By Lamin Njie

President Adama Barrow has said that relations between The Gambia and China is growing from strength to strength.

The President stated this at State House on Saturday during a meeting with the State Councillor and Foreign Minister of China, Mr Wang Yi.

“I think this is the first time a foreign minister of China is visiting The Gambia. I think this has shown the commitment China has put into this relationship,” Mr Barrow said.

China’s top diplomat Mr Wang Yi arrived in The Gambia on Saturday for a two-day working visit. He first met with Mamadou Tangara, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, International Cooperation and Gambians Abroad before proceeding to the presidency.

President Barrow expressing appreciation over the top diplomat’s visit said, “I will seize this opportunity to thank you and thank my brother, the President of China for the support you have given me in my new administration since we came to power two years ago.”

“When I won the election in 2016, the Chinese ambassador was the first diplomat to come to my house to congratulate me. Since then you have given us support…,” the President added.

The Gambia and China have entered into a number of development pacts in the past few years among them the multi-million dollars roads and bridges project that President Barrow recently commissioned in the Upper River Region.

By Lamin Njie

Former army lieutenant colonel Lamin Sanneh and at least two others who died while trying to overthrow former President Yahya Jammeh four years ago will finally be given a dignified burial, the December 30th Foundation has said.

On December 30, 2014, a group of armed men mostly dissidents staged an early morning attack on State House in an attempt to defenestrate former President Jammeh. The failed adventure led to the agonising death of four of the attackers among them Lamin Sanneh. Their bodies were later transported to a bush in Foni where they were buried in a mass grave.

The Gambia Police Force in 2017 exhumed their bodies for forensic exercise to determine their identities.

The Gambia government through the Ministry of Justice on Friday said “the forensic exercises have been carried out to determine the identities of the exhumed remains and they have now all been positively identified.”

And the December 30th Foundation in a statement on Friday said, “the bodies of the three fallen heroes of the December 30th will be handed over to their families on Wednesday Jan 9th, 2019 at the Ministry of Justice Building at 11am.”

“The funeral and burials of all three fallen December 30th heroes will take place on Friday Jan 11th, 2019 at the Kanifing South Estate mosque ( Imam Baba Leigh ‘s mosque),” the foundation said.

The foundation added: “Recitation of the Holy Quran will start at 10am and folllowed by testimonials by representatives from each family of the fallen heroes, some of the living December 30th heroes, December 30th foundation members and others.

“Khutaba starts at 1pm and Imam Sawanneh (formerly imprisoned by Jammeh) from the Kanifing South Mosque will be the visiting Imam to preside over the prayers. Their final resting place will be at the Kanifing South Cemetery.”

By Lamin Njie

The Gambia government Friday said it will hand over the remains of four people who were killed during an attack on State House in 2014.

A group of heavily armed men led by former army lieutenant colonel Lamin Sanneh attacked State House on December 30, 2014 in an attempt to overthrow former President Yahya Jammeh.

The unsuccessful putsch led to the death of at least four of the plotters including the leader Sanneh. Their bodies were later transported to a forest in Foni where they were buried.

The Gambia Police Force in 2017 exhumed their bodies for forensic exercise to determine their identities.

The Gambia government through the Ministry of Justice on Friday said “the forensic exercises have been carried out to determine the identities of the exhumed remains and they have now all been positively identified.”

“Consequently, the government will officially hand over the exhumed remains to the family members on Wednesday 9th January, 2019 at the Ministry of Justice at 11am,” the government added in a press invite.

By Lamin Njie

Almamy Taal has said he will file a court application against the government of The Gambia over the alleged illegal termination of his services at the OIC Secretariat.

Almamy Taal was last week sacked by the President as the legal officer at the OIC Secretariat. No reason was given for his firing.

“We’ll go to the places where you peacefully resolve your dispute. We’re going to file legal processes in the courts of The Gambia by  Monday inshaAllah,” Mr Taal told The Fatu Network on Friday.

The move comes armed police officers were on Friday deployed to the Organisation of Islamic Conference national secretariat office at Petroleum House, Brusubi. The men who are said to be acting on orders from the Inspector General of Police were asked not to allow Mr Taal to enter the OIC premises.

