The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) on Wednesday said that nearly 140 migrants had been rescued off Libya’s western coast.

“Nearly 140 persons aboard 2 boats have been intercepted/rescued by Libyan Coast Guard and returned to Tripoli. UNHCR and partner IRC (International Rescue Committee) are providing assistance and medical care to all survivors,” UNHCR tweeted.

It reiterated that Libya is not a safe port for refugees to disembark at.

Thousands of immigrants, mostly Africans, choose to cross the Mediterranean from Libya towards Europe, due to the state of insecurity and chaos in the North African nation following the fall of its leader Muammar Gaddafi in 2011.

Last year, 323 migrants died and 417 others went missing on the Central Mediterranean route, while 11,891 more were rescued and returned to Libya, according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM). (XINHUA)

More than two hundred (200) Senegalese immigrants living illegally in Tenerife, Spain will be repatriated on February 24.

According to Senego on Thursday, the president of the non-governmental organisation Otra-Africa made the revelation.

According to Souleymane Aliou Diallo, the work must be done in coordination with the Senegalese authorities, Senego said.

Massive 210 Senegalese are set to be deported in a flight that will leave Madrid on February 24.

Police on Thursday said Sierra Leonian national Ousman Camara assaulted a lady which triggered his own assault.

Camara was hit and kicked by a cruel mob with the video of the incident sparking outrage online. Camara said in the video it’s UDP supporters who attacked him.

But according to police on Thursday, Camara assaulted Fatou Badjie ‘which resulted to his attack by Dominic Mendy and Abdourahman Sey’.

“Investigations led to the arrest of one Dominic  Mendy and Abdourahman Sey both Gambian nationals.

“Further investigations into the matter revealed that Ousman Camara assaulted a lady in the name of Fatou Badjie which resulted to his attack by Dominic Mendy and Abdourahman Sey.

“Ousman Camara (James), Abdourahman Sey and Dominic Mendy are all charged accordingly and appropriate actions will follow,” police said.

By Lamin Njie

Businessman Alasan Ceesay has been ruled personally responsible for 19.2 million dalasis owed to food import giant EMKAY Stores.

EMKAY Stores dragged Ceesay and his Rahma Gambia Ltd to court last year over a 19.2 million dalasis debt. Ceesay and his company Rahma Gambia Limited took thousands of drums of oil and thousands of bags of USA and Pakistani broken rice from EM KAY Stores worth 21,210,000 dalasis but failed to pay within two weeks of taking delivery of any consignment, a complaint by lawyers for EM KAY Stores said last year.

The lawsuit was based on an agreement that was struck on June 4, 2020 between Ceesay, his Rahma company and EM KAY Stores which saw an advance payment of two million dalasi by Ceesay and his company referred in the agreement as the ‘Traders’.

Lawyers for EMKAY Stories filed their lawsuit against the businessman and his company in August of last year.

And in a December 8, 2020 ruling and judgment, Ceesay was held personally liable for the 19.2 million dalasis debt.

Ceesay’s lawyers on October 15, 2020 filed a motion before the high court asking the court to strike the case out for want of competence – where Ceesay’s name would be removed from the case because he was not a party to the agreement in his personal capacity. They insisted it’s Rahma Gambia Ltd that is a party.

But in a December 8, 2020 ruling and judgment, Justice Zainab Jawara Alami ruled Ceesay personally liable for the massive debt.

“I believe that the directing mind of the company (Rahma Gambia Ltd) is the 1st defendant (Alasan Ceesay) and he is also liable in this matter, the parties are properly before the court and there is no misjoinder,” Alami ruled. She has earlier held the nature and size of Rahma Gambia Ltd and the manner Ceesay transacted on its behalf is a proper case to ‘disregard’ the separate corporate personality legal principle.

In her judgment, Alami said: “Judgment is entered in the sum of D19,210,000 being the price of goods sold and supplied by the plaintiff to the defendants on credit at the request of the 1st defendant (Alasan Ceesay).

