By Sarjo Brito

The Citizens’ Alliance Party on Thursday February 11, 2021 issued a press release demanding the unconditional release of 3yrs Jotna following their rearrest on Wednesday. The Party expressed concern and disappointment over the State’s handling of the case, especially after a competent court discharged the accused persons, following the State Prosecutions withdrawal of the case.

The party in its press release said the country is still grappling to come to terms with its dark past and therefore the rearrest of the group is an affront to the country’s democracy with the potential to derail the success registered by the judicial arm of government.

“A competent court discharged the accused persons after the State Prosecutions withdrawal of the case. It was shocking to learn that the 3YJ leaders were re-arrested again by the police immediately after leaving the court room to be charged afresh. CA strongly condemns this egregious violation of the rights of the 3YJ leaders. At a time when Gambians are struggling to come to terms with a dark past, this single act is a setback for our democracy with the potential to derail the successes registered by the judicial arm of government and a reminder that we still have a lot of work to do as a nation in so far as the promotion of the rule of law and consolidating our democracy is concerned,” the party said in a press release.

“CA demands the unconditional release of these victims of injustice without being subjected to any further ludicrous charges that would undermine the integrity of our judicial system.

“This act of injustice against a few Gambians is considered by us as injustice against every Gambian,” CA said.

Citizens’ Alliance national mobiliser Raffie Diab on Wednesday evening declared Lower Baddibu a stronghold of his party.

CA leaders including Dr Ismaila Ceesay have been meeting people in the North Bank Region, shoring up support for the party there.

According to the party’s Raffie Diab, Lower Baddibu was now is a CA stronghold.

“Mission accomplished today. I can comfortably say that Lower Badibou is now a CA stronghold. Tomorrow is Central Badibou. Step by step the whole of North Bank will be a strong base for the party.  Let’s keep pushing and am pretty sure with everyone’s support, we can take over this country and change it for the better,” Diab wrote on Wednesday evening.

Baddibu has always been a stronghold of opposition UDP but parties especially NPP have been trying to overturn this.

NPP supporters have since on Tuesday been basking in the news of prominent members of UDP joining the party. However, the man whose cross-carpeting is confirmed is Njaba Kunda ward councilor Saikou Singhateh who met President Barrow on Wednesday.

The councilor of Njaba Kunda ward Saikou Singhateh has joined National People Party, Lower Baddibu MP Alhagie Jawara confirmed to The Fatu Network.

Singhateh met President Barrow on Wednesday alongside MP Alhagie Jawara who took him to the president.

Singhateh was a member of the United Democratic Party.

His flipping to NPP comes amid reports Suku Singhateh, also of UDP and from Badibou has converted to NPP.

By Sarjo Brito

Supporters of the rejected Latrikunda German Alkaloship contender on Monday staged a protest at the local government ministry office in Banjul.

The protest led by Swaebou himself came following the ministry’s decision declaring Pa Omar Faal as the rightful heir to the throne after a bitter battle for the Alkaloship. After the Minister Musa Drammeh overruled the recommendation of the KMC on Thursday, Swaebou and his sympathisers gathered at the Ministry to share their position on the ruling.

Mustapha Faal the last son to the late Alkalo and a younger brother to the rejected Swaebou shared his grievances with The Fatu Network. Mustapha said all they want is for the truth to prevail and nothing more. Faal expressed his disappointment in the Ministry for what he describes as poor judgement and a politically motivated move.

After a closed-door meeting with the peaceful protesters, this is what Essa Danso, a resident of Latrikunda and supporter of Swaebou Faal had to share.

Based on the body language of the Minister and the way he was pitching; I could tell that the Minister has decided long time ago. We have followed all the protocols and procedures for the Akloship selection. The place we were supposed to go to is our regional office which is KMC. When we went to KMC we did everything that was asked. KMC made their recommendation, saying the people have made their choice. The recommendation was forwarded to the Minister of Local Government which was then overruled by Minster Musa Drammeh. We are also here to reject his choice,” Danso said.

Danso also made allegations that Drammeh’s ruling is influenced by nothing but politics as the Barrow administration intends to allegedly use Pa Omar Faal to register minors and illegals for the upcoming December 2021 Presidential elections.

“Personally, what I think is Musa Drammeh wants Pa Omar Faal to occupy the Alkaloship position so he can approve voters card papers for minors and illegals to be able to vote in the upcoming election,” Danso charged.