Taal told The Fatu Network that the Inspector General of Police Mamour Jobe has abused his power by ordering his men to bar him from accessing OIC secretariat office.

“I spoke with the IGP. I told him that it was abuse of power by him by deploying the officers. He should have known better. He is a student of mine at the University and the law is here for all. So for them to deploy officers for personal political agenda is unfortunate,” Mr Taal told The Fatu Network on the phone on Friday.

“I have been advised by my lawyers not to engage in any push and pull. That is why didn’t go to work today.”

Meanwhile The Fatu Network on Friday contacted the spokesman of the Gambia Police Force Lamin Njie for comment but the police spokesman in a text message said he hasn’t got any information on the issue but will find out.

By Lamin Njie

Dr Amadou Kanteh has said that effective leadership is what is needed to address the myriad of challenges confronting the country.

US-based businessman Dr Amadou Kanteh is on the verge of forming a new political party in The Gambia.

“It is no gainsaying that The Gambia is at the crossroad following 22 years of the former regime an emergence of political pluralism however democracy dividends have been elusive due to weak leadership, mismanagement of national resources, nepotism and institutional inertia and lethargy. There is clearly a felt need for effective leadership to tackle the menace of the challenges of this nation head on. This new political party is here to do just that. This is the mission of the founder and the party leader,” the political new boy said in a video message on Wednesday even as he fell short of revealing his party’s name.

According to Dr Kanteh, “already, efforts are in high gear to reach out to the broad spectrum of Gambians [and] at the same time to set up the appropriate structures to enable this political party to take part in the politics of the New Gambia.”

“I’m of a firm conviction that the politics of the New Gambia provides opportunities for various stakeholders including political parties to play a constructive role in the national development,” he said.

By Lamin Njie

The Gambia Armed Forces has restored the services of a senior officer who was detained since March 2018.

Captain Malick Boye spent months in detention after he was arrested on a charge of being a member of former President Yahya Jammeh’s elite killing squad, the Jungullars.

Foroyaa newspaper reported on Thursday that the army captain has been released and reinstated back into the army, quoting sources. Foroyaa also reported that the army spokesman confirmed Boye’s reinstatement.

Captain Boye was arrested on March 2, 2018 at Basse Military Camp on suspicion of being part of the Jungullars. He was later taken to Yundum Barracks where he was detained for months.

Former President Yahya Jammeh ran a secret elite killing crew which a former army chief said numbered 400. The group made a name for itself with regard to extra-judicial killings and torture, often at the behest of the former president.

By Lamin Njie

Agitators for the creation of the North Central Region have chosen Kaur as the capital of the proposed region.

Citizens of Central River Region north have petitioned the Constitution Review Commission over the inclusion of the creation of a new region in the new constitution of The Gambia.

President Adama Barrow last year set up a constitution review commission and tasked it to draft a new constitution for the country.

The agitators for the creation of a new region in The Gambia in a petition submitted to the Constitution Review Commission chairman Cherno Jallow on Monday cite the underdevelopment of CRR-north as their reason for demanding a new region. If granted, the North Central Region will bring the number of administrative areas in the country to eight with Kaur and Kuntaur as its most important towns.

“Creating a new Region in CRR North would bring development and democracy closer to the people. The population of 96,703 that CRR North had in 2013 is much greater than the 81,042 population of LRR which is a Region of its own. As such, CRR North has the critical mass of people to make a vibrant Region, if one is created for them. Besides, creating a new Region will create jobs in CRR North because new government agencies will be located there, new businesses and NGOs established, and the economy will be generally boosted,” lead agitators Katim Touray and Lamin Nyangado said in their petition.

“For these and numerous other reasons, it is proposed that the new Constitution of The Republic of The Gambia provides for the creation of a new Region in CRR-North, to be called North Central Region (NCR). Furthermore, it is proposed that Kaur is selected as the Capital of NCR, given it’s the largest settlement in CRR-North, has the infrastructure (e.g. the wharf) that can be upgraded, and is has a potentially large domestic and Senegalese market that it can serve.”

A recent study from Duke University Medical Center, United States reveals that exposure to cannabis or Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) by men in their child-bearing years alters the genetic profile of their sperm.

