There will be challenges. Our hope, for the security and sanctity of our Republic, that President Barrow will respond to the challenges with circumspection and wisdom.

Our democracy demands debate and dissent – fierce, sustained, and unflinching when necessary. There is an urgent sense, the tide is rising amongst Gambians eager to toss aside passivity for action. Gambians are already seeing a more emboldened citizenry ever witnessed in ages. It is being fueled by a fervent energy bubbling from the grassroots up, rather than the top down.

These are the swirling currents about our ship of state. Gambian now have a new and untested captain. His power is immense, but it is not bestowed from a divinity on high. It is derived, as the saying goes, from the consent of the governed. That means President Barrow now works for us – all of us. And if he forgets that, it will be our duty to remind him.

As we go through the present tribulations of those in power and their advisors and the total disregard of the human rights, freedom of speech and the rule of law and indeed the Constitution. Let us be mindful that the country is being put to a test never experienced.

The happenings of the last few weeks have exposed a scheme where those with power wish to bring about discontent and blame it on others as politicians always do.

The stubbornness and lack of fair judgement will come and haunt those that have taken it upon themselves that they wield power and think they shall wield it in perpetuity. As the saying goes “Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely”. But when it goes you are left lonely and isolated, and vulnerable to all sorts of retribution and answerable to all abuses that one did when in power.
One must do the right things in accordance with the Constitution and not go on an ego trip. State power is temporal and the Gambia is not a monarchy. The same people urging others on will deny when things sour.

Only cowards use state institutions to fight their personal battles and institutional loyalties are temporal. These same institutions end up standing against you and swallow you. One ends up blaming the same institutions that were used in the first place.

Alagi Yorro Jallow

From 1994 to 2016, Yaya Jammeh unleashed a reign of terror on Gambians for 22 years. Hundreds of our citizens shed blood and tears. Hundreds more lost property, limb and life just for one man to stay on top of our heads by force. Gambians tried all ways and means to oust this terrible dictatorship but failed on so many occasions at great cost to our people. Our opposition leaders who happened to be the governors today at both Executive and Legislative arms of the State faced all forms of harassment and incarceration. Halifa Sallah, OJ, Hamat Bah, Isatou Touray and Ousainou Darboe are among many leaders who were dumped in prison at various times for merely standing up for democracy in our country. Yaya Jammeh was able to terrorize us because his APRC party used the parliament to legalize and legitimize his misrule. Secondly he used a set of public and security officers within the state machinery to intimidate the population just to entrench himself in power.

One of those who served in the state security apparatus is Bubacarr Badgie. He is a direct beneficiary of Yaya Jammeh’s agenda, which was intended to train certain citizens so that they can become tools to strengthen his dictatorship. Yet when the tide turned and Gambians gained freedom, Badgie did not run away or hide and he was not sacked from the NIA, rather he continued there as the Legal Adviser. Whether he is genuine or not, time will tell, but Badgie has shown that he is committed to creating a new chapter for the NIA. For that matter, he demonstrated utmost professionalism and honesty by providing genuine legal advice to his Director General Ousman Sowe. Shockingly DG Sowe decided to not only ignore Badgie’s legal and professional advice but also went further to torment Mr. Badgie for that.
Undeterred, Badgie decided to inform and advise the Head of State about the state of affairs in the NIA. In informing the President, he also copied his Director General as well as the Inspector General of Police. Therefore by all accounts, we must give Badgie the benefit of doubt that indeed here is a man who wishes to bring about change in the Gambia. On 1 December 2016, we when decided, our verdict was for the Gambia to have a system change. Badgie’s petition is about system change.

Yet the President did not only ignore Badgie’s petition, but the Director General of NIA went further to write to the PMO to suspend Badgie because they claim he leaked so-called official secrets to the media. This means the President, the Director General and the PMO have all decided to ignore the extremely vital and serious issues of national interest that Badgie had raised in his letter. They have all rejected the fact that Badgie has alleged severe corruption and threats to national security. In fact Badgie has indicated that the agents who killed Solo Sandeng are still inside the NIA. Yet the very people responsible for our national security, i.e. the President and the Director General NIA just ignored these very important issues only to now find ways of harming this genuine citizen, Bubacarr Badgie.

