Dr. Ismaila Ceesay received the ‘Most Influential Young Person of The Year’ 2019 award, conferred by the renowned Confederation of West African Youths in Freetown, Sierra Leone on the 31st of March at a Golden Tulip Forum & Award ceremony.

Under the theme ‘New Leaders, New Africa: A Gathering for Africa’, Dr. Ismaila Ceesay delivered a speech highlighting education in Africa and the need to invest in our own people.

This conferment follows the August 2018 confederation publication of the 100 most influential young persons in West Africa in which Dr. Ismaila was listed amongst others. Giss Giss fellow talk show host- Mr. Momodou Sabally also received the ‘Influential Person of the year’ award. Dr. Ismaila Ceesay’s award is in recognition of his outstanding role in mentoring and inspiring young Africans, thereby shaping the future of Africa.

With a thunderous speech interrupted by persistent applause, former Presidential Affairs Minister, Momodou Sabally, has told a crop of young Leaders from across the African continent to take up the challenge of providing a fresh kind of transformational leadership for a better contingent.

Sabally was speaking at a forum and award ceremony convened by the Confederation of West African Youths at Golden Tulip Hotel in Freetown, Sierra Leone.

“What we need is a new crop of leaders that would help us walk on the waters of Information Communication Technology and break bread in the labs of new food technology. But such a new leadership must stop aping the methods of the West whole scale without scrutiny. Such a leadership must look back at our rich and dignified past and take from it what’s best and brightest and apply its lessons in inspiring dynamic ways. Such a leadership would learn and appropriate lessons from far and wide but it must never cut, copy and paste.” He asserted.

Citing the Sierra Leonean Government’s recent rejection of an offer of a modern airport by China, Sabally told the gathering of government officials and young leaders that the envisaged new transformational leadership he hopes for the African continent would be one with “UNWAVERING COURAGE. The courage to take tough decisions and to defy interests and tendencies that want to game our systems or bait us with alluring present gains at the cost of our entire future.“

In conclusion, he implored the youth leaders thus : “The new kind of leadership envisaged must be one to rise above our current challenges and dream beyond the tough cliffs and lift our imagination into the glorious valleys of future bliss. This is a kind of leadership that should thrive on inspired VISION.”

The youth confab, which was also the occasion for the award of honours for deserving recipients, saw he conferment of  Most Influential Person Awards to Sabally alongside UTG senior lecturer Dr. ismaila Ceesay.

The Gambia has been dealt with a heavy hand in the arena of leadership. After a feckless, corrupt 30-year rule of President Jawara, under the patronage of the People’s Progressive Party (PPP), a new euphoria was welcomed with much excitement following a coup d’état by the Armed Forces Provisional Ruling Council (AFPRC), under the leadership of Yaya Jammeh in 1994. The young 29-year-old Jammeh, gave the people hope for a much better live. The excitement and the long yearning for change compelled Gambians to celebrate the new breed of leadership. Four months after the 1994 coup, another group of soldiers plotted a counter coup but failed. They were captured and one killing led to another. The need to cover-up those killings necessitated the silencing of anyone that spoke against the ruling government. Despite widely held belief that Jawara’s government was corrupted and failed to lay a proper foundation for the country’s infrastructural and human development, his government was democratic, and freedom of speech and association abound.

However, a small poor West African country like the Gambia was easy to win over with much needed construction of roads, a new airport, more schools, health centers and a first national television station. The Jammeh government constantly reminded the citizenry of these new infrastructure ad nauseam and the demand for gratitude. Anyone dared to remind the people that it was a right to have infrastructural developments and should not be seen as a privilege, would be jailed, killed or will abruptly disappear. Gradually, the democracy enjoyed by Gambians was hijacked in a systematic way unnoticeable to the majority. With a high level of illiteracy, it was also easy to convince the people that the leader that ‘had done so much for Gambians’ needs to be repetitively glorified. Oppression starts to creep in, and the press could no longer hold Jammeh’s government accountable as they would be risking lives, censorship or exile. Beyond journalism, thousands of Gambians were victims of state sanctioned Human Rights abuses.