“Interest is awarded at the statutory rate of 4% from the date of judgment until date of payment.”

The judge awarded legal cost of D500,000 to be paid to EMKAY Stories.

The Fatu Network has gathered EMKAY Stories has still not been paid back its money nearly two months of the judgment.

By Ousman Jatta

The coronavirus pandemic has wreaked havoc on nearly all sectors of the Gambian economy. Small industries such as the beauty industry continue to be affected.

Sohna Janha tells The Fatu Network the industry has been hit hard by the pandemic, from the closure of non-essential businesses to fear to people’s pockets becoming lighter.

“I have two shops one is at Lamin. I first started work in the hotel industry, after some time I said, I can no more for people that was when I decided to open my own beauty shop,” Sohna sitting in her other shop in Senegambia tells The Fatu Network.

With most businesses struggling as a result of the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, everyone has a story to tell.

‘I open this shop during the COVID period but since then businesses have not been moving for us as expected. We just come and sit for the whole day, sometimes we receive few, at times we go home empty handed,” she says.

Some believe that the pandemic did not come alone, it came with its lessons. Sohna has learnt a few things out of it.

“I think as far as covid-19 is concern their many lessons one could learn, if you used to depend on someone for money, when you no more receive money from that person it will seriously affect you,”  Sohna says.

The nation’s one-time top spy official Momodou Hydara has said killed Daba Marenah told them then-President Yahya Jammeh was accompanied by Mauritanian special forces amid the 2006 Ndure Cham coup.

Ndure Cham, the nation’s army chief, in March 2006 attempted to overthrow Jammeh while he was on a visit to Mauritania.

Testifying before the TRRC on Thursday, Momodou Hydara who is a former deputy director general of the NIA said the director general at the time Daba Marenah told them the president and his entourage returned to the country prepared.

Hydara said: “We later heard that the president is coming back home with the entourage. By then they said the safest place we can all meet is at the counter-terrorism unit because it was based in Bijilo.

“When we went there, we had a brief meeting to strategise issues since the president is coming and then this thing is going on. The president came, Daba came with him and we had a brief meeting at the counter-terrorism unit. We briefed him and he also briefed us that the soldiers will take care of everything.

“In fact in that meeting he made known to us that they were also prepared when they were coming. Because the Mauritanian special forces were onboard but they didn’t disembark.”

The Senegalese military has reportedly sacked three rebel bases in Casamance following an operation since January 26.

According to Senego, relying on RFI, the Senegalese army has for the past ten days been carrying out military security operations against the separatists of Casamance who have been fighting since 1982 for the independence of the southern region of Senegal.

Since the start of operations on January 26, there has been total silence, but according to Senego, RFI on Wednesday reported the army of Senegal stormed three independence bases after several hours of shelling.

The rebels reportedly fled their bases.

The military has commenced two critical fitness exercises for troops, Combat Fitness Test and Basic Fitness Test. The exercises began on Wednesday February 2.

The military said in a statement: “The Defence Headquarters Camp and the 1 Infantry Battalion Yundum Barracks on Wednesday 02 February 2021 commence CFT and BFT respectively.

“CFT is a form of test/examination each individual officer/soldier must undergo annually after crossing his/her Basic Fitness Test (BFT).

“This annual mandatory test is conducted in accordance with the Chief of Defence Staff’s Training Directives. It is done to assess the physical strength, agility, endurance and combat fitness of every serving member of GAF in the Khaki uniform. Passing this test shows the individual’s preparedness to shoulder any military activities he/she may be tasked to do.

“However, a precursor to this is a Basic Fitness Test (BFT) which involves running without carrying any gears for a total distance of 5km; 2.5km out & 2.5km back to start point. The 2.5km run back to the start point is timed within 10minutes for personnel from below 25 years of age. The timings allowed for passing the fitness test however varies in terms of age and gender. The running is one aspect of the BFT; Push-ups, Squats, Chin-ups and other physical exercises are also tested to assess the physical fitness of the Officer/Soldier of GAF.