This is indeed a huge travesty of justice and a gross negligence of duty that is unfolding right in front of our eyes. Why should the President receive such a petition from none other than the very Legal Adviser of the topmost national security agency and decide to ignore such a letter.

We see a similar scenario currently unfolding in the United States. There is a man called James Comey who was the former Director of FBI, which is the equivalent of the NIA. Comey had a meeting with Pres. Donald Trump few weeks ago and soon after that meeting he leaked their conversation to his friend so that his friend could send the information to the media. This is because the president told Comey some very inappropriate things that concern the FBI’s investigation of the link between the Trump Campaign and Russia. Since then Trump fired Comey because of that investigation. But because of that leak, the current FBI Deputy Director appointed a special prosecutor to continue that investigation. Comey testified this whistleblowing before the US Congress few days ago because he did not want Trump to interfere with the FBI or the investigation. Comey was not rebuked or arrested or charged for anything. Rather many people commend him for that action which led to the appointment of a special prosecutor. Yet in the Gambia another intelligence agent blew the whistle about wrong things in the NIA and instead of Pres. Barrow appointing a special prosecutor to investigate the NIA, he decided to let this man be arrested and charged with lies.

Gambians must not sit by and watch Badgie persecuted on a matter that concerns our individual and collective security. If there are killers inside the NIA, those killers must be exposed and held to account. Why are Pres. Barrow and the NIA Director General Ousman Sowe and PMO hiding killers from justice?
Has Pres. Barrow forgotten that it was those agents who killed his party member Solo Sandeng, Solo Koroma, Lang Marong and Ebrima Ceesay? Has Pres. Barrow forgotten that it was those agents who tortured and raped UDP militants and manhandled Ousainou Darboe and colleagues? Has Pres. Barrow forgotten that it was those NIA agents who tortured Amadou Sanneh on national television until he was drunk? Has Pres. Adama Barrow forgotten that he is president today simply because Ousainou Darboe and the entire UDP leaders were in jail because of those NIA agents? How dare Pres. Barrow ignore the facts and the reality only to cover up killers and rapists and torturers and then punish the man who is exposing them?

I hereby condemn Pres. Adama Barrow for this gross irresponsibility and total disregard of the national interest. Why is the Cabinet in which are OJ, Hamat Bah, Ousainou Darboe, Isatou Touray, Fatoumatta Tambajang, Baa Tambadou and Mai Ahmad Fatty keeping silent over this matter? Why are they not advising the president to follow this petition? Why are you people silent and allowing such a travesty of justice to slap us in our face with impunity? Why are you people protecting the NIA? Indeed Solo Sandeng, Deyda Hydara and our schoolchildren will never ever forgive any of you for this gross irresponsibility. This is national betrayal of the highest order!

Why is Speaker Mariam Denton who has encountered these notorious NIA agents keeping quiet? Why are Halifa Sallah and Sidia Jatta keeping quiet over this matter? Why are our National Assembly members keeping quiet over this petition?

Bubacarr Badgie has provided the key into the very heart of the APRC Dictatorship. This petition is the key to inform us how, why, when, where and what atrocities were committed in the past 22 years and who committed them and on whose orders. Yet Pres. Barrow and his Cabinet and Speaker Mariam Denton and the National Assembly decide to ignore this petition. I am disappointed beyond words.
I want to tell Gambians to rise up and demand that Pres. Barrow provides total protection to Badgie and ensure that the NIA is put under serious enquiry right now.

If we allow Badgie to be subjected to a fake trial on trumped up charges, he will go to jail. This means the winners are those NIA rapists, torturers and killers. They will continue to walk our streets freely at our own risk. Their victims are crying from their graves for justice. We cannot and must not abandon and further injure those victims.

Free Bubacarr Badgie and Investigate the NIA! NOW.