Consequently, these illiberal practices continued for 22 years until the long-divided opposition challenged by the younger generation—most of whom had studied from the very university established by the Jammeh government and the instigation and full support of Gambians living in the diaspora, suggested the formation of a coalition. A convention was setup and the opposition voted a flagbearer that emerged from the United Democratic Party (UDP) to lead the Coalition in the 2016 presidential elections. UDP was the Gambia’s biggest opposition party and has been in existence since 1996. Earlier in April of 2016 one of UDP members, the late Solo Sandeng had been detained and died in police custody. This was as a result of a protest he together with other members of UDP youth wing organized in the streets of Serrekunda demanding for electoral reforms. His dead forced the party Leader Lawyer Ousainou Darboe and some other party executives to come out and demand for the release of Solo Sandeng, under the slogan: “Dead or Alive”. They were also taken into police custody and charged with ‘unlawful assembly’. The courts presided over by Justice Dada, one of Jammeh’s missionary judges found them guilty and on July 20^th, 2016 were sentenced to three years in prison. Many agreed that this fueled the anger of a population with Jammeh’s regime and contributed to the spark for the youth uprising and challenging the opposition parties to form the coalition and reclaim the country.

Adama Barrow, a real estate agent and Assistant Treasurer of the UDP emerged winner at the convention and was bound to lead the coalition. Barrow who was described as humble with a modest personality reluctantly got admitted to his role to take on the brutal dictator in the 2016 presidential election. At the time of the election, a lot of Gambians were hopeful and confident; however, a good many were skeptical about the viability of the coalition because they believed the incumbent would suspiciously win the elections AGAIN. Essentially, Gambians in the diaspora through a lot of funding campaigns, financed the ‘Coalition 2016’ campaign and also convinced friends and families back home to vote for change. As election day gets nearer, it became clear even to Jammeh that Gambians were up for change. December 2^nd, 2016, results were announced and Adama Barrow was declared the winner.

The Gambian political landscape was upended—ushering in a wave of excitement and jubilation. There was a lot of goodwill from the masses, people vowed to show relentless support to the new government. Democracy was restored and so was press freedom. A ‘New Gambia’ has been born, and this new dispensation seemed hopeful. From an inept, corrupt 30-year rule to a 22-year dictatorial rule, Gambians felt the need to take part in the governance of their country. With the help of social media, Gambians all over the globe are informed about the developments in their country.

Comments and critics begin to fill up the Facebook timelines and Twitter feeds. Everyone had a thing or two to say about the new government. Who should be hired, what new laws should be prioritized and what institutions should be disbanded or retained? The political discourse took center stage on every thread and those that felt they fought more than others thought more government positions belonged to them whilst others believed that everyone fought in their own different capacity. It seems like every week—there is something new coming out of the Gambia’s political sphere, sparking a myriad of online debates. Eventually, members of the cabinet and the diplomatic missions were appointed. A lot of people thought the allocations of these appointments only favored the UDP whilst the UDP felt that it was deserving of them to get those appointments because their party sacrificed more than anyone and the president came from their party. That led to a formation of two camps: one camp seeing the shortfalls of the government and criticizes it and the others thought the government needed time to settle in and ignored all red flags sans reservation. Many questions ensued, some even broaching and questioning if the appointments were for national interest or to reward party sacrifices.

Thereupon, the newly minted president started to feel comfortable because he felt he had the support of his party members and thought he could get away with much. The banter continues as the president indicated in an interview that he was not sure if he would step down after the agreed three-year mandate given to him and his coalition partners. Online critics heard the news and, as expected, took on their keyboards to call out the president on betraying the coalition agreement. Again, UDP members supported by their party leader—Ousainou Darboe—reminded people of the five-year mandate powered by the Constitution of the Gambia, alienating the coalition agreement and vowed to take anyone to court for insisting on the president to step down after three years. President Barrow ‘grew wings’ as described by his critics and revealing that his plans for the Gambia could not be completed within a three-year mandate.

Gambians went back to the polls to vote for their parliamentary representatives. Out of 53 seats, the UDP swept off 31 seats. Leaving the remaining 22 seats distributed among the other political parties and independent candidates. President Barrow as president is mandated to nominate an additional five national assembly members, including the speaker and deputy speaker. Most of his nominations again favored his former party as three of the five were UDP members or sympathizers. None of the coalition parties got nomination into the Assembly. Again, the two camps took on to social media to debate the landslide of the National Assembly (NA) Elections and the President’s nominations. The feud lasted for weeks with critics calling out the irrationality of the nominations and the UDP supporters continued to defend the president’s nominations. A couple of months later, these newly sworn in NA members were all gifted with a brand-new vehicle each from the office of the president. The President claimed the vehicles were donated by an unknown philanthropist who wished to stay anonymous. As expected, the argument continued demanding for the donor’s name and reasons for the donation. Hoping that the National Assembly responsible for checking the executive would also question the sources of the vehicle but shockingly, most of the members quietly accepted the gifts.