By Sarjo Brito

One thing individuals and businesses rely on now more than ever is the internet. From communications to financial services, the digital age has paved the way for e-commerce, generating trillion of dollars in recent years. In 2019 alone, e-commerce was responsible for about 3.5 trillion in sales and is expected to hit 4.9 trillion dollars by 2021.  Besides the fact that the new economy is digitally driven, other areas like politics and journalism have also been redefined under the digital age. For hours yesterday in The Gambia, an outage on the backup cable rendered data services in the country and international calls impossible. How does this affect individual data users but more so how many millions could the country be losing we ask?

Head of corporations, credit and business development at Bayba Lamin SM Bojang shares how the internet outage is affecting their operations and how risky it is to do their business transactions without access to the internet.

“If you look at the operations of Bayba, it is purely based on internet. The business units we have include the payment of remittances and this entirely depends on internet. Loans we also give depend on internet. So basically, the whole business is shutdown today. We can continue processing these transactions, but it is going to expose the institution to some risks’’

Whilst it may be hard to put a monetary value on how much they could be losing, head of operations at Easy Financial Services Jakaria Bah said the impact of the internet outage will without a doubt dealt a heavy blow on the numbers. Bah added that the past hours at the office have been unproductive as their work, especially remittance services, rely heavily on the internet.

“We deal with transfers that you must use the internet. You cannot pay people in our business without internet access nor can we even access our platform. Everything is on a standstill. We just sit here hoping for the best. Approximately we can lose $20,000 to $25,000 a day considering the number of products we have and the number of customers we engage a day. No internet means we have lost all that business today’’

Meanwhile at APS microfinance, the situation is nothing sort of different from other financial services.

‘’Normally around this time we have a lot of customers. People queue from here to the entrance but that is not the case today’’

Economist and political pundit Nyang Njie shares what this outage could cause the general economy. Njie said data services in this country ought to be taken more seriously, especially when we consider the fact that the new economy is a digital one and Gambia must up its game as a player.

‘’These are troubling times because whether we like it or not, we are players in the new economy and the new economy is digitally driven. Therefore, internet connectivity is part of everyday life and is no longer a luxury but a bare necessity of everyday life. For every hour that the internet is down, rest be assured that over 4000 to 7000 Gambians will not have the access to buy cash power, therefore that’s loss revenue for NAWEC. And every hour minimum, we can safely say that NAWEC will lose nothing less than 1.5 to 2million dalasi of power in terms of people wanting to buy. I think it’s time we take our data services seriously and how can we do this? The government of the Gambia, through PURA must agree that all Internet service providers must have a service level agreement to make sure that when downtimes happen, the economic loss of users must be paid for by the providers. It’s not acceptable in 2021 than in less than 35days, we have three internet outages. The President of this country missed a meeting with his fellow colleagues at ECOWAS because of our internet downtime. It is not acceptable’’

The Gambia Press Union (GPU) has officially bade farewell to Saikou Jammeh after he stepped down as secretary general of the journalist union. Jammeh’s departure from the role took effect on January 31.

GPU said: “Mr. Jammeh served the GPU for five years as Secretary General. He came in 2015 under the presidency of Bai Emily Touray and was reappointed in 2018 following the election of the current executive.

“Saikou presided over the growth of the Union as an institution and the secretariat as its operations centre. He is credited for some transformative institutional reforms at the GPU secretariat. He also presided over some of the Union’s most successful media freedom and media development campaigns.”

Reacting to Mr. Jammeh’s resignation, the GPU President Sheriff Bojang Jr, said: “it was extremely difficult to accept Saikou’s resignation and let him go because apart from his outstanding work ethics and dedication to the success of the Union, he has always been the most exciting person to work with.”

According to Mr. Bojang, “change is the ingredient of life and after five very tough and challenging years at the helm of affairs at the GPU, Saikou’s decision to move onto the next challenge is quite understandable. We’ll miss him dearly.”

Mr. Jammeh described his departure as one of the most difficult decisions he made and crediting the GPU for giving him a great deal of experience, according to the GPU’s statement.

“Serving you has so far been the most memorable, honorable and fulfilling assignment in my career”, Mr. Jammeh wrote to colleagues.

He has resigned to focus on writing, something dear to his heart. “I missed writing in the style of the 5Ws and H. In the history of our country, has there ever been a better time to be a journalist than now?”