“Unlike BFT, CFT is a 12km run (6km out/6km back) carrying individual rifles and a haversack weighing up to 15kg on the individual’s back. The Participating troops in Full Combat Order would run and route-march for the 12km with timings ranging from 1-1½hr depending on the unit conducting the Exercise.”

The TRRC has invited all persons who suffered human rights violations and abuses perpetrated by the state or its agents from the period July, 1994 to January 2017, to submit their complaints to the TRRC by 1 March, 2021. Persons who have already submitted their complaints and have not testified publicly or privately before the Commission need not resubmit, according to the investigation.

A statement by chairperson of the investigation Lamin J Sise said: “This is to ensure that all genuine complainants are included in the TRRC process and that those persons granted victim status can be considered for reparations. This is in line with the TRRC’s mandate to grant reparations to an ‘applicant who is a victim upon consideration of the evidence received or obtained in order to restore the human and civil dignity of the victim (TRRC Act, 20.1)’

“The complaints must be in relation to the Commission’s mandate and this includes acts of torture, unlawful killings, sexual and gender based violence, enforced disappearances of persons, inhumane and degrading treatment, arbitrary arrest and detention without trial.

“All complaints must be submitted, in writing, to the TRRC. This can be done in person at the TRRC premises or during outreach missions, or via electronic communications.

“Where necessary, the TRRC will provide free clerical, interpretation and psycho-social support to complainants or applicants reporting complaints.

“The complaint form is available at the TRRC and on the TRRC website.

“All complaints will go through a process of verification by the TRRC.  Complainants who meet the eligibility criteria for victim status will be informed as well as applications that do not meet the criteria for granting of reparations.

“Where it is deemed by the Commission that the complainant does not qualify for victim status, this decision will be communicated to the complainant in writing stating the reasons why it was not approved. For complainants or victims who cannot read, a staff member of the TRRC will assist in reading the decision to such complainants.

“Complaints may be Individual or collective.    Collective reparations may be received by a group of persons that suffered violations or abuses due to one or more reasons relating to their group identity.

“An individual or group whose application has been rejected can resubmit the complaint after providing additional information and supporting material.

“This call is an urgent appeal by the TRRC for complainants to submit their complaints within the specified period so that reparations are granted on a fair and transparent basis without  any form of discrimination.”

Germany-based Wally Fanding who goes by his social media name Wally Jnr has vowed he will not apologise to Abubakary Jawara.

Jawara’s lawyers wrote to Fanding on Monday insisting he made unfounded statements that are damaging to the businessman’s reputation.

They said Fanding “on or about the 25th of January 2021” made a widely shared picture post on his Facebook page of Jawara where he is seen paying a courtesy visit to President Adama Barrow alongside another individual who Fanding said was Banta Keita. They said Fanding sought to draw a link between Jawara and Banta Keita and insinuated he was connected with the cocaine seizure. The lawyers then gave Fanding seven days to withdraw his ‘falsehoods’ and apologize to Jawara or be dragged to court.

Fanding who says his official name is Wally Electronic however told The Fatu Network ‘May I die and enter hell if I apologise to Abubakary Jawara’.

He said: “For him to come after me is politically motivated because I never mentioned his name in my post. Twenty minutes after my post, I received a call that the man I said was Banta Keita was in fact Kissima Jawara. I then went ahead to apologise to the man.

“I have nothing to apologise to him for. He can go where he likes but I will not apologise to him today or tomorrow.

“Wallahi if I apologise to him, may I die and enter hell. I’m ready, he can go wherever he wants. I also want to say I will continue to mention his name so long he is affiliated to politicians.”

Fanding’s disposition is similar to that of Momodou Sabally who’s also said he will not in a billion years apologise to Jawara.