God Bless The Gambia.

Madi Jobarteh

Criminals Let Loose….

About ten days ago, I read in the newspapers that a man had been arrested, accused of raping an-eight-year-old girl. I was gobsmacked. What type of animal would do that? Are we becoming so predatory? These were the thoughts assailing my mind. That was until today, when I read that another man had raped a six year old girl. Can you imagine the depravity of some people?

Come to think of it, rape is one of the most heinous crimes one can commit, especially when it involves underage girls. This is made worse when the girls are as young as six or eight. What can these people say as defense when they are brought to a court of law? Should they even be allowed to narrate some mysterious stories that forces them to do it?

These pedophiles cannot be allowed to continue to destroy the lives of our young girls with impunity. The crime of rape has far-reaching consequences. One can even argue that it is worse than murder. For, if one murders a person, in most cases one has taken one life. But if a rapist rapes an underage girl, the consequences may include the girl being unable to bear children in the future. Thus, if that girl was destined to have a girl child in the future, who in turn was destined to have children, one can imagine the number of lives that that rapist snuffed off even before they had the chance of being born.

Rape should be considered worse than murder and its punishment should match the severity of the crime. But the huge problemof rape is the culture of silence. Hardly would the family of a rape victim report the case, for fear of stigmatisation, especially if the rapist happens to be a family member, which is most often the case. Therefore, this is not only about law enforcement but also about sensitisation. In this, government should increase support to women groups, the Women’s Bureau and other civil society organizations to sensitize the population.

Mr President, I want to suggest naming and shaming of pedophiles when they are convicted. This will perhaps have an effect on the rampant problem of rape cases we hear about almost every other week. As this is a conservative country, perhaps the fear of stigma will sway them more than any other thing. Also, anyone who covers up a rape case because the rapist is a relative, if such a person is arrested, he or she should face equal punishment with the rapist.

Last week, I wrote on the bane of blaming everything on God. We must learn to take responsibility of our actions and stop blaming God for our shortcomings.

Tha Scribbler Bah

A Concerned Citizen

Written by Anonymous the Patriot

The New Gambia has many needs in terms of institutions, processes and norms to form her essential content. One of these needed institutions is a new law enforcement agency suggestively called The Republican Bureau of Investigation (RBI). Such a need has become more apparent and necessary especially after recent events in Kanilai and the Fonis, the questionable arrest and detention of Lawyer Bubacar Badgie (Legal Adviser of ‘SIS’) and the stripping of the hitherto main investigative agency of The Gambia, NIA (now SIS) of its arresting and detention powers by the President of the Republic in exercise of his powers and prerogative, earlier this year.

Due to the change of government and the new political environment that it had ushered; the rule of law, good governance and democracy, the need for new approaches in policing, law enforcement and justice delivery has become more urgent and complex in many regards. It is also an undeniable fact that the only remaining institution which now has the sole power of carrying out law enforcement functions in the country is the Gambia Police Force (GPF) and to a limited extent the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDEA). This institution (GPF) is very much underfunded, ill equipped and acutely unprepared for the increase and more serious demands of modern day law enforcement in the New Gambia and carried out under increased public scrutiny, with stricter procedural conformity to the law and accountability.

The Investigation units of the Gambia Police Force including the Serious Crimes Unit (SCU) were marginalized and rendered irrelevant for two decades under the dictatorial regime of the APRC government. This accounts for its limited operational experience, shortage of skilled investigators, lack of adequate forensic equipment and limited knowledge in proper procedures necessary to protect crime scenes and preserve evidence for possible prosecution. These deficits are quite steep for such an inelastic state institution to overcome in a reasonable period when the demands for its services will continue to increase, if not already at such unprecedented levels i.e. the soon to be constituted Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC).

The absence of a well-equipped and professional investigation agency like the one I am proposing let to too many delays and other technical difficulties for the task force investigating the alleged unlawful deaths and disappearances of the Jammeh regime. These in turn lead to the need for short term training of our police and military Investigators by bilateral partners such as United States through its FBI as reported and acquiring foreign experts such as pathologist to address the knowledge gap in identifying bodies and ascertaining the causes of death in those gruesome murders.

