The best among you are not those who do not miss their five daily prayers or frequent churches every week BUT watch innocent, defenseless people get oppressed and murdered and endorse it even tacitly. Jammeh’s misappropriation of our state resources, overstay, rudeness are bearable but appointing himself as God’s deputy on earth taking lives at will has to stop. The Gambia has been an oppressed nation for the longest, but blatant killing and murder by the oppressor earns no condemnation from a supposedly religious people.

You do not have to be invested in our politics to see the sad, urgent developments that have our country impregnated with explosive potential chaos. We can scream about how religious and tight-knitted we are as a people but we’re not God’s favorite country or people, and are not any better than the countries that went this path to destruction before us. We earned the right to meet force with force.

JAMMEH SAID:

“I don’t see the point. People die in custody or during interrogations, it’s really common. This time, there is only one dead and they want investigations?, I will not. No one can tell me what to do in my country.”

Yaya did not only confirm Solo Sandeng’s death but reiterated his lack of care and concern for Gambian lives especially that ‘this time there is only one dead’. Well, when someone dies in state custody thorough and expeditious investigations are launched to establish cause of death to rule out or ascertain any foul play. This hasn’t been the case. No admission of death nor the dead body given to the family for befitting burial. This lack of empathy or remorse is evidence of the level of respect Yaya has for you, me, our families. But we are the enemies of the country we’re all born in and have everything we love in? We are the violent ones?

It’s no secret that Yaya has no iota of regards for any regional or international bodies because he is confident that they’re not going to do anything serious that would affect his presidency. No sanctions or travel band of any kind worries this idiot who is richer and wealthier than his country. This is our fight and it is apparent that before you have any serious international intervention of any sort, things have to get worse or at equal severity with countries like Myanmar, Syria, etc.

Gambia unfortunately but deservedly will have to stand for herself against the barbarity if the state and leadership are the perpetrators of this sadness. We would not love to take lives but we have to kill in defense of self, family and nation. We’re getting there. This isn’t acceptable and we can’t say it can’t be helped. Instructing to have an already beaten woman to be raped is sadistic, and whoever has the guts to even think that should be murdered.

The arrest of Solo Sandeng, his brutal torture and subsequent murder; the arrest, torture and sexual assault of the women arrested with him whom from their sworn affidavits left no room for speculation that rape is a standard weapon of torture by our state agents sanctioned by the president; and the arrest of our elderly, frail parents and senior citizens in Ousainou Darboe, Femi Peters, Kemeseng Jammeh, Lamin Dibba among others, and the use of unnecessary excessive force to the point of beating and to bloody them in the process by fatherless security officers born to unfaithful mothers of street prostitutes – are enough for Gambians to fend for themselves. We have to meet force with force, which I’m aware cannot be if we go one-to-one with the state that has all the weapons and machinery at their disposal. However, we can take on the state and still prevail.

 
Every Gambian has a family or friend in our security outfits. Darboe, Femi, Solo, Nogoi, Fatoumatta Jawara, Daba Marena, Deyda Hydara, Chief Manneh, and all who got killed, torture and detained in the 22 years of Jammeh’s brutal regime, have someone in the Army, NIA, Paramilitary and Police. How do you live your lives knowing that your mothers, wives, sisters and daughters were undressed, beaten and asked to be gang raped by your coworkers for Yaya Jammeh? How? So I struggle to understand why are these people watching criminals torture and kill their relatives and do or say nothing about it. It’s no secret that those who murdered Gambians and put hands on Darboe, his people and those before them are in your midst. You know who did what and where. You are not able to defend your parents, stop these heartless criminal nor are you able quit your job in protest to name and shame them. You go home, cry alone and go right back to work with them the next day. Your lives are a waste and you will die unhappy and guilty.

Revenge and Avenge! Hurt and Kill Jammeh’s agents of terror and oppression in retaliation for what’s been unlawful killings of your people. Attack in revenge, those who give such orders and their families. Make them live in similar perpetual fear that has you dread nightfall. If you cannot in a face-to-face combat, use any weapon to kill Yaya, his children and mother, and anybody who stands in your way in defending and protecting your family. You know where Asombie Bojang lives. You know where Muhammed goes to school. Attack and kill them. You do not have to do that for country, but yourself and family. If Yaya thinks he has monopoly over killing, he’s right because you let him. On suspicion of target or harassment by Jammeh loyalists you either join in wrecking havoc on your own people to prove loyalty OR threw away your uniforms and run for your lives leaving your families at his mercy. Cowards! That’s what you are. For 22 years there’s never been any attempt on the lives of any of his family or property in a country where he chooses who lives and dies, while you put your lives on the line for him and family before he turns around and murder you. What do you think your parents and family think of you?