To test the ‘newly found democracy’ and protest what they said was culture of increasing corruption and impunity in the country, Human Right Activists took to the streets in June 2018 to demand for better living, health and education conditions. Their freedom to assemble was limited by the security forces. The Police Intervention Unit sent armed riot police and allocated a time frame for the protest. The activists were also shunned by the UDP supporters and labelled as ‘Disgruntled Entitled Youths’ and further indicated that they ought to be grateful for living in a Gambia with zero killings.

Many people believed that, these actions, among other things, emboldened the president to engage in a war of words with his critics; asking where they were when he single handedly defeated the dictator? Questioning their interest in seeing a more developed Gambia with better living conditions for her people. He continues to take part in throwing jabs at his critics and those he felt were threats to his leadership. Toward the end of June 2018, Barrow embarked on a massive cabinet reshuffle. He manifested the powers as the Executive President of The Gambia. He fired most of his coalition partners and replaced them with former Yaya Jammeh enablers. And goes further to redundant the powers of anyone standing in the way of his quest to entrench himself to the Presidency. The members of his party whom he had initially appointed to the following cabinet positions; Vice President, Minister of Trade and Agriculture were equally later relieved off of their positions following a UDP convention that elected Lawyer Darboe as party Secretary General.

Looking at where the political dynamics of The Gambia is, a lot of people are blaming the UDP for blindly supporting Barrow despite all his reckless decisions and ignoring all signs of ineptitude. They were allegedly ready to go to war with anyone that challenged the government and constantly massaging Barrows ego in order to stay in his good graces. A lot of UDP’s opponents similarly accused Lawyer Darboe for selfishly defending the most argued five-year mandate, to help him and his party better situated to take on the mantle of Presidency come 2021. Today, it seems the UDP have lost the influence they have had in the executive with their party executives being relieved off of their positions after purportedly stumbling the country in a deep hole. They have now decided to strategize and restructure their party and position in the political environment with continuous reminders of their existence. Their online members have once again joined their former counterparts in the struggle to critically criticize the same Barrow government that they sided with only three months ago.Can we conclude that the UDP that gave us the humble Barrow in 2016 also upgraded him to the ‘political animal’ that we now see? What the political field holds for Barrow, UDP and other political parties is difficult to predict now but it is obvious that 2021 will be another interesting year in Gambia’s political evolution.

Author:Sukai Gaye

Media and Communication Studies Student,

University of Washington, USA.

The argument that there is no shortcut to justice is valid but it has been challenged by those critics of ‘plea bargaining’ who see the practice as a form of shortcut to justice. However, the saying that ‘Justice is very expensive’ has not been challenged by anyone due to having no reasonable grounds to do so. In her book “Uprooted”, American writer – Noami Novik justified this by stating that the reason there is little justice out there is because of its expensiveness and affordable only by few who either have enough money to pay for legal fees and or are influential enough to press some buttons and make things work their way (paraphrased). With the above, one can deduce that to follow due process and attain proper justice, there must be a lot of mechanisms in place, backed by the required resources. Otherwise, a shortcut will be the option – an option that will go against the same principles intended to be displayed and maintained.

At the dawn of a new government in The Gambia in early 2017, majority of Gambia started calling for justice for victims of former President Jammeh and his government. Some even wanted a more radical approach by calling for the attack and possible arrest of Jammeh while he was still the substantive holder of the Office of the President. After his departure to exile, the former NIA Director Yankuba Badjie and his senior officers were arrested and charged with the murder of a national martyr Solo Sandeng  – two years on, the case is still ongoing. In addition, there has been arrest of other soldiers believed to be members of the hit squad – the Jugulars, alleged to have planned and executed various human rights violations, including killing of Gambians and non-Gambians alike perceived to be opponents to the then regime. Unfortunately, the reported operation leader of the hit squad, Sana Manjang left the shores of Gambia right at the fall of Jammeh. Manjang would have made investigations into killing easier because he has been a long time member of that group. Allegedly initiated in 2003, his first operation was the arson attack of the Independent Newspaper in October 2003.