We cannot stuff our collective heads in the sand by expecting antiquated institutions of law enforcement to adequately address our new democratic demands of law and order, institutional accountability and good governance on the basis of the sovereignty of the Gambian citizenry. These and other technical reasons make it fiscally prudent, timely and efficient to establish a complimentary, streamlined and specialist investigative agency from the ground up with all necessary components needed to address the law enforcement needs in our new dispensation.

The Republican Bureau of Investigation (RBI) will mirror in terms of institutional scope, professionalism and capabilities of its counterparts such as the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) of the United States of America and is inline what the New Gambia needs and deserve. I urge the government to move quickly on this recommendation while we have the support and attention of our regional partners like ECOWAS and the AU, developmental partners such as the EU and indeed the world. I rest my case.

The arbitrary arrest of the NIA Legal Adviser Bubacarr Badgie apparently on the orders of the Director General of the NIA Ousman Sowe on Friday June 9 is a very serious abuse of office that must be severely challenged. Mr. Badgie has written a petition to Pres. Adama Barrow on May 22 highlighting numerous acts of abuse of power, professional misconduct, concealment of information and undermining of national security within the NIA. He said on many occasions he had provided advice and caution to the Director General but who in response only subjected him to severe marginalization, threats and abuse. The NIA is under the Office of the President hence the President is the responsible authority for the Agency. Thus Badgie took the right decision to adequately and urgently inform and advice the President on the state of affairs at the NIA that undermine the effective functioning of the agency and the overall security of the Gambia.

Therefore Badgie has demonstrated utmost respect and recognition of the President as the chief solution of all issues in the Gambia. By writing to the President, it means this is the last resort for Badgie since his professional and legal advice were being ignored and then punished for that. To show that he is not lying or harbouring malicious intentions, Badgie also copied the Director General NIA himself and the Inspector General of Police as well as the Gambia Bar Association. What Badgie did is also in line with the Constitution under Section 25(f), which is the freedom to petition the Executive. Therefore Badgie acted within his constitutional rights to write this petition.

Hence what we expected was for the President of the Republic to have acted urgently on this petition, which was submitted since May 22. Thus it is utterly concerning that since then no visible action took place until 15 days later when Badgie was practically kidnapped from his family. Even if Badgie had misconducted himself, one would expect the necessary internal disciplinary measures of the agency to apply but not to arrest him. This arrest therefore is nothing other than an attempt to silence a man who has only fulfilled his duty as required by his job description. Anyone who ignores or suppresses this petition must be held responsible for abuse of power. Badgie must be released and a full investigation of the NIA takes off.

The ball is now in the court of Pres. Adama Barrow. NIA is under the Office of the President, which means the President is responsible for the management and operations of the agency. Hence if a staff of that agency writes to the President, then the President has no choice but to act on that communication. Mr. President, we are waiting!

Our Constitution states in Section 19 that no one must be detained beyond 72 hours, yet Mr. Badgie has been under police custody since June 9. Section 17 places an obligation on the President as the chief human rights protector in the Gambia to defend the rights of all Gambians. Therefore the President has a duty to ensure that Badgie’s constitutional rights are protected in full. Our verdict on 1 December 2016 was not just for a Regime Change, rather we decided for a System Change! Therefore to continue with that Yaya Jammeh modus operandi is not what we expect today.

Therefore, the President must take leadership on this petition to ensure that the NIA is clean and law-abiding. We cannot allow a public officer to write a petition about his or her institution only to have the head of that institution arrest that petitioner. Badgie has therefore placed a fundamental test in the hands of Barrow to show whether he will stand for the integrity, professionalism and accountable management of the NIA or will Barrow fail in his responsibility.