A 62-year-old woman who was admitted at one of the nation’s major hospitals has died from coronavirus.

According to the ministry of health, the woman underwent COVID-19 testing while she was still alive. Her death has taken fatalities to 132.

This as the health ministry said in its latest report 45 new cases of COVID-19 has been registered. The country now has total number of COVID-19 cases of 4,184.

UDP leader Ousainou Darboe has said President Adama Barrow will be made to pay for his ingratitude.

President Barrow has spectacularly fallen out with UDP, the party that he used as a launch-pad to the presidency. He accused UDP of betraying him.

But UDP leader Darboe came after President Barrow at the weekend saying the Gambian leader will learn that to be ungrateful is the greatest sin.

“We are going to show you that to be ungrateful is the greatest sin. You will pay for your ingratitude not to United Democratic Party but to the Gambian people. The Gambian people whom you promised that you will not contest elections again and on your promise they elected you. We will show you that those Gambians will not accept your ingratitude from you,” Mr Darboe said in New Yundum.

He spoke in the context of the December presidential election.

The Gambia government has said it is monitoring events in Myanmar after the country’s military seized power detaining all civilian leaders along the way.

Gambia and Myanmar have been at a legal war at the International Court of Justice over Myanmar’s treatment of the Rohingya. The country’s military have been fronted efforts aimed at exterminating the Rohingya who they term as foreigners.

The country’s military has now seized power stoking fears the Rohingya could be in danger yet again.

Government spokesperson Ebrima Sankareh said in a statement on Wednesday The Gambia’s “particular concern is for the welfare of the Rohingya minority group, whose protection from genocide is what The Gambia has been seeking in the International Court of Justice”.

“Meanwhile, we emphasize that the court’s provisional measures, ordered in January 2020, are binding on Myanmar no matter who heads the government. We demand that the military officials who have seized power abide by the court’s orders and Myanmar’s international obligations,” Sankareh said. He also said the government is monitoring the events in the country.

ECOWAS heads of state and government except President Adama Barrow met on Tuesday in preparation for the 34th ordinary Session of the Assembly of the African Union on the election of the new management team of the African Union Commission.

Heads of state or mandated representatives of all ECOWAS nations attended the important meeting except President Barrow.

According to State House, it was the internet outage that caused the president to miss the summit which took place via video congress.

Internet went down in The Gambia on Tuesday for six hours causing disruption in almost every sector of the economy. The summit saw President Macky Sall of Senegal unanimously selected as AU chair.

By Jaka Ceesay Jaiteh

With no important mineral or other natural resources, the economy of The Gambia is heavily reliant on agriculture and tourism. But even the agriculture sector is limited to some certain crop cultivation. Fruits such as apples, grapes, pineapples, plums and the likes are imported into the country at a large scale because of the concept that they can’t be grown in the country.

A young Gambian in his mid-30s by the name Bamboring Sambou has proven that that concept is wrong as it is possible to grow such crops on Gambian soil.

Bamboring is the CEO and co-founder of Max-Way Tropical Greening Farm and Germination Center, a farm that aims put a stop to the importations of food crops such as apples, olives, pineapples, grapes, plums and other species of fruits that are not grown in The Gambia.

“It took me three years to learn about these fruits and how they are grown. Now I want to share my knowledge so we will stop importing such fruits and have them home grown as it is possible in other African countries,” he says.

At the farm, a locally made green-house made out of nets and wire was constructed in order to protect the fruits and give them the right amount of sunlight and care needed.

“We decided to construct a local green house because we couldn’t afford to construct a standard greenhouse but even with this it is not the best substitute,” he says.

He further adds that in order to improve the country’s agricultural sector, people should change their perceptions towards agriculture and put in more passion, time and dedication and in that way money can be saved from.

The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has endorsed Senegalese President Macky Sall to take over as the Chairperson of the African Union from 2022.