Pata PJ

—

PJ Saidykhan

Yahya Jammeh never falls short to make Gambia suffer a tsunami of bad publicity. In a broader sense, Jallow Kanilai’s does not need help for bad publicity because —his conduct in numerous controversies always attract increasingly fierce criticism. In another worrisome sign, his cavalier attitudes and mere words are mostly full of thorns Orientals whenever he has a microphone in front of him. Asombi’s baby—a curse of Gambia arrived in The State house having never gotten the lecture on the facts of life. It’s business as usual in highest office in Gambia occupied by Yaya Jammeh where frittering away of the nation’s resources and his love of African Trade Mark are good sport. His recent recordings reveal an enduring culture of impunity and arrogance as he slams — UN chief Ban Ki-moon and Amnesty International for demanding an investigation into the death of solo sandeng. He is graduate of the “See No Evil” in what I do School of thought.

In looking back on the past, we must not forget —before taking control of Gambia, Yahya Jammeh vowed it was time of unique destiny and opportunity for our nation and he intends to lead the most honest, most open, and most ethical Government in history— a nation dedicated to building the best possible life for our people — built not on vain hopes and good intentions, but on solid, realistic foundations. Yahya Jammeh turned away from all those promises. Among the highlights of the fruit of the APRC so called July 22nd revolution in Gambia far better than the 400 years of British rule — a favorite tactic of Yahya Jammeh; the looting kartong village sand mines, staggering inequality, our sisters sold as domestic slaves in Arab countries, Central Bank and other public enterprises as tempting pot of money, 22 years of — Waves of power outages, mysterious dead’s, skyrocketing basic food commodity prices, regime kidnapping, arbitrary arrest, deadly backway journey and the list goes on — and — on. This is a far cry from the transparency promised by Yahya Jammeh.

However, with dozens of multimillion dollar assets throughout the world at his disposal and various of his close bodies are filthy rich now along with his family members — some under investigation for corruption, APRC regime clearly values political power over clean government. This is something worth bearing in mind. The essential issues in Yahya Jammeh’s widening regime’s scandal have always been his judgment and his imperious belief that the government’s rules don’t apply to him and his family. Deservedly so. Under Yahya Jammeh’s stewardship, The Gambia coup-installed government has been not just politicized, but radicalized. On issue after issue, he has tried to redefine everything on his own image —without clear thought of consequence thereafter and sometimes in clear defiance intent. If there’s one thing APRC regime is good at, it’s the coming up of weird and expensive schemes of partying or celebrations at the expense of Gambian tax payers. They preside over a weak economy and a government riven by corruption, waste, fraud and abuse.

The government operation process in this country has never been so unseemly. Cumulatively, corruption thrives in a big way in government offices. Everything about APRC regime involves arm twisting, backroom deals, special privileges for Jammeh family and his buddies —potentially criminal agreements became a normal way of doing business. Most of the regimes business dealings are held in close door secret meetings, buddy—buddy robbing shoulders kind of a thing and family affairs trumps the nations interest. Secrecy that hides Government business activities from the public itself should be anathema in a constitutional republic. For instance, the residence of kartong village were rightfully concerned about illegal sand mining activities of Yahya Jammeh and his family. They end up jailed at prisons by the regime—later released after mounting pressure on the regime. But APRC immune officials or close bodies of the president use the system for their own business interest and easily to abuse anyone they dislike. They often pursue secret grudges of witch hunting with exorbitant taxation to the little guys with small business, stalls, meals on wheels’ peddlers and poor women selling at markets or road side—while holding hostage both business and a person’s livelihood.

And, to be technical about it, if the man at the top wanted it to be different, the stonewalling of Gambian people development would have ended years ago. Our sisters are lied to —about work and sold as domestic slaves in other countries. Furthermore, each time a Gambian brethren fell in hands of law in foreign land, they are happy to dispatch immigration personals to expedite their deportation process. That is reprehensible and especially hypocritical coming from the man who promised the most open administration in history and have Gambian interest at heart. That’s why it is more than a little irksome when the president lectures about fearing GOD and society depends on the unvarnished truth whiles he is laying broken glasses on Gambians pathway on everything. He and his administration hasn’t walked its talk. And up to a point the regime is not dedicated to building the best possible life for our people, to overcoming injustice, expanding a level plain field opportunity every Gambian regardless of political or tribal affiliation.

Additionally, Yahya Jammeh though has successfully institutionalized subsidies for Gambia neighbors and created dependence on Gambian government handouts rather than self-reliance through their own governments. Having exported part of Gambians wealth to its neighbors as a fake pan African, they are forced into bill-collecting from Gambia’s coffers. This has also produced resentment among the native Gambian population — wholly predictable. The growing Cassamance and other foreign numbers in Gambia include some with ties, however nebulous, to rebel activities is very worrisome. Gambians are weary of the spiraling political and tribal chaos. Many are biding their time doing what they can in this difficult fight, hoping to fast-forward to the next government amid hopes that Gambia can eventually restore its democracy and repair its international image.