Secondly the National Assembly must take up this matter immediately. The Select Committee on Defence and Security must summon the Director General of the NIA and the Inspector General of Police as well as Bubacarr Badgie himself and any other relevant officer to testify on this matter. Badgie raised critical issues of misconduct, corruption and favoritism as well as tampering of evidence at the NIA. These are serious issues that must be addressed. Thus the National Assembly must assume its functions as per sections 77 and 102 to review Badgie’s petition and all issues regarding the agency.
It was good that Badgie made the smart move to copy the Gambia Bar Association. By doing that it means Badgie suspected that his security could be in danger and that there is also a possibility for the Government to misinform or try to bury the matter. Hence by copying the Bar, Badgie is saving himself but more importantly he is making sure that the matter will not be buried because the foremost legal association in the country is aware of the matter. This means that the Gambia Bar Association is now faced with a huge responsibility to ensure that Badgie is free and save. If the Bar fails to stand up for Badgie, it means therefore the Bar will be condoning abuse of office within the NIA and the Gambia as a whole.

All citizens must applaud Bubacarr Badgie for this professional and determined effort. This is what is expected from all public servants to expose all and any acts of abuse, corruption and misconduct within our public institutions. This is the only path to ensure good governance and protection of human rights and efficient delivery of public services in the Gambia.

I wish to join Bubacarr Badgie in his call that there is need to audit the entire NIA to ensure it becomes a professional, accountable and efficient agency that respects human rights and protects national security efficiently. I recall making this call at the very beginning of this government that the NIA should have been suspended while it undergoes such assessment. The premises of the agency should have been protected in order not to tamper with evidence. It is sad that these measures were never taken rather we only saw the name of the agency being changed illegally from NIA to SIS.

Let us pressure Chief Servant Adama Barrow to act on this petition because it definitely leads to the heart of the NIA as the foremost oppressive tool of the APRC Dictatorship. The issues there will expose how and why disappearances, tortures, rapes, killings were carried out and by who. All the answers to the carnage of the Yaya Jammeh are in this petition. This petition must be put on the table.

Free Bubacarr Badgie. Investigate the NIA. Follow the Petition!

God Bless The Gambia.

Madi Jobarteh

Last week, I wrote a piece which I called Innocent Questions. In it, I asked, #HasBarrowDecided? But today, I will ask #HaveGambiansDecided? This question is still bugging my mind as I observe on a daily basis how our people still treat government and government officials the same way they were treated in the dictatorship. No one asks the tough questions, no one questions anything the government says or does; or you are immediately branded an opposition stalwart!

The time has come for us to endeavor to understand the seemingly complex relationship between the governors and the governed. In a democracy, the idea is that it is the people, the citizens, who employ [for want of a better word] the government and its functionaries. It is the government that has been instructed by the People to do certain things. We gave them all the tools with which to deliver the goods, so to speak.

We have a Constitution which gives the government the power to do certain things. For instance, we all pay taxes and put money in the national coffers and then give the government the mandate to utilize those taxes for the good of all. We authorise them to have a foreign policy which should be used to further the welfare of the people. They are authorised to sign bilateral and multilateral treaties, take loans on our behalf, formulate and enact laws for the protection and welfare of the citizenry. And then, the Constitution has made it such that the different arms of government should hold each other accountable. That is checks and balances.

But most importantly, We, the people of the land, have the final say as to who leads our government, who spends our money, who forms the foreign policy and who works to deliver goods and services to us. These people are serving us and we have the right to hold them accountable at all times. We have the right to know what they are doing and how they are doing it.

But, and this is a big but, we also have a role to play. We should not just give them instructions and then rest on our laurels. We have to work hard to ensure that they succeed. Their success is our success and equally, their failure is our failure. So we have a right/duty/responsibility to scrutinize our officials. If we don’t, then we are helping them to fail. At the end of the day, we would want to sit back and say so and so failed, absolving ourselves of every responsibility in the failure. We would be culpable.

It is disheartening to note that many among us are ready to draw daggers at the mere mention of the Barrow Government. True, we should be protective of our government, patriotism demands it; but that does not mean blindly hailing them for everything they do whether right or wrong. We should hold them accountable. Help them with our expertise, our knowledge, our support, our zeal; but most importantly, our prayers. We should wish our political leaders well and always pray for them.

