Casamance rebel leader Salif Sadio has said he has said time and again he did not have a child outside Casamance or even when he was there.

The Gambian army has in recent weeks made headlines after the dismissal of Omar Sarjo regained national focus. The army said Sarjo was removed from the military because of fake documents but government spokesperson Ebrima Sankareh sparked a huge row when he named Omar Sarjo as one of the non-Gambians who was removed from the army. Omar Sarjo had long been accused of being Casamance rebel chief Salif Sadio’s son.

But speaking on the issue in a video that has emerged online, Mr Sadio said: “Salif never had a child outside and when I was here, I didn’t have a child. Everyone should here that. I have said it again and again.”

Mr Sadio suggested it was external forces who were behind schemes meant to bring tribalism in The Gambia.

“This politics you have brought to say this is Salif’s son… It’s not good,” Mr Sadio said.

“They want to bring tribalism for you. Since he is a Jola, so [they said] ‘let’s say it like that’. In our Casamance as soon as you say you’re Jola, they will say you’re a rebel. That’s what the people of Senegal say. Gambians should not accept that.”

Casamance veteran rebel fighter Salif Sadio has asked The Gambia to avoid venturing into conflict saying conflict is not meant for the country.

“Do not enter into conflict. Gambia is small and conflict is not meant for you,” an ageing Mr Sadio said in a video interview that has emerged online since on Sunday.

On Senegalese troops stationed at Bwiam, Mr Sadio said: “I am a fighter, I have never sign any international law. United Nations there or even Ecowas. So if those who signed [the law] can violate it, why not me?

“I am not praying for it [conflict] in Gambia but if it happens, well the gun does not know anything about kinship.

“If Gambians host them [Senegalese soldiers] and they come from there [Gambia] to fight me then I think they would be giving me the right to fight to wherever I want. I am not boasting but I do fight until presidents themselves say ‘even in Planet Mars he agrees [to fight]’.”

The Ministry of Agriculture has claimed certain persons and private entities in buying groundnut directly from farmers and evacuating it outside the country without following due process.

“The general public is hereby reminded that purchasing groundnut directly from farmers is limited to the National Food Security Processing and Marketing Corporation formerly Gambia Groundnut Corporation (GGC) through approved Cooperative Primary Marketing Societies (CPMS) across the country,” the ministry said in a statement.

According to the agriculture ministry, individuals or institution who wish to buy groundnut must register with NFSPMC to have the mandate to do so.

“Anyone in violation of this proclamation will face severe penalties, which will include impounding purchased consignments.

“By a copy of this press release, the Inspector General of Police, Director General of Immigration, Governors, District Chiefs and Alkalos are to take note and act as appropriate,” the ministry said.

By Fatou Camara II

Books for Africa through its Million Books for The Gambia (MBG) program has donated 22,000 books to Armitage Senior Secondary School and a law library to the Ministry of Justice.

The Million Books for The Gambia is a program of Books for Africa, an organisation seeking to empower institutions and students across Africa by way of books. A massive over 800,000 books have been delivered to children and adult learners of The Gambia by MBG since its official inauguration in February 2012. Mrs Megan Meyer Wahl and Mr Kebba Badgie, former CEO of Bwiam Hospital founded MBG in 2008. The current officials of Million Books for The Gambia have been with the program since 2012.

On Monday, 22,000 books and stand lamps were handed over to officials of Armitage Senior Secondary School while the Ministry of Justice was given a law library, with the books and the law library arriving in the country in the same container. The law library was donated by the Thomas Reuters Corporation while the Luanne Nyberg Girls Empowerment Fund funded the books donated to Armitage High School in part.

The very ideas of books being mobilised in the United States and sent to The Gambia was conceived in 2010 during discussions between a medical group called Hand in Health, a Gambian based in US Lamin Lang Dibba and Books For Africa. The latter being the world’s largest shipper of educational books to Africa had worked with Health in Hand, Mr Kebba Badgie then CEO of Bwiam Hospital to ship medical books to Bwiam hospital, Patrick Plonski wrote in an OpEd on Huffington Post in 2012. But it was Megan Meyer of Hand in Health met Tom Gitaa, then chair of the BFA in 2010 and he put her in touch with Lamin (Lang) Dibba, a native of Gambia, Plonski who was familiar with the idea wrote further.