Police have confirmed arresting the leaders of Operation Three Years on Wednesday before granting them bail.

The officials had appeared at the divisional high court in Banjul but were asked to go home after the state decided to withdraw the case. They were arrested as soon as they left the court premises.

Police spokesman Lamin Njie confirming the development told The Fatu Network: “We can confirm the arrest of members of the 3 Years Jotna group under prosecution at Banjul High Court.

“The state has filed a nolle prosequi in accordance with 64 of the criminal procedure code leading to their discharge.

“The Police arrested them as a result of an information filled at the High Court by the state.

“Charges preferred on them includes: Unlawful Assembly, Riotous demolishing of buildings and Rioting after proclamation contrary to section 69, 76 and 74 of the criminal code laws of the Gambia.

“Meanwhile, they have been granted bail in accordance with the law.”

Dr. Mamadou Tangara on Tuesday received copies of Letters of Credence of Ambassadors of Serbia and Pakistan accredited to The Gambia at a ceremony held at the foreign ministry.

The foreign ministry in a statement said: “Warmly welcoming the Ambassador of Serbia, His Excellency Mr. Djura Likar, the Honourable Foreign Minister Dr. Mamadou Tangara, expressed delight at the fact that this is the first time an Ambassador of Serbia is accredited to The Gambia. He assured Ambassador Likar that The Gambia would continue supporting Serbia at a multilateral level noting that cooperation in areas of mutual interest to both countries would be taken to greater heights.

“For his part, the Ambassador of Serbia to The Gambia, H.E. Djura Likar, thanked the Government of The Gambia for the support it has given to Serbia especially with the support of its candidature to the position of Executive Council at UNESCO.

“Discussions centered on the signed Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), parliamentary and economic cooperation between The Gambia and Serbia.

“The next to present copies of Letters of Credence to the Honourable Foreign Minister was the Ambassador of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan to The Gambia, His Excellency Dr. Ali Ahmed Arain. He was warmly welcomed by Foreign Minister Dr. Tangara and their discussions centered on the long historical relations between The Gambia and Pakistan. The Minister used the opportunity to inform the Ambassador that The Gambia highly values and treasures its relations with Pakistan. He assured Ambassador Arain of the Government of The Gambia’s full cooperation and support at all times.

“During the meeting, the two sides discussed issues of Gambia – Pakistan bilateral relations in various spheres, including cooperation agreement, Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) and also the building of a Data Management System which will greatly help the Government in data keeping.”

The Fatu Network Heroes Awards 2021 event will not take place due to the coronavirus pandemic, according to the chairperson of the awards committee.

The Fatu Network last year established the program of recognizing and celebrating Gambians who have offered invaluable service to the country and to their communities. Former Justice Minister Abubacarr Tambadou won last year’s TFN Man of the Year award.

This year’s event has however been cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the chairperson of the Awards Committee Fatou Mambouray said in a statement.

She said: “After careful consideration of the ongoing spread of COVID-19 both domestically and internationally, it is with deep regret that we announce the postponement of what would have been the 2nd Annual Fatu Network Heroes Awards. The decision was a tough call to make, but we believe that adhering to the World Health Organization’s Coronavirus prevention guidelines is the least we can do to play our part in prioritizing the health and safety of our community.

“We also find it important to note that the state of the pandemic has since escalated as the emergence of new variants of the virus are causing much global concern. The more contagious new strain has already been detected on our continent and not much information is known regarding the repercussions.

“Last year, we had a fruitful and well attended event, this year the theme is to avoid the 3C’s: spaces that are either Closed, Crowded, and/or insinuate close Contact. Nonetheless, we continue to urge the permanently inspired Gambians across all sectors doing their best to move our nation forward! The Fatu Network Heroes Awards will pick up where it left off at the first sign of a safer climate. Until then, keep being agents for change whilst keeping global best practices in mind. We are watching and cannot wait to highlight your efforts when the time comes!

“Our sympathies are with those who have been affected by the pandemic, losing loved ones due to these vaguely unpredictable times. And our appreciation lies with those continually making strides towards a Covid-free Gambia.”

Teacher-turned-musician Mam Tamsir Njie has died, according to sources close his family.

Njie died Wednesday morning. He was aged 64.