If our political leaders do well or do good, let us thank them. When they go wrong, criticize them vehemently, but rerespectfully. This is important for the progress of our dear Motherland, the Gambia.

All hands must be on deck to move this ship forward. Let is all come together and work hard for our homeland.

Are we ready to put personal, religious, regional, and party affiliations in check and work for the good of our country?

Ask me again!

Love

Tha Scribbler Bah

A Concerned Citizen

Your election has raised great hopes of democratic change in The Gambia and t I would like to draw your attention to a recent arrest and detention of Journalist Baboucarr Nani Sey.

I call on you to immediately and unconditionally release journalist Baboucarr Nani Sey and drop all criminal charges against him. No journalist should be imprisoned for reporting the truth or performing his duties. Allowing Mr. Şey sits behind bars is a tragedy and casts a dark shadow over The Gambia’s professed commitment to an open and democratic society.

Your excellency, we aspire that The Gambia be a proponent of democracy by enabling reporters to carry out their professions without fear of retribution and by empowering diverse voices for building a greater Gambia with tolerance, civil liberties and understanding.

This kind of arbitrary behavior cannot be overlooked because it would mean tolerating intimidation and harassment against journalists as was the case under your predecessor, Yahya Jammeh, whose long years as president were marked by many violations of human rights and freedom of expression.

The Gambia is ranked 145th out of 180 countries in RSF’s 2016 World Press Freedom Index and Yahya Jammeh was on RSF’s list of press freedom predators. Under his regime, freedom of information was repeatedly flouted, communications were cut or censored, and journalists were attacked, arrested, tortured, sentenced to death or murdered. Some, such as Chief Ebrimah Manneh, disappeared without any proper investigation by the authorities, leaving families deeply wounded.

The International community also hail the choice for the position of information, communication and technology minister, Demba Ali Jawo, a former journalist and head of the Gambia Press Union, who has promised the necessary legislative reforms.

I am being aware of the extent of the challenges you face and the wounds that the Gambian people must heal to move forward. Deep transformation is essential to turn the page on the Jammeh era and to restore Gambians’ trust in state institutions.

This is first and foremost your battle but journalists also have a key role to play in a country’s democratic life. The men and women of the media must be able to work freely to rebuild trust between Gambians, democracy and the rule of law. To this end, we hope they will have your full support.

Sincerely,
Alagi Yorro Jallow

24^th day of May 2017

The Honourable Attorney General

And Minister of Justice of the Gambia

Attorney General’s Chambers & Ministry of Justice

The Republic of The Gambia

Marina Parade

Banjul

Through:

The Gambia High Commission

No.7, Misratah Street

Off Parakou Crescent

Wuse II

Abuja.

REQUEST FOR COMPLIANCE WITH TWO  JUDGMENTS OF THE  COURT OF JUSTICE OF THE ECONOMIC COMMUNITY OF WEST AFRICAN STATES IN: 

1. Suit No: ECW/CCJ/APP/04/07

CHIEF EBRIMAH MANNEH

AND

THE REPUBLIC OF THE GAMBIA

2. SUIT NO: ECW/CCJ/APP/11/07

MUSA SAIDYKHAN

AND

THE REPUBLIC OF THE GAMBIA

We are Solicitors to the Media Foundation for West Africa on whose we instituted two cases before the Court of Justice of the Economic Community of West African States sitting in Abuja, Nigeria. The details of both cases are set out below:

1. In Suit No: ECW/CCJ/APP/04/07 BETWEEN CHIEF EBRIMAH MANNEH V REPUBLIC OF THE GAMBIA we challenged the arrest and detention of the plaintiff by the National Intelligence Agency. The defendant filed a preliminary objection against the jurisdiction of the court to entertain the human rights case, but objection was dismissed by the Court. In its judgment in the substantive suit delivered on the 5^thday of June 2008 the court held declared the arrest and detention of the plaintiff illegal, ordered his immediate release from custody and awarded him damages of $100,000.00 (One hundred thousand United States Dollars).

