, if it is evidence that was heard must be of the person who heard it. Yes she heard it. That category of evidence is oral evidence. It has to comply with other provisions of the evidence act like Section 19. This evidence cannot be admitted as being the truth of what she said.”

And then Jobe responded: “So she is not saying what she is saying is the truth. So we’re saying the same thing.”

Judge Momodou SM Jallow then overruled the defence lawyer’s objecting. In his ruling, he argued: “ The honourable court would overrule the objection in this case as it holds, agreeing with senior state counsel that indeed the communication between PW2 and the alleged victim could be relied on as direct oral evidence under the circumstances of this case to allow an appeal of this ruling to be heard by the Gambia Court of Appeal if senior defence counsel is so inclined to appeal, that’s all. The court will rely on the statement of PW2 on the foregoing for its veracity.” After his ruling, Keita lawyer said they would like to have a copy of the ruling.

The complainant’s mother in continuing her testimony then said: “When she told me Bubacarr Keita, I told her I cannot believe that, I hope another man had not slept with her. She told me no man had ever slept with her except Bubacarr Keita. I then asked her how she agreed to that. She told me he would try [sleeping with her] like on Sundays when [elder sister] cooks and leaves for her salon and leave her and the kids at the house. She said [elder sister] would ask her to join her at the shop when she finishes washing the dishes and bathing the kids. She said that is when he would try to call her [to join him in his house] but she would go outside and sit there until he leaves.”

The woman said elsewhere after warning she swore to speak the truth: “She said when she (elder sister) leaves her at the house, when this man wants to sleep with her, she would run out of the house and sit outside until he leaves the house. So she is always late going to the salon and her sister would ask her what she was doing at home. She said [elder sister] would sometimes beat her and told her she was late.

“I then told her ‘if that is what was happening to you in the house, that that is what Bubacarr was doing to you in the house, why didn’t you tell [elder sister]?’ She said the reason she didn’t tell [elder sister], Bubacarr told her ‘if you tell [elder sister] I will do to you a terrible thing’. I then told her if she could not tell [elder sister], she could sneak and come and tell me about it.

“I then asked her to tell me how did he manage to sleep with her then and how many times did she sleep with him, she then told me ‘only once did I sleep with him’. I asked her ‘how did he sleep with you?’ She told me ‘[elder sister] had gone to a program I believe and Bubacarr came home. When he came home, he found she was sleeping with the kids in the house. Bubacarr came knocking on the door and she was sleeping. He knocked on the door until he got tired but [complainant] was sleeping and did not open.

“He then sent his brother to scale the fence. Ablie knocked on [complainant’s] window and [complainant] got up. He told her Bubacarr said you should open the door for him. She then went and opened the door for him. When she opened the door, Bubacarr Keita entered and she wanted to go back to her room to sleep but Bubacarr Keita asked her come and sleep in his room instead.”

Keita’s lawyer Camara took to his feet again and argued: “My Lord I hate to interrupt but this has brought us another situation of inadmissible oral evidence and yet it’s direct. My Lord this evidence falls under Section 19(b) of the Evidence Act and there is no exception for the inadmissibility of this kind of evidence. The witness told this court what Bubacarr allegedly told the complainant. My Lord that is not admissible. We object to it.”

The opposing lawyer Jobe when asked if he would admit the objection said: “I will admit in these circumstances. Because that’s what I just wanted to guide her, to just skip all these parts.” The judge then sustained the protest.

The prosecuting then asked the witness to explain what steps she took when she believed her daughter was indeed pregnant.

And the woman testified: “I called [elder sister] and told her on the whole [complainant’s] sickness is due to pregnancy. When I called [elder sister], [she] told me ‘what are you saying?’ She asked me who impregnated her but I told her she should come to the house, that this wasn’t something we could discuss publicly. This was when [she] came and when she came, she found us in my house. When she came, I told her on the whole [complainant’s] collapses and sickness is due to the big devil (pregnancy). I told her [complainant] said Bubacarr Keita is the one who impregnated her. [Elder sister] then asked her and she said ‘yes, he (Keita) impregnated me’.”

Alliance for National Reorientation and Development leader General Lamin Bojang has said it’s not possible for UDP to win the December election.