Essa Faal on Wednesday tore into Baba Saho a former official of the NIA after he tried to suggest the TRRC counsel wasn’t the one doing all the work at the TRRC, although he looked so to many.

“If you talk about the TRRC, the first person they will talk about is Essa Faal…,” Saho who was testifying on allegations of torture said.

“Look Mr Chair, it’s the same example we received yesterday it’s the same example Bishop objected to, they are playing from the same hymn book. They are one and the same, Peter and Paul. They are giving us the same crap. They are feeding us the same falsehood,” Essa Faal said. He was referring to Foday Barry who had made similar comments when he appeared before the TRRC on Tuesday. The duo worked together at the NIA.

“So you wouldn’t allow me to land?” Baba Saho fired back at Essa Faal

Faal said he could not because “you’re feeding us the same falsehood that we heard yesterday”.

“You’re depriving me of my right to talk,” Saho told Faal.

Faal in responding said: “No, I’m not depriving you of your right to talk. I’m telling you the commission is not accepting or receiving that answer because it’s the same falsehood we received yesterday.”

“Whether it’s the same answer or not, you’re denying me,” Saho insisted.

Faal then said: “It’s so shocking, it’s disappointing, it’s laughable that you and Foday Barry will give exactly the same answers, using exactly the same words. It is laughable. This is not a game.”

Later on Wednesday, Faal clashed with Saho again when the lawyer said what the former NIA official saw as being popular could be seen as notoriety.

“I think that’s an insult, Mr chairman that’s an insult,” Saho told Faal.

“I’m characterizing the evidence,” Faal replied.

“No, you’re characterizing us. You said ‘this is why you’re so notorious’,” Saho fired back.

Faal responded that the witnesses said “you were torturers”.

“Mr chairman please I don’t expect that word from him that we are so notorious,” Saho responded.

The TRRC chairman in intervening said Faal was placing on record what witnesses say. Saho again reacted that he did not expect that from Faal.

“I will not apologise for saying that. The same stunt was pulled yesterday. ‘Withdraw that word, don’t use rude’,” Faal said.

At least nine people all accused Saho of torturing them but according to the former top investigator, “there’s never a time that I tortured these people”.

Senegal opposition leader Ousmane Sonko on Wednesday visited a hospital in Dakar where a supporter of his who got injured in Monday’s protests is receiving medical care.

Sonko has been sweating after a beautician accused him of repeatedly sexually assaulting her. The politician has denied the allegations.

His supporters on Monday clashed with police after they converged at his house in Dakar in show of support.

The woman said the PASTEF leader allegedly sexually assaulted her during the politician’s massage trips to a massage parlour where she works.

Police have been trying to interview Sonko but the politician who is a member of parliament says an immunity protection bars it.

Three Years Jotna officials who were arrested and charged over a protest last year have vowed they are prepared to settle for Mile 2, accusing the police of trying to abuse the ‘system’ against them.

Nine top officials of the advocacy group were arrested and charged with various crimes after violent protests against President Barrow’s rule in January last year.

The officials appeared in court on Wednesday where the state said it wanted to withdraw the case. The officials were then allegedly re-arrested and detained at police headquarters.

Speaking from an office at the police headquarters, Yankuba Darboe one of the officials said: “This should never be condoned by anybody. I call on the bar association, I call on every conscious Gambian to stand up against this brute barbarity. This is nonsense. It’s an abuse of our judicial process.

“We have no confidence in going to any other court with these people and the charges that they brought against us because we know they will abuse the process. What they will do is bring those charges, as soon as they know they’re about to lose, they will withdraw it and be charged again.  How is anybody gonna get justice in that kind of system. If that is the system, we’re happy to be in Mile 2 and we will remain in Mile 2 until this government goes.”

Abdou Njie the chairman of the group said: “They never win a case. Whoever they go to court with wins them because they do not know what they are doing. But Gambians never learn. The police Yahya Jammeh used are the same police who are doing things and these are the people who would also say in future they were forced to do it. But the days of impunity is over. Everyone will pay for whatever you do. But we know who are behind it. It’s [Mamour] Jobe and the SIS director Ousman Sowe.”

“They brought us here and charged us again. They can do whatever they like but we’re not going to give any new statement,” Sheriffo Sonko confirming their detention told The Fatu Network.

TRRC chairman Dr Lamin Sise on Tuesday reprimanded Foday Barry after the former NIA top official tried to make Essa Faal less mysterious.