The study also revealed that many outside factors can effect sperm, ranging from tobacco smoke to pesticides, flame retardants to obesity, all of which can have epigenetic effects.

Epigenetics are inheritable traits that don’t effect DNA sequencing, but typically stem from life experiences.

The new research shows that THC can effect epigenetics, causing structural and regulatory changes in the DNA of users’ sperm.

The study which looked at 24 men discovered that THC appears to target genes in two major cellular pathways and alters DNA methylation, a process essential to normal development.

The senior author of the study, Scott Kollins, a Professor in Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences said, “what we have found is that the effects of cannabis use on males and their reproductive health are not completely null. “In that there’s something about cannabis use that affects the genetic profile in sperm.”

The co-author of the study, Susan Murphy, an Associate Professor said “We know that there are effects of cannabis use on the regulatory mechanisms in sperm DNA, but we don’t know whether they can be transmitted to the next generation.”

Murphy added that “In the absence of a larger, definitive study, the best advice would be to assume these changes are going to be there. We don’t know whether they are going to be permanent. “I would say, as a precaution, stop using cannabis for at least six months before trying to conceive,” she stressed.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), reports that Cannabis or Marijuana refers to the dried leaves, flowers, stems, and seeds from the THC which contains mind-altering chemicals and other similar compounds. (Vanguard)

By Lamin Njie

The former leader of the People’s Progressive Party has defended the party’s landmark congress in which Papa Njie who was freshly joining the party emerged new leader.

“For us, it was a shock that some people tried to speak on behalf of the executive committee when the executive committee has not met,” Omar Jallow carpeting top party officials Yahya Ceesay, Dudu Taal and Kalilou Singhateh told The Fatu Network on Wednesday.

PPP last weekend conducted a national congress where it picked its new leaders with Papa Njie who is described by his critics as an opportunist emerging as new party leader. However, the congress’s integrity has been thrown into doubt after some senior members of the party issued a statement on Monday rejecting Papa Njie’s emergence.

But Omar Jallow defending the exercise told The Fatu Network that three people could not represent the voice of 85 people who make up PPP’s national executive committee.

Jallow said: “[We] have consulted with all members of the executive and a lot of them said they were aware of a meeting where we decided that we are not in agreement with the congress and the process that took place.

“Therefore, when I saw on social media a petition and they said it was from the party secretary general and I saw Yahya Ceesay, Kalilou Singhateh and Dudu Taal there but it was not signed by any of them and the executive of the PPP is made up of about 85 people. Three people cannot represent the voice of 84 people or 85 people.”

Almami Fanding Taal has been urged to disregard his firing from the Organisation of Islamic Conference national secretariat.

Mr Taal was last week axed as legal officer at the OIC secretariat. The decision came from the Office of the President.

Westminster country director Madi Jobarteh speaking to The Fatu Network in an exclusive interview on Wednesday urged Taal to disregard the firing.

“I assume Almami himself would know better as a lawyer. So that if he receives a letter from whichever source sacking him and he knows that to be unlawful, one way is to disregard it. Because certainly that letter would have no effect because the person or the office lacks the authority, the power to sack,” Jobarteh said.

Jobarteh a polemical political commentator said he was shocked about Taal’s firing and that this was why he was speaking up about it.

“Simply because my understanding of OIC is that OIC is an international organisation and so it is an inter-governmental organisation of which Gambia is a member. So OIC agencies or institutions that may exist in different countries are agencies that are supposed to operate as not state institutions but institutions that would have their own governing structure, management structure. So I was pretty much shock to see that in the news that the secretary general sacked a member of the OIC secretariat,” he said.

“Unless the OIC is not well organised in the Gambia but the appointing authority cannot be the state for the OIC secretariat particularly for its staff. So I find that pretty surprising and shocking and I think that it’s worth our attention and speaking up against it. Authority cannot be exercised just because you think you have it. It has to be based on fact, on law and on conscience that serves national interest.”

Pope Francis has criticised hypocrites in the Catholic Church, the pontiff said on Wednesday during his general audience in the Vatican.

“How often do we see the scandal of these people who go to church and are there every day, and then they lead a life in which they hate others or talk badly about other people.