Samba Faal is a founding member of Million Books for The Gambia (MBG) and speaking on Monday at the presentation held at the Ports premises in Banjul, said: “Million Books for The Gambia is a program of Books of Africa and the target is to make sure that Gambia receives one million books from Books for Africa.

“One thing is certain though, we are reminded of the words of a renown thinker, he said ‘we expect to pass through this world but once’. Therefore any good that we can do let us not defer or neglect or we shall not for we shall not pass the world again. This is an opportunity of a life time.”

Also present at the event was Alieu Jallow the registrar at the Attorney General’s Chambers who said the books will complement what they already have in the library of the ministry of justice.

Mr Jallow stated: “Lawyers work with books those are our reference materials and so every serious Chambers really need a law library to be able to do your work efficiently and effectively and so it is no small gesture giving us books or a library for that matter that will be for the use of the ministry of justice.

“But you should also know that as a state law office, every other person who is interested in legal matters is very likely to have a relationship with the ministry of justice by contacting us for these books but it is only possible when we have a well equipped library so these books are going to complement what we already have.”

Abdoulie Fofana of Armitage High School said the books and lamps will help boost the morals of their students and ease their studies.

“Thanks to all those who contributed to make sure the books are around for us. This gives me joy because it is one of the first high schools in The Gambia to receive books that will boost their morals.

“We all know the nature of electricity in the provinces with NAWEC I’ll not comment. We are not very much privilege but with these lamps, any time of the night you wake up you can read , if you are willing to do so,” Fofana said.

Foreign Minister Dr Mamadou Tangara on Monday afternoon received the new representative and country director of World Food Programme Yasuhiro Tsumura who presented his letters of credence to the minister in his office in Banjul.

In welcoming the new Representative and Country Director Mr. Tsumura, Dr. Tangara congratulated him and expressed the readiness of the Government of The Gambia to support him in ensuring a successful tour of duty, the foreign ministry said in a statement signed by spokesman Saikou Ceesay. He assured him of his opened–door policy as far as work is concerned, the ministry said.

The ministry added: “The Minister used the opportunity to also congratulate WFP for winning the Nobel Peace Prize.

“For his part, Mr. Tsumura commended Minister Tangara for the opportunity and expressed optimism that he would work to strengthen the already cordial bond between The Government and WFP. He assured that he would also continue working on the School Feeding Programme that continues to benefit thousands of pupils across the country.

“He was accompanied to the Foreign Ministry by World Food Programme’s, Partnerships Officer, Ms. Anta Kah.”

WFP has been operating in The Gambia since 1970 supporting school feeding and livelihoods programs. The agency has appointed a new country director in Yasuhiro Tsumura following the departure of Ms Wanja Kaaria Mdoho.

Alieu Jobe has lifted the lid on how former military aide to former President Yahya Jammeh Musa Jammeh arrested him following his implication in the March 2006 coup.

Jobe, the country’s former accountant general was arrested in his office shortly after the March 2006 coup plot.

On Monday, he told the TRRC it was Musa Jammeh who said ‘we came for you’ after the feared military man showed up at his office with two soldiers equipped with AK-47 rifles.

According to Jobe, he was put in a tinted-glass Nissan patrol car and taken to the NIA with Jammeh asking him a question as they arrived at the NIA.

“That’s where he asked me a question about ‘on the whole you know something about this foiled coup’. I told him I don’t know. He told me ‘okay, I will take you to Mile 2 and you will spend the rest of your life in Mile 2’. I told him, ‘Thank you very much because you’re not God’,” Jobe told the TRRC.

Gambians deported from Germany at the end of last week received post-arrival assistance from International Organisation for Migration.

Gambians said to be numbering 20 arrived in the country on a charter flight late last week. The government has however been tight-lipped about it.

The UN agency for migration IOM is often called upon to provide assistance to migrants – and those who got deported recently were provided immediate assistance, IOM’s communication officer Miko Alazas told The Fatu Network.

“The pocket money which is of course the immediate needs, transport allowance, clothes… So that’s around 65 euros in dalasis of course and the accomodation allowance is around D2,500 per person.

“So this is the immediate assistance upon arrival. Obviously they will be receiving more support for reintegration in the coming week,” Alazas said.

A delegation of Gambia Democratic Congress is currently on its way to Niamina, Central River Region to hand over a rice milling machine.