“Let me tell you one thing about Mr Essa Faal: everybody would think that Essa Faal is doing everything, he’s the master, brain or whatever in the TRRC but it is not,” Barry said to Faal who was pressing him on events that took place at the NIA. Faal was left shaking his head and speechless.

“Objection to that Mr Chairman,” the TRRC’s Commissioner Odico quickly blasted.

The probe’s chairman Dr Lamin Sise intervening told Barry he was not before the commission to speak on personalities.

“No comments on any person here. That’s not what you’ve been brought here to testify to. Stick with your statement. You’re here to testify on what we’re investigating, not commenting on individuals,” Sise said.

When the former NIA director of investigations tried to interjected, Sise got riled saying: “Please can I just finish? You’re here under a particular set of procedures, we’re very polite with witnesses that come here, our rules require us to do that.

“You have to obey the rules that this commission operates under, not come here and then start commenting on personalities and individuals here in the commission.”

During his testimony before the TRRC on Tuesday, Barry denied allegations of torture against him including claims by Balo Kanteh that he tortured him.

The Gambia’s time at the WAFU U-17 Championship in Senegal is following its disqualification by the Confederation of African Football CAF.

The Gambia Football Federation said on Tuesday its delegation at the championship received a “letter from the WAFU Executive Director that CAF has disqualified the Gambia U-17 Team because some player(s) failed the Competition MRI Test without specifying the name of number of players”.

“The Federation would like to state that all our players that are taking part the Competition were tested and passed the test by the CAF medical personnel.

“The GFF is protesting/appeal against the decision and the general public will be informed accordingly,” the federation said in a statement.

All three numbers of UDP big-gun Suku Singhateh have not worked amid reports he has flipped to National People Party.

Singhateh was recently tapped by UDP as its administrative secretary responsible for social and fundraising. If true, he will become the latest high profile name to have left UDP since Dembo Byforce Bojang.

National People’s Party TV and NPP supporters were first to say Singhateh converted to NPP. He attended a meeting on Tuesday that was also graced by President Adama Barrow. The UDP official however was seen declining to be interviewed by NPP TV, whose reporter was saying the whole time that he has joined NPP.

A number of UDP officials close to the politician said the reports of him leaving the party were not true. However, a number of top NPP officials told The Fatu Network the reports are true.

All three numbers of Singhateh could not be reached since on Tuesday evening while The Fatu Network had tried to reach him through his wife which also proved futile.

The IT Association of The Gambia (ITAG) has said it’s dismayed by the Internet outage that occurred on Tuesday 9th February around 7am.

“In a space of five weeks, The Gambia has seen four internet outages ranging from four hours to over 10 hours.

“ITAG as the umbrella body of all ICT companies in The Gambia would like to highlight the effect this downtime has had on not only its membership but the public and private sector.

“The economic effect of these outages when calculated are in the millions across the tech industry alone. Where more and more businesses are working online and struggling with the effects of the pandemic, Internet outages have compounded the losses businesses have incurred significantly, causing some to close shop temporarily,” ITAG said in a statement.

Beran Dondeh Gillen the President of ITAG said, according to the statement: “The Internet is the heart of every company, in these pandemic times were systems work more online than offline. These outages have not only an economic and financial impact but also a social impact that affects our lives and livelihood.

It is therefore pertinent that the right policies are put in place and implemented to ensure redundancy in our access to critical resources such as the Internet.”

Internet went down in The Gambia again on Tuesday disrupting work in all sectors of the economy.

Internet last Tuesday went down in the country lasting six hours, causing major disruptions. President Barrow could not attend the ECOWAS videoconference meeting because of the internet outage.

A similar nationwide outage began on Tuesday February 9 and lasted over eight hours. Service provider Africell said it was due to an outage on the ‘backup’ cable.

An 84-year-old woman has died of coronavirus taking the country’s fatalities to 135, according to the ministry of health.

The woman was until her demise admitted at one of the main hospitals and had her sample collected while she was still alive, the health ministry said.

She had a long-standing comorbid condition prior to manifesting symptoms similar to those of COVID-19, the ministry said.

This, as the ministry said 65 new cases were registered bringing the total number of COVID-19 cases ever confirmed in the country to 4,302. Of these, 20, 23 and 22 cases were confirmed on the 5th, 6th and 7th February respectively, the ministry said.