“Better not go to church: Live like an atheist,’’ Francis said. During the audience, the Argentinian leader of the world’s 1.3 billion Catholics demonstrated his ability to connect with ordinary people.

He however, received members of the Cuban National Circus, while he laughed with the dancing artists and balanced a football on his fingertip. (Vanguard)

By Lamin Njie

Citizens of Central River Region north have called for the inclusion of the creation of a new region in the new constitution of The Gambia.

President Adama Barrow last year set up a constitution review commission and tasked it to draft a news constitution for the country.

The agitators for the creation of a new region in The Gambia in a petition submitted to the Constitution Review Commission chairman Cherno Jallow on Monday cite the underdevelopment of CRR-north as their reason for demanding a new region. If granted, the North Central Region will bring the number of administrative areas in the country to eight with Kaur and Kuntaur as its most important towns.

“CRR-North has relatively lower scores in various indicators of socio-economic development, including access to information and communication technologies, employment, and education. According to the 2013 Census, only 3.5% of people in CRR-North had access to newspapers/magazines, compared to 15% for the national average.  Similarly, only 73.4% (compared to 87.1% nationally) of CRR-North had access to radio, and 31% of them (compared to 68.2% nationally) had access to television in 2013. Such limited access to sources of information seriously hinders development in all walks of life,” two CRR-North citizens Mr Katim Touray and Mr Alhaji Lamin Nyangado said in their proposal.

“CRR-North also has significantly less economic activity than other parts of the country in terms of various other parameters. For example, only 1.2% of the economically active population of CRR-North in 2013 were professionals, compared to 1.9% for CRR-South. This discrepancy is probably explained by the fact that CRR-South has a larger population than CRR-North. In addition, CRR-South includes Janjanbureh (the Regional Capital for CRR and seat of many government offices in CRR), as well as Bansang (where the Bansang Hospital is located), and hence has many professionals working in various government agencies, NGOs, and public enterprises.”

According to the petitioners, “CRR-North also lower attendance rates, and school life expectancy than other parts of the country.”

“While the 2013 gross attendance rate (GAR) for early childhood education was 71.7% in CRR-North, the GAR was 91.5 nationally, and 99.4% in urban areas. Similarly, the primary school net attendance rate (NAR) in CRR-North was 55.2% in 2013, compared to 69.4% and 76.2% for the national average, and urban areas, respectively. CRR-North also had the least school life expectancy (i.e. the number of years a person can expect in the future; 5.7 years, in contrast to Kanifing (11.5 years), as well as NBR and CRR-South, 9.0 years and 7.5 years, respectively,” the petitioners argued.

“Another important development challenge faced by CRR-North is that it has the least amounts of rainfall in the country, and what little falls usually does so in an erratic manner. According to a preliminary report of a pre-harvest assessment of the 2018/19 cropping season, the lowest amount of rainfall in The Gambia was recorded in Kaur, in CRR-North.  With 75.7% of households in CRR-North depending on farming as their source of income, and with per capita food production able to meet only 39% of their food needs, it is not surprising that CRR-North.”

By Lamin Njie

Pictures of former President Yahya Jammeh having fun at what appears to be a New Year’s Eve party have emerged on social media.

The images come three weeks after the United States slammed fresh sanctions on the former dictator.

The US State Department announced on December 10 that it was publicly designating the former president over his involvement in significant corruption.

It means Jammeh, now living in Equatorial Guinea, will not be able to enter the United States. His wife and children have also been affected by the sanction.

In the video images published via a Facebook page purported to be popular Congolese Soukus singer Kofi Olomide’s, Jammeh could be seen dancing with Equatorial Guinea President Theodore Obiang Nguema. Jammeh looks troubled in the images.

The video was captioned, ‘Presidents on the Track’, and it has garnered over 300,000 views. It has also been widely shared.

Former President Yahya Jammeh left The Gambia for Equatorial Guinea in January 2017 after playing a big part in a political mess that lasted a month. Jammeh who ruled The Gambia for 22 years, was seeking re-election for a fifth time when he lost to President Adama Barrow. He conceded defeat only to change his mind five days later, a move that triggered a near-fatal impasse. Ecowas later had to intervene to force him to leave power. He now lives in Exile in Equatorial Guinea.

Meanwhile The Fatu Network has not been able to independently verify the when and where of images.