The crucial machine was a campaign promise made by GDC, the party’s national youth president MC Cham Jnr said.

GDC has also bought a motorcyle for a new official of the party. The motorcycle has been handed over to its new owner in Kabada, Jarra.

Former Accountant General Alieu Jobe on Monday told the TRRC Ndure Cham told him during a 2005 conversation he was contemplating overthrowing the government of Yahya Jammeh.

Ndure Cham in March 2006 recruited soldiers to overthrow then-leader Yahya Jammeh’s government. The coup however failed.

Alieu Jobe who was a civil servant at the time was promised head of a so-called civilian government.

Testifying on a conversation he had with the leader of the coup Ndure Cham in the run up to the flopped putsch, Jobe said: “It was in 2005. On a particular day, I can’t remember the day honestly. I interacted with Ndure Cham. We’ve been having lot of discussion because he’s a family member. Generally we have discussion I mean. Family issues, all sorts of issues. He was the chief of defence staff.

“Something strange came up in the discussion and he mentioned to me that he is contemplating overthrowing the government of Yahya Jammeh. And to be it was like I am dreaming. The my first reaction was why. Obviously before you condemn, you need to know why. He gave a lot of reasons.

“One of the things he said was the army is spoiled and when compared to the days of Jawara it was more professional. He said but this is something he cannot allow to continue. He mentioned the issue of human rights violations, also talked about corruption and also stability in the country.”

Spain will increase its police presence in Senegal to tackle criminal networks behind an upsurge in illegal migration from the West African coast to its territory, Foreign Minister Arancha Gonzalez Laya said on Sunday.

She spoke after meeting her counterpart in the Senegalese capital Dakar to discuss the crisis, which has seen around 17,000 migrants land on the Canary Islands this year, a more than 1,000% increase from 2019, driven by economic hardship during the COVID-19 pandemic.

To encourage would-be migrants to pursue regular channels, Spain will broaden the social security rights of Senegalese citizens legally resident in Spain, Gonzalez Laya told reporters.

In addition, it will reinforce its “presence of men and women from the Guardia Civil, the national police, fighting to dismantle criminal networks of human trafficking in this country,” she said without giving further details.

The Guardia Civil has worked with the Senegalese Coast Guard since 2006 to intercept and deter migrants from undertaking the perilous Atlantic route to Spain’s Canary Islands off the coast of northwestern Africa.

More than 400 people from Senegal are believed to have died attempting the passage since the beginning of October alone, Alarm Phone, a hotline service for migrants stranded at sea, says.

On Thursday, local authorities in Cape Verde said the bodies of six presumed migrants had washed up on the shore of the island of Sal, which lies over 600 km (373 miles) off the West African coast.

Meanwhile, Senegalese police in the fishing town of Mbour said a boat carrying 52 migrants had been intercepted as it prepared to launch on the night of Nov. 19. (Reuters)

By CGTN Africa

FIFA, the world’s highest governing body of football decided on Monday to ban African soccer confederation and FIFA vice president, Ahmad Ahmad for five years over financial misconduct and other ethics violations.

In addition to the five-year ban, Ahmad was also fined $220,000.

FIFA launched an investigation into Ahmad’s conduct while in charge of the Confederation of African Football between 2017-2019. The inquiry concluded that Ahmad breached codes relating to duty of loyalty, offering and accepting gifts abuse of position as well as misappropriation of funds.

An audit of CAF finances pointed to irregularities under Ahmad’s leadership. The report was ordered by FIFA while it effectively took over running the organization for six months.

CAF appeared to pay about $100,000 for 18 people, including Ahmad and the heads of some of the continent’s 54 national member federations, to travel on the pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia.

Ahmad can appeal his sanction at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) once he has received the full grounds for the decision, a process that can take up to 60 days.

Police said on Sunday they have rounded up five men in connection with robbery incidents in Mandinaring village.

Police said: “Earlier on two shops were broken into at Mandinaring village and owners violently robbed of their properties, the Anti Crime Unit launched a robust investigation into the incident leading to the arrest of all suspects.

“Abdou Manneh, Alieu Manneh, Alagie Manga, Bakary Conteh, and Haruna Sarr…all of Mandinaring Village were rounded up for their alleged participation in the violent crime against the shop owners.