As we sought to enforce the judgment by seeking the immediate release of the plaintiff from further detention the defendant turned round to inform the court that the plaintiff could not be located in any of the prisons and detention centres in The Gambia. In the circumstance, we had initiated legal measures in the court to compel the ousted Yayah Jameh regime to account for the disappearance of the plaintiff in the custody of the National Intelligence Agency before the recent change of government in The Gambia.

In Suit No ECW/CCJ/APP/11/07 BETWEEN. MUSA SAIDYKHAN V REPUBLIC OF THE GAMBIA  the plaintiff challenged his  arrest, detention for 22 days  by the National Intelligence Agency without any legal basis. In its judgment handed down  on the 16 day of December 2010 the Ecowas Court granted the reliefs sought by the plaintiff and awarded him reparation of $200,000.00 (Two hundred thousand United States Dollars).

In the light of the foregoing  and in line with the commitment of the Adama Barrow administration to restore the human rights of the people of The Gambia under the rule of law we hereby urge you to use your good offices to ensure immediate complianve with both judgments. Apart from asking for payment of the judgment sum of $300,000.00 (three hundred thousand dollars only) we request the Government to institute an inquiry into the disappearance of Chief Ebrimah Manneh under the Tribunal of Enquiry Act.

Kindly find attacked the certified true copies of both judgments of the Ecowas Court for your necessary attention and urgent action.

Yours Sincerely,

Femi Falana, SAN  

‘A change of government does not mean there is no law in The Gambia’.

Disgraceful, yes, but the above statement is the new mantra of the lawless security officer, a
catch phrase that embodies the cultural hostility to human rights within large sectors of the
security forces in our new Gambia, particularly the police and the NIA. When you next
encounter the statement, do a contextual analysis of this throwback philosophy to the old
dispensation of public lawlessness and its dangerous import would become clearer.

On a visit to Kairaba Police Station about midday Saturday 10 June 2017, the details of how
the arrest operation on Bubacarr A.M.O Badjie of the NIA was conducted became clearer.
The NIA contingent, from its so-called Special Operations outfit, was led by Alhaji Ceesay,
and included Ebou Sanyang, Kalilu Janneh, Kanyi, and Leon. Among the police component
of the arresting team were A. Sowe, L. Jamanga, and B. Wanjang.

In so far as both the Inspector General of Police, and the Director General of the NIA were
fully aware of the composition of the arrest team, they disgraced themselves and their
institutions for allowing the presence of incompetent personnel in a matter where there was
no exigency to necessitate the active participation of the NIA. As Legal Adviser, Mr Badjie is
fully aware of his agency’s lack of mandate to arrest in a matter of this nature. He pointed
this to the IGP who subsequently ordered the withdrawal of the NIA contingent.

Undaunted and unfazed, Ceesay and his NIA contingent nevertheless went to Kairaba Police
Station to await the arrival of the arrested Legal Adviser and his police escorts. The purpose,
if it had any, was to annoy and intimidate, to effectively say we are still NIA and above the
law and you can’t do a thing about our conduct, no matter how lawless. At the Kairaba Police Station Mr Badjie was handed a letter from the Personnel Management Office interdicting him for “unethical conduct”. For now he is out of a job and out of the way.

In line with the practices prevalent in the former dispensation, the powers that be waited for
the onset of the weekend, and rather inhumanely about an hour before the end of fasting to
arrest Mr Badjie. More egregiously, as of 1:00 p.m. 10 June 2017, and a whole eighteen
hours after the police dumped him at Kairaba Station, Mr Badjie had no inkling of the reason
for his arrest, a conduct in clear contravention of section 19(2) of the 1997 Constitution of
the Republic of The Gambia (the Constitution) thus: any person who is arrested or detained
shall be informed as soon as is reasonably practicable and in any case within three hours, in a
language he or she can understand, of the reasons for his or her arrest or detention and of his
or her right to consult a legal practitioner. As if the failure to comply with the three hour deadline for notifying the reason of arrest was not bad enough, Mr Badjie was effectively prevented from consulting with his lawyer(s).