By Mammy Saidykhan

First Lady Fatoumatta Bah Barrow on Tuesday visited the Edward Francis Small Teaching Hospital in Banjul where she doled out money and mother care items to first babies of the year.

Through her foundation, the gesture forms part of the President’s wife’s vision to give special attention to women and children in the country.

Speaking at the event, the Minister of Health and Social Welfare Dr Isatou Touray who accompanied the First Lady to EFSTH commended the staff of hospital for their hard work and commitment.

“This is a big day for me and her Excellency the First Lady for coming here today to serve humanity, to support the first lady’s initiative and all other donors that has facilitated for her,” she said.

According to her, the First Lady’s gesture is one of the humanitarian gestures that The Gambia needs for greater development.

“I know you are all working very hard and we count on you, you are the front liners and to congratulate all of you for supporting the health care system,” she said.

The chief medical officer of EFSTH Dr. Amet Samateh expressing gratitude over the gesture said the First Lady is a friend of his hospital.

“The government’s level of commitment, that of the first lady and her foundation is exemplary, working hard in the improvement of the health sector,” he said.

“I know the level of their commitment to the nation especially to the health sector, more so to this hospital.”

Fatou Ceesay, the chief executive officer of Fatoumata Bah Barrow Foundation said  that the foundation relies on the support of Gambians and all the institutions that are supporting the First Lady’s cause.

“I want to urge Gambians to help support the first lady’s cause, its doesn’t have to be in cash but in kind, which will be go very far,” she said.

She thanked the donors, Gamtel/Gamtel and Africell whom donated an amount of D400,000 to the FABB and always support the second babies of the year.

A similar ceremony will also take place in major hospital in the country where next first babies of the year will be given money and gift mother care items.

By Lamin Njie

Top members of the People’s Progressive Party have rejected the emergence of Papa Njie as the party’s new leader.

PPP at the weekend conducted a national congress to elect a new leadership where Papa Njie who is described by critics as a opportunist emerged as the party’s secretary general and new leader. It was the first time in 19 years that the party was organising such an event.

But PPP interim national President Yahya Ceesay and two other top members of the party’s executive committee in a statement on Tuesday said “the process of registering constituency delegates and the campaign leading to voting were marred by serious irregularities which are now coming to light.”

“These include bribery of delegates, intimidation of delegates by withholding transport funds and food, and registration of unqualified constituency delegates. These undemocratic practices are contrary to the principles, the values and the practices of the PPP,” the PPP top officials said.

“In the light of the aforementioned inconsistencies and irregularities in the balloting and voting process, which are sufficiently serious to undermine the credibility of the election process, we hereby reject outright the results from the PPP 30th December, 2018 election as we feel it did not reflect the true wishes of the bona-fide members of the Party that met to elect their Party Leader.”

According to the PPP top brass, the preparations to the congress saw the emergence of two factions which came up with different dates, venue and content of the congress.

“On the basis of the discussions facilitated by the Independent Electoral Commission, a compromise was reached on the date and venue. The two factions further agreed to have an elective congress. The two aspiring candidates that emerged for the position of secretary general and leader of the party were Bakary B Dabo, member of the national executive committee, member of the central committee, and national treasurer and Papa Njie, whose candidature as a bona-fide member of the PPP has yet to be approved by the national executive committee,” Yahya Ceesay, Dudu Taal and Kalilou Singhateh said.

“We shall pursue this matter further to ensure that truth prevails and The Gambian people shall be kept informed.”

By Lamin Njie

The country director of Westminster Foundation Madi Jobarteh has called for an explanation into the sacking of Almami Taal as the legal officer at the Organisation of Islamic Conference national secretariat.

Taal was last week sacked as legal adviser to the secretariat in a letter that came from the Office of the President. The UDP spokesperson has vowed to challenge his termination.

Commenting on the top legal mind’s sack on his Facebook page, Jobarteh said “whoever sacked Almami Taal from the OIC Secretariat owe Gambians a truthful, direct and urgent explanation.”

“The authority to hire and fire is not a personal tool but a legal responsibility that must be backed by fact, law and conscience. Legal authority must not be abused. This is why we voted for change!” Jobarteh said.