“The weapons used to perpetrate the heinous crime such as cutlasses, battons, stones among others, were all recovered as evidence.

“They are currently being charged with Robbery With Violence awaiting court actions.”

A boat carrying 150 passengers bound for Europe has capsized leaving 100 people dead, local media has reported.

Senego on Saturday reported the people of Mbour, Senegal are in a state of shock following the drowning of scores of people on Saturday, relying on Dakaractu who first reported the tragedy.

Only 50 people survived who reportedly swam to shore in Cape Verde. The boat reportedly sailed towards Cape Verde after it got lost for three weeks.

The past weeks have seen Gambian youths sureptitiously joining their Senegalese counterparts in the deadly voyage.

By AFP

Spain’s Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska on Friday called for deportations of migrants — suspended amid the coronavirus pandemic — to resume, after meeting his counterpart in Morocco.

Arrivals of migrants have soared in Spain’s Canary Islands, off the west coast of Morocco, with more than 18,000 arriving from Africa so far this year, more than 10 times the number seen in the same period of 2019, according to Spanish interior ministry data.

Grande-Marlaska, who met with Moroccan Interior Minister Abdelouafi Laftit, ruled out the transfer of migrants to mainland Spain, a suggestion made earlier this week by local authorities in the Canary Islands.

Madrid’s policy will be to send back migrants “who are not eligible for international protection,” he said.

“Fighting against irregular immigration also means preventing illegal entry routes into Europe from being established,” Grande-Marlaska added.

Talks on Friday focused on issues of security, terrorism, organised crime and migration, especially in the Canaries.

The Canaries have seen a wave of arrivals since the tightening of controls in the Mediterranean, especially in the Straits of Gibraltar, which separates Morocco and Spain.

More and more are setting off into the rough Atlantic waters from southern Morocco, from the Western Sahara area controlled by Morocco, as well as Mauritania and Senegal.

In response to a question, Grande-Marlaska said recent tensions in the disputed Western Sahara had “nothing to do” with the flow of migrants to the Canaries.

“These are issues that have absolutely no connection,” he said.

Consistent with its commitment to availing stakeholders and partners the opportunity to adopt the National Security Strategy (NSS) and the Security Sector Reform (SSR), the Office of the National Security headed by the National Security Adviser Retired Colonel Momodou Badjie will be launching the two strategic documents on Tuesday, 24th November, 2020 at the Sir Dawda Kairaba Jawara Conference Centre, Ebrima Sankareh said in a statement Sunday.

“All assigned media personnel are requested to report at least an hour earlier (09:00 GMT) to set up their gadgets before guests are seated. The media fraternity is courteously informed that only duly accredited journalists and media practitioners will be granted entry.

“The Honourable Minister of Justice, Dawda Jallow in his capacity as Chairperson of the Security Sector Reform Committee, will deliver a keynote speech at this important ceremony. Cabinet ministers, members of the Armed and Security Service Institutions, Civil Society Organizations, Women and Youth Groups, Religious Leaders, Physically Challenged People, ECOWAS, the UN System and other Multilateral Organizations will participate in the programme.

“The Gambia Government Spokesperson, Mr. Ebrima G. Sankareh, chairs the occasion and certificates of appreciation will be presented to persons and institutions for their immense and invaluable contributions towards the realization of the NSS and SSR,” government spokesperson Sankareh said.

Police said on Saturday they have engaged the management of Jokor Night Club in Brikama for a temporary closure of activities following a stabbing incident.

Police spokesman Lamin Njie while confirming the incident to The Fatu Network said: “We can confirm the incident of stabbing at Brikama Jokor last night leading to death of 30 year old Yusupha Darboe of Brikama Kabafita.

“Preliminary findings revealed that an altercation ensued between the two which degenerated into a fight during which the suspect stabbed the deceased with a knife. He was rushed to the Brikama Hospital where he was pronounced dead. The body is currently moved to the EFSTH in Banjul for further examination.

“The suspect, a 16 year old boy is arrested and currently helping the Police in their investigation.

“Meanwhile, the GPF has engaged the management of Jokor Night Club for a temporal closure of activities while stringent safety measures are put in place to avoid reoccurrence of such incident.

“In addition, we wish to send a strong message to the youth folks to direct youthful energy into productive ventures and desist from the one on one violence directed at each other. Perpetrators of such heinous crimes will face the full force of the law.”