A brief conversation with Mr Badjie was interrupted by Kairaba Police on the grounds that they
were waiting for instructions to approve the continuation of the meeting. After waiting for
some twenty minutes, I went back to the three officers sitting with Mr Badjie in another
office to enquire about the state of affairs regarding the resumption of the client-lawyer
conference. I was told this was an order from above and that I should speak to the Officer
Commanding. As I was headed for another meeting, I refused that futile suggestion.
Mr Badjie was later informed that since bail was not authorised by higher authority, he must
remain in detention in the filthy cells of Kairaba Police Station until 12 June 2017.
A government that promises openness and accountability is dancing timidly around its
security challenges by failing to remove known torturers and killers from the disciplined
forces. Even in the case of the immediate past Director General of the NIA, it took far too
long to remove him, a state of affairs that was quite scandalous to put it mildly.

Considering his antecedents, Director General Sowe should be deployed other than to the
NIA. By his actions since assuming the mantle of leadership, it appears the Government’s
due diligence on his current appointment was faulty. An objective reading of “SIS Graduates
Maiden Batch of Recruits on Human Rights” discloses a penchant for exaggeration and half
truths considering he served less than four months as Director General when that propaganda
article was written. Security experts within and outside the NIA argue that the kind of
publicity highlighted in The Point article of 12 May 2017 was unprecedented and quite
possibly counterproductive for a spy agency.

As argued in an earlier post, the article “SIS Response to Freedom Newspaper Online
Publication on its Director General” does not reassure at all. Considering his very short time
on the job, the article yet again demonstrates the tendency to exaggerate and it is frightening
that such a person is directly advising the President. The NIA requires a fresh start with
rogue agents ousted and the current Director General appears not to be the person to lead that
role.

If indeed an executive directive issued in the case of Mr Badjie, the President must urgently
consider rescinding it. Mr Badjie does not deserve to sleep in dirty and sub-standard police cells
for having the public welfare of The Gambia at the front and centre of his concerns.
If he must be tried, so be it, but pre-trial detention is an outrage given the circumstances of his case.

And of course are aware that law must be enforced, but it is not at all controversial to insist that
enforcement ought to be done in a lawful and transparent manner.

Lamin J. Darbo

A few months ago when the minister of the Interior, Mai Ahmad Fatty announced the change of name from the NIA to the SIS – that is; from National Intelligence Agency to State Intelligence Services – I wrote a piece entitled ‘What Is in A Name?’. I raised concerns on the manner in which it was done seeing that the NIA was established by an act of parliament and therefore the name couldn’t be changed without going through the same channel through which it was created.

But further, I raised questions as to how deep will the change be because a superficial change of name wouldn’t mean zilch unless the core values of the Agency were also changed. If the way they used to operate remains the same, then my question; What Is in a Name becomes pertinent.

It is said that in the past few days, Baboucarr Bargie was arbitrarily arrested. For what, not clear at all. The DDG Ousman Sowe remains untouched and ‘uninvestigated’. So we ask again: What Is in a Name?

Our nascent democracy has to be watched closely to avoid sliding back to the same thing we have been fighting against for the past twenty two years. If the NIA still arrests people without cause, then it means we are repeating the same thing we lashed out at Yahya Jammeh for.

The citizens have again raised concerns about this but the larger question is: What is the government doing about fulfilling their promise of legal reform? This (change of name) and many others were among the key legal reforms the Coalition government promised Gambians but still now, they have not started, or if they have, it has not been adequately publicized. The legal reforms are among the core targets of the reform agenda that is to be made by the new government if the change is to mean anything.

As I said earlier, fighting evil is tricky. You can either defeat evil and usher in a good and democratic system; or let evil defeat you and you’re consumed by revenge and witch hunt. Which is it gonna be for us?

Tha Scribbler Bah

A Concerned Citizen