By Habib (A Concerned Gambian)

At the outset of his presidency, Yaya Jammeh enjoyed a brief flurry of enthusiasm among Gambians but it suddenly began to decline precipitously when the citizens learned about his envious politicized and tribal -based “justice” along with his social re-engineering agenda, which — among other things — attempts to seed everything with values antithetical to the Gambian tradition. Perhaps most perniciously, as soon as Yaya Jammeh’s reason for taking over the country fell apart, he picked up his pen (Daily Observer) and microphone (State Media GRTS) — and began to distort what he had done and why he did it until today. He continues to think the Gambians are merely impatient with his failed promises rather than scared by his executive actions and deception — though misinformation. He’s wrong on all counts.

He is out there to cherry-picking facts to yield a desired effect on misinforming our citizens. They have their own semantics. For example, a “Nationalism” has become the “unpatriotic.” The APRC coming into existence through “Coup detat” is now concealed as a “July 22 revolution”. “Gambian Diasporian” instead become mislabeled as “Negative internet sites or Bad citizens”. In keeping with the use of the APRC Party’s semantics, I am opposed to the “Regime’s treatment of women” means you oppose “Gender-equality”.

As a culturally illiterate at heart, he took a stab at his ideological grudge and skewered the Gambian economy instead. He understands that mere bluff and intense psychological propaganda often succeeds to succumb peace loving Gambians — particularly if the bluff is big enough. His agenda was quickly fully unmasked along with his intensely ideological tribal grudges — though he often denies it but It’s a telling symbol of Yaya Jammeh’s dysfunctional leadership. He continues to hamstrung Gambian in every step of the way as an obstructionist. He ensures most Gambians are not informed at all or completely misinformed, and their lack of political education. He is very astute in revising his political vernacular in order to suit his politically deceptive purposes.

He seemed absolutely tone-deaf but he is out there trying to misinformed the public about his love for Gambian women to shadow the brutality he instructed on the likes of brave Fatoumata Jawara and Ndogoi njie and stunning rebuking Gambian man — whom he deprived of jobs in every facet of the economy to make them look worthless. Then, in the next breath- he is secretly mollycoddling his tortures, giving them stolen homes and sheep to feast on. He continues to flail around like he is loved by the people at the same time foisting plans to eliminate all opposed to his regime.

He employed remarkable audacity — as infallible human being with white kaftans and large heart. Well after his coup, those who once enjoyed a sterling reputation among honorable public servants were humiliated and their properties confiscated with no evidence of corruption. He made so many families suffer and has so much blood on his hands. His government is setting The Gambia on an inevitable path to permanent debtor status whiles he becomes filthy rich. Politicians, solders, journalist, and his former colleagues started dying mysteriously. He quickly resorted to using deceptive tactics to misinform Gambians, held the Islamic religion hostage to cloud mind of Gambians, stonewalled every investigation which exonerate the PPP regime and blend himself with certain community elites.

He uses our judiciary to abuse Gambians, our service men whom are paid by tax payers — to harm us with brute force, our freedoms — to create gender wars, our delicate tolerances among each other — to divide us, our passionate love for each other — to create envy among us, our endlessly accommodating culture — to cause tribal suspicion, our religion — to create deep divisions within societies and more importantly, our respect of human rights as weakness.

To refuse to examine those truths mentioned above increases the difficulty of dealing with the reality of Gambia today. The promised economic reforms have reformed nothing. Trust me, Yaya Jammeh knows this very well and see the issues dangling right before his eyes during his brief stopover at the presidential tour. Remote sea waters in the world have witnessed record numbers of Gambians risking their lives to reach freedom. Clearly, any push for an informed electorate or citizenship rights has been overshadowed by immense amounts of misinformation by the regime.

We can no longer permit “all talk, no action”. This is a new era of responsibility. Citizens who hold Gambia very dear to their heart are still digging Gambia out from the misinformation Yaya Jammeh and his regime continuously spread. It’s a very painful and hard fight because they are now manifested in our public monuments – example “Marcatty square” renamed as July 22nd square, he reduces our countries independence day celebration to nothing and our history books are all being distorted. The debt outlook we own to our beloved country is increasingly bleak but we are Gambians and we shall overcome. It further obscures the urgent necessity for us Gambians to seek our own solutions to the threat in our midst.