The decision was made at an extraordinary summit held on February 2, via videoconference.

President Sall said he accepted the decision made by ECOWAS, which will see him take over from Democratic Republic of Congo’s Felix Tshisekedi at the helm of the AU.

“I welcome the conclusions of the extraordinary summit of the ECOWAS of this day. Senegal was endorsed as the sole candidate to occupy the post of current President of the African Union reserved for the ECOWAS West African sub-region for the period 2022-2023,” he wrote on his Twitter.

The position of the African Union chairperson is a rotating seat among member states that lasts one year.

ECOWAS’ nomination of Senegal as the next head of the AU is set to be formalized at the ordinary summit of the African Union slated for later this month. (CGTN Africa)

Government spokesperson Ebrima Sankareh has pooh-poohed claims former President Yahya Jammeh is on his way home.

Claims have abounded online of Jammeh’s final return to the country prompting excitement among his supporters and anxiety among those who loathe him.

But the government spokesperson Sankareh said in a statement on Wednesday: “It has yet again come to the attention of The Gambia Government that false reports and insinuations predicting the imminent return of former President Jammeh are being amplified by some news and social media outlets.

“Significantly, these baseless reports have provoked anxiety and tension among members of the public. Equally, the misinformation has given rise to acts of deception particularly, among supporters of the former President, who have been terribly misled to believe in these fairytales over the purported imminent return of former President Yahya Jammeh.

“The public is reminded that former President Jammeh’s asylum in Equatorial Guinea is an ECOWAS/AU arrangement. Under these arranged diplomatic circumstances, the host country is obligated to ensure that the former President remains in Equatorial Guinea until agreed and decided otherwise by the parties in consultation with The Gambia Government.

“The Gambia Government hereby assures the public, members of the Diplomatic and Consular Corps, that Mr. Yahya Jammeh remains in Equatorial Guinea and rumors of his recent flight to Guinea Conakry as well as his planned return to The Gambia are meritless tales being peddled by detractors.

“In the same vein, The Gambia Government urges those detractors to desist from rumor mongering and spreading of false information calculated to cause public anxiety and undue alarm.”

Momodou Sabally has vowed he will not apologise to businessman Abubakary Jawara – dramatically setting the stage for a possible legal battle.

Lawyers for businessman Jawara wrote to Sabally demanding he apologises to the businessman within seven days for ‘falsehoods’ or be to sued at the high court.

The lawyers say Sabally at various periods made unfounded statements damaging to the reputation of Jawara. Sabally confirmed receiving a letter from Jawara’s lawyers.

The former secretary general reacted publicly as soon as The Fatu Network broke the news by saying: “An apology from Momodou Sabally? That will NOT happen in a BILLION years, inshaa Allah. Let Barrow and his cronies try another channel to silence me. This one will not work! #CantCageMe.”

According to Jawara’s lawyer Christopher Mene, Sabally  “on or about the 11^th of January 2021, you made a widely shared post on your Facebook page on which you posted a picture of my client and sought to draw a link between my client and the drug seizure.”

The lawyer argued comments from Sabally linking his client to the Banta Keita drug seizure are clearly defamatory of his client as “it disparages the reputation of my client or tends to lower him in the estimation of right thinking members of the society generally or exposes him to hatred, ridicule, scandal, odium, contempt and similar feelings”.

The lawyer then says his client demands that Sabally ceases and desists from continuing to propagate ‘unfounded’ stories about his client.

“You are further given seven days to publish a detailed withdrawal of your post and tender an unreserved apology to my client for the false statements made against him on all social media platforms through which the falsehoods were perpetrated (WhatsApp Voice Notes, Freedom Radio and Facebook). Should you fail to comply with the above request within seven days from receipt of this letter, I have instructions to bring an action against you before the high court of The Gambia for damages, including exemplary damages for defamation without any further warning,” Mene said in his letter.