In an exclusive interview with The Fatu Network, Gen Bojang said: “But UDP when they came to Brufut, the man declared that he has already won. That is not possible. Let’s use the last election. APRC at the time won about 200,000 votes, Mamma Kandeh was around 70,000 and Adama Barrow only 218,000. “The coalition government and UDP are the same people. We have seen people cross-carpeting but these are the same people. It’s that same party that split. The number of people that has moved from APRC to Barrow to UDP is insignificant.”

The ANRD chief also said President Barrow also stands to lose the election as he has squandered a lot of great opportunities.

He said: “That chances [of him winning] are very slim. He cannot [win]. InshaAllah he is going to lose December election. There are a lot huge opportunities he squandered, he missed the point and he was completely misled like Yahya was misled in the latter part of his rule.

“Five years down the line, this is not the leader that we want. We want a proactive, robust, smart, motivated, inspired leader. Gambians are hungry to move.”

Police have issued a statement branding as unlawful party militants and agents interfering with the voter registration process.

Police’s statement read: “It has come to the attention of the office of the Inspector General of Police, that certain individuals, political party agents and militants are interfering with the voter registration process especially on citizenship matters. This practice is unlawful. Consequently, party agents and militants are urged to desist from such practices with immediate effect.

“The laws of The Gambia are very clear about citizenship and there are state institutions responsible for regulation and enforcement of laws on citizenship. Therefore, individuals not mandated by law have no authority to question people’s citizenship or eligibility for voter registration.

“Equally, the electoral laws of The Gambia clearly outline the criteria for registration for voters’ card and as well stipulated the body responsible for overseeing the electoral process. In view of the above, any individual who is not mandated by the laws or the electoral body must not interfere with the process.

“Party agents designated and recognized by the IEC to observe the registration process for accountability purposes are hereby advised to do so in accordance with the laws governing the process.

“Concerns, queries and observations must be channeled through respective Party Heads for redress with the appropriate institutions. They must not be seen in anyway interfering or attempting to interfere with individuals registering or the registration process, as they have no such mandate.

“Similarly, political party leaders are urged to sensitise and encourage their militants to observe law and order at all times especially during the voter registration process, to enable them to operate within the parameters of the law for peaceful and violence free electoral  process. The public, party agents and militants found wanting of violations will be dealt with in accordance with the laws. The cooperation and understanding of the public is highly solicited.”

Gambia For Five Years and Peacebuilding said on Tuesday it will not let anyone to stoke conflict in The Gambia, including President Adama Barrow.

The pro-President Barrow group gave the warning in a meeting on Tuesday.

The group’s secretary general Ebrima Sorie Bah said: “We heard people coming out especially UDP accusing IEC of issuing documents to foreigners. I heard that it happened in North Bank. IEC is keeping mute and not talking. That can anger Gambians. There are revising courts and there can be many litigations that could injure the peace in the country.

“So Gambia For Five Years will not accept things like that and that’s why we said the IEC should come out and speak. No one should acquire a voter’s card illegally. IEC should also ask Rohey Malick Lowe to stop and that what she is doing is illegal. Roehy Malick Lowe held a press briefing saying no one will stop her. That she will continue what she is doing and anyone who doesn’t like it can go to court.

“So for us Gambia For Five Years will make sure IEC goes by the law. So IEC should be alert. We do not want conflict, we will not let anyone to bring fitna (conflict) here. Any party, any leader, anyone. Even President Adama Barrow if he wants to bring fitna here or wants to do something, this group will come out and say it’s not going to happen.”

By CGTN Africa

A South African woman from Gauteng province has given birth to 10 babies, breaking the Guinness World Record held by Malian Halima Cissé who gave birth to nine children in Morocco last month.

Pretoria News reports that Gosiame Thamara Sithole, 37, gave birth to her decuplets – two more than doctors had earlier detected during the medical scans – at a hospital in Pretoria last night, said her husband Teboho Tsotetsi.

He said Sithole, who hails from Tembisa Township in Ekurhuleni, delivered her seven boys and three girls by Caesarean section.

Sithole, who has six-year-old twins, previously said that her pregnancy was natural as she was not on fertility treatment.

Speaking to the Pretoria News last night, Tsotetsi said Sithole gave birth to their bundles of joy 29 weeks into her pregnancy.

“It’s seven boys and three girls. She was seven months and seven days pregnant. I am happy. I am emotional. I can’t talk much. Let’s talk again in the morning please,” Tsotetsi said.

In an interview at their family home in Tembisa last month and the publication of which was delayed at the request of the couple for safety and cultural reasons, Sithole said she was shocked and fascinated by the pregnancy.