Time went by and some Gambians became so impatience with the Government of Adama Barrow and others went far as rebuking the Attorney General and Minister of Justice for what they believe is a show of ‘lack of sympathy to victims’ or ‘lack of commitment to deal with those who committed abuses in the previous two decades’. The calls for action were genuine but the manner in which those agitators wanted government to handle the situation would have made the claimed defender of justice turn into a violator – that was the system of the former regime. Correcting it means doing things differently and in line with law and procedure. Jammeh and his closest security officials never believed in due process. For them, the law is not what is in the books but what Jammeh says it is and whoever commits an action perceived to be wrong need to face the consequences there and then – from the interpretation of their actions, the courts was somewhat a time and resource waster. Even if one is lucky to get to court, the outcome was very obvious because what use to be, was a judiciary where the Gambian born judges were confined to the civil courts and the Nigerians, mostly, machinery unqualified judges presided over the criminal courts, including the court of appeal where all government interested cases are brought.

The downfall of Jammeh’s empire was greeted with overwhelming joy and a sigh of relief for the thousands who wanted change. It will be meaningless if only Jammeh is not in the country but his system is glued to our minds. It was an entrenched system that we must disentangle ourselves and accept the obvious – that what use to be wasn’t in anyway right and as such we must strive to follow the rule of law. It will be expensive and time consuming but we should be ready to go through it to the end because the intention is not just to know the truth, put on trial and possibly jail the guilty ones, confiscate some illegally gotten properties and close the chapter. We want formidable outcomes with recommendations on how to set up strong systems and institutions to prevent a reoccurrence of what happened in The Gambia – not just in the presidency of Jammeh but that of his predecessor, President Jawara. Our failure – identical all over Africa, is the lack of well-established and strong institutions, made complex by a majority population that is either politically not inclined or not awareness of their civil rights and power as citizens or just focus on trivial matters and a pathetic situation of unreasonable selfishness.

The encouraging factor is the government of “New Gambia” through the Justice Ministry established the Financial Commission. They went on to table, and National Assembly ratified the Truth, Reconciliation and Reparation Commission (TRRC) Act. While the Financial / Janneh Commission submitted its report to the President on Friday 29^thMarch, the TRRC is just starting what will be a very long and tedious work to unearth the hitherto out-of-sight activities of Jammeh’s government 22.6 years reign over Gambia. The revelation so far are chilling. What is yet to come will not just shock us but has the potential to break some families and relationship.  Some will argue that it is not worthy – it is, we will get over it, reconcile and move ahead as greater people who will work together to avoid allowing a few mess up a whole country and its future. At this stage, the atmosphere is favorable and we must take this opportunity to correct what was wrong in our criminal justice system. The government, by all indication is committed to get to the bottom of what happened under Jammeh. Fact that it was done over two decades in a guileful manner explains why the financial commission took more time and resources than envisage.

Some Gambians have cause to complain about the money used, especially those cost relating to the venue, which could have been reduced if government had used its own facilities for the sittings. However I am of the believe that if one is to apply the principle of cost benefit analysis, the advantage far outweighs the bad – and this I say in full confidence that President Barrow’s government will implement the recommendations of the commissions – he cannot let us down and must not be selective or scapegoat some in implementation of the recommendations. This will also be the right time to remove from cabinet, in the security forces or other government departments anyone found to be adversely implicated in the wrongs of the pass. Doing it now as some people have called for President Barrow to do will be wrong and certainly not in line with due process – the foundation on which legal matters between people and state is premised. There is a reason why the law frowns at beating a thief who is not physically violent. Same reason why despite a thief admission of stealing at Police, he is still taken to court instead of incarcerated and the victim asked to stop work or other more important commitments to come to court and testify – failure which the thief will be let go. It is the law and must not be bypassed simply because we are sure someone did wrong. Patience and following the rule of law is demanding but we must not be pressured to act ultra vires. In the end, we will not just be recovering money, we will also move forward in creating institutions and setting up a system that will dictate how government business is done and not leave it to the whims of a person serving as leader at any level. We will also be sending a clear message to the international community that Gambia is serious about fighting corruption – but in the rightful manner.