She said she had been in a state of disbelief when the doctors told her earlier this year that she was expecting six children (sextuplets) before further scans showed that it was in fact octuplets.

Two others could not be detected initially because they were inside the wrong tube, Sithole said.

French President Emmanuel Macron was slapped in the face on Tuesday by a man in a crowd of onlookers while on a walkabout in southern France, video of the incident showed.

Macron’s security entourage quickly intervened to pull the man to the ground and move Macron away from him. Two people were arrested in connection with the incident, broadcasters BFM TV and RMC radio reported.

The incident took place while Macron was on a visit to the Drome region in south-eastern France, where he met restaurateurs and students to talk about how life is returning to normal after the Covid-19 epidemic.

In video circulating on social media, Macron, dressed in shirt sleeves, could be seen walking towards a crowd of well-wishers who were behind a metal barrier.

The French president reached out his hand to greet one man, in a green T-Shirt, with glasses and a face mask.

The man could be heard shouting out “Down with Macronia” (“A Bas La Macronie”) and then he delivered a slap to Macron’s face.

Two of Macron’s security detail tackled the man in the green T-shirt, while another ushered Macron away. But Macron remained in the vicinity of the crowd for a few more seconds, and appeared to be talking to someone on the other side of the barriers.

The presidential administration said there had been an attempt to strike Macron, but declined further comment. (Reuters)

By Reuters

The Senegalese navy on Sunday intercepted a boat smuggling over 8 tonnes of cannabis resin through the waters off the West African nation’s coast, the armed forces ministry said in a statement.

The vessel, which was flying a Togolese flag, was stopped 140 kilometers (87 miles) from the coastal capital of Dakar with seven crew members on board.

After escorting the boat to a naval base in Dakar, the authorities discovered the 8.37 tonnes of hashish split between 279 bags. The boat was also carrying sacks of plaster, the ministry said on Monday.

It did not provide a street value for the seized drugs.

Earlier this year, authorities in Niger seized 17 tonnes of cannabis resin worth around 31 million euros ($37 million), the largest bust in the country’s history.

According to Interpol, drug kingpins are sending larger shipments in response to COVID-19 travel restrictions and border closures, which have restricted their ability to more frequently move smaller quantities of drugs via individual couriers.

Respected cleric Sheikh Chebo Cham has warned that former President Yahya Jammeh has a large support base and touching that would throw the country into conflict.

In a huge sermon this past Friday, the imam said: “You’re shouting human rights and destroying your country. If conflict erupts here, the West will sit and watch us. And there is only because of one man… [Everyone saying] ‘Jammeh, Jammeh, Jammeh’. Why can’t you observe carefully and do what is best for us? I am not saying government should not take a step in Jammeh’s issue but this is not the right time. Why? His support base is large. If you touch that, you will destabilize the country.

“You should be careful. Leave the issue until things calm. There are things we should be focused on. But if you follow these people who are only interested in the dalasi, they will destabilize our country. Billahi Wallahi if you take Jammeh to court and Jammeh raises his hand and asks who would like to be his lawyer, you will see one of these lawyers go to him and say he will be his lawyer. Because of the dalasi (money).

“We have seen countries whose president committed crimes that the whole world recommended was criminal and they ended up becoming their lawyers. Now they’re coming to us and telling us things. They want to instigate bad blood between us.

“You say imams should not interfere in state matters. You’re not speaking the truth. Are we not part of the country? Are we not citizens? Are we not the people who read the Quran and the prophet’s sunnah? Are we not the people who studied how Omar ruled? And you say we should not talk? We’re deceiving each other.

“You can have your seat (presidency), we will never seek it. But you should involve scholars on how to govern the country. They are the people who can tell you how God wants it to be done. I swear by Allah it’s the interest of the nation that made me say this.”

Fatou Bon Bensouda’s time at the International Criminal Court is set to end next week, nine years after taking the top job.

Bensouda first became ICC prosecutor in June 2012, the first Gambian to have served in the high-level role.

She over the weekend spoke to France 24 on various cases before the ICC including Sudan and Gaza.

But when asked if she is now considering becoming president of The Gambia, she responded laughing: “First of all I believe I deserve a rest. So I’m going to take some time to relax and collect my thoughts.

“But as I always say, until the last day that I leave the ICC, that I leave this office as prosecutor my focus is on that. After that we will see.”