By Sana Sarr

Prior to the beginning of sittings, there was much skepticism about the Truth, Reconciliation and Reparations Commission (TRRC). Was it a good idea for our small Gambia? Would the revelations open old wounds that can’t be healed? Rather than reconciliation, would it lead to vengefulness and jeopardize the peace we enjoy? Were some of the employees the right people to steer its affairs given that they themselves had been victims of the former regime? Etc. However, since it began sittings, much of that noise has died down. Firsthand accounts of the horrific crimes and abuses perpetrated by our own Gambian brothers on their fellow citizens has shocked the nation. There have been revelations of great suffering, of deceit and of betrayal. The TRRC has been must-watch television, thanks in large part to those leading and working at the commission. The competence and professionalism of pretty much everyone there has been recognized and appreciated. The TRRC has been almost flawless…well, until March 28, 2019.

By hosting the awards ceremony of gifts to Mafuji Sonko, one of the witnesses who testified at the TRRC, leaders of the commission made an unforced error that was completely unnecessary and easily avoidable. I understand how and why such an error was easy to make. It’s unheard of to find a Jola who is honest, charismatic, strong or handsome. The fact that Mafuji, a Jola, combines all these admirable qualities makes him a miracle worthy of being made an honorary Serere! I mean, the boy (yes, all Jolas are BOYS) is dripping with sexiness and simply irresistible! This appeal makes it understandable that everyone wanted to show support for the kind gesture extended by Gambians putting funds together to support Mafuji. It was generous, it was kind and it was commendable. One can also make a good argument that the gesture aligns neatly with the spirit of compassion and support for victims that the TRRC is meant to bring. Despite all that, the ceremony was completely WRONG! Those leading an ongoing commission of inquiry to establish truth and justice should never have been seen participating in such theatrics on the national stage.

1. It was out of the TRRC’s mandate.
2. It blurs so many lines between reparations and private gifts.
3. It sends the wrong message to individuals that appearing at the TRRC will earn them sympathy and they can reap financial/material rewards.
4. It suggests that being dramatic, charming or charismatic while testifying is more important than simply telling the truth as you know it.
5. It suggests that the commission is not impartial and is taking sides with certain witnesses.
6. It suggests that Mafuji was either more honest, that his suffering was greater than the rest of the witnesses, or a combination of the two, and that he was being rewarded by the commission.

The TRRC “courtroom” should NOT have been used as the venue for such a ceremony. It should NOT have been held smack in between the morning and afternoon sessions of serious testimonies, like some halftime show at a football match.  There should NOT have been speeches by Deputy Chairman Adelaide Sosseh, Secretary Baba Galleh Jallow and lead counsel Essa Faal. At best, TRRC workers who are also Mafuji sympathizers could have attended, in their own private capacity as citizens, an award ceremony held at a different venue, away from the TRRC premises. The repeated disclaimers by both Secretary Baba Galleh Gallow and Lead Counsel Essa Faal, trying to reassure viewers that “this was not a TRRC event” tells me that they all knew something was not right about their participation and the chosen venue. Yet, they defied their better judgement and gave in to the sentimentality. They say actions speak louder than words, and no amount of reassurance by Baba Galleh or Essa Faal was enough to undo the damage that was being done. Ultimately, the images being broadcast around the world was that “Mafuji Sonko, a witness at the TRRC, was receiving gifts at the TRRC and with the participation of the TRRC Secretary General, Deputy Chairman and Lead Counsel.” The images are powerful and lasting. If you have doubts, just watch the ceremony with the sound muted. The photos will be circulated around the world and they’ll have no accompanying audios of what was being said. How will they be perceived? Think about that for a minute and you should understand what I mean!

From the testimonies, we have seen how deeply wounded our nation is. The TRRC is arguably the most important instrument for healing those wounds. At the end of the hearings, the commission will give a report and make recommendations on how we can move forward as a nation. The credibility of the commission must therefore be jealously guarded against any suggestion or appearance of impropriety. With their selfishness and greed, the political leaders have proven that material and partisan political interests, not national interests, are at the top of their agenda. Citizens have lost any and all confidence in trusting them to aid the healing process. This leaves the TRRC as one of very few institutions that still has public trust. It would be tragic if, due to negligence, the TRRC leadership loses the confidence of the people by making such unnecessary and avoidable mistakes.

For the assistance rendered to Mafuji Sonko, the performance was so beautiful, but the venue and participants made it oh so wrong!

Never Again!!!

The views and opinions expressed on here are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the position of The Fatu Network.