Political misinformation in Gambia is rampant. Appropriate action on shared civic education is times a headache. It’s no longer news that diasporian vaunted outreach to some with political aspirations or certain oppressed people has been a bust at times. We heard it all — why don’t you folks come here and join the fight. Indeed, that is very cheap to say. It is time for our fellow citizens to step forward as leaders of their generations and inspire the beginning of a new age of participation freeing Gambia again. Without the presence of a more informed citizen—Gambian will continue to crumble under the leadership of Yaya Jammeh due to its inability to represent the needs of its people. By putting pressure on the regime and inspiring all Gambians to get involve about our countries affairs, we can all prevent the continuous breakdown of the foundation of our country. Democracy will flourish in our beloved Gambia and citizens will experience the advantages of enlightened citizens, better leaders will be elected, better laws will be implemented and Gambians will prosper.

By Habib (A Concerned Gambian)

BY: Ousainou Mbenga

For nearly three years, Lamin Waa Juwara was entangled in the “legal cob webs” of Jammeh’s courts on trumped up charges of “abuse of office”. Deep inside Jammeh’s bloody pockets, his mercenary judges, magistrates and prosecutors willingly created the prevailing set of “notorious charges” such as the “abuse of office” and “economic crimes”. These two charges can be as elastic as Jammeh wants to stretch it against his “unpatriotic” opponents and political enemies. Manufacturing criminal charges and crimes has become the primary function of the Gambian judiciary, with never any challenge from the Gambia Bar Association.

The law according to Jammeh has been the thorn on the side of the “judiciary” rendering it into a den of mercenary judges, home grown and imported. Typical of mercenaries; their conscience is numbed to the point of being remorseless, all that matters is money.

“THERE ARE NONE WITH CLEAN HANDS…”

BUT NO SPECTATORS ALLOWED!

But as the saying goes: “Lengoo ak saaw duuy yaga” – A hug with a porcupine never lasts long. All those who attempted to hug and suck –up to Yaya Jammeh, ultimately had their rude awakening when “Jammeh the porcupine” ejected his projectiles at them resulting in death, maiming, unemployment and forced exile. If the current Nigerian “mercenary judges” are deluded by blood money, no worries, the rude awakening is inevitable.

Notwithstanding Waa Juwara’s error, he has refused to be a spectator in the midst of Jammeh’s hell –bent determination for a fifth term. He defied and condemned all the conditions imposed by the “Independent Electoral Council” (IEC) on all the legally registered political parties in the Gambia. The despotic conditions that the not so “Independent Electoral Commission” shoved down the throats of the “opposition parties” were all unacceptable according to Juwara. The outrageous nomination deposit of half a million dalasis which use to be ten thousand dalasi, age limit imposition, reregistration of political parties, exclusion of potential voters in the Gambian “diaspora” and the exclusive “selection” of members of the IEC were resoundingly denounced as unacceptable. Is it any wonder that he was convicted on one bogus charge, “abuse of office” and imprisoned for six months?

Juwara’s ordeal and ultimate imprisonment began in 2012 after his removal from office as Minister of Local Government, Lands and Regional Administration. Juwara‘s charge sheet accused him of abusing the authority of his office “in a manner prejudicial to the Alkalo (village head) and elders of Jamburr Village by creating Sinchu Gidom as a village and appointed one Baboucarr Sillah as an Alkalo of the said village, knowing that Sinchu Gidom is a Kabilo within Jamburr village”.

Lawyer Lamin Mboge submitted that the accused person, Lamin Waa Juwara was empowered by section 59 of the constitution to appoint an Alkalo in his capacity as a minister at the time. Lawyer Mboge further argued that “section 59 of the constitution has killed this case and that section 4 of the same constitution buried it and anyone that appoints the Alkalo other than the Minister of Local Government and Lands is tantamount to the violation of the 1997 constitution of the Gambia”. The “law according to Jammeh” has turned that “1997 constitution” into a toilet paper.

Juwara denied the absurd allegation on the basis that he was not the Minister of Local Government, Lands and Regional Administration when the department was roiling in that “land dispute”. This ministry has a long history of convoluted land disputes of unscrupulous proportions. But nothing surpasses the reckless and un-satiable “land grabbing” by Jammeh and his “sharers of crumbs”. Juwara was granted court bail of D150000 and his travel documents confiscated by the regime.

To prove that the charges were trumped –up to highest order, this case lasted for three years with all the standard delaying tactics the mercenary judges are instructed to apply to frustrate Juwara and his counsel Lamin Mboge. All the evidence presented showed that there was no case to answer. You may recall that Juwara was acquitted twice by magistrates Ebrima Jaiteh and Sidit K Jobarteh respectively. But the “law according to Jammeh” runs supreme in the Gambia; a “nation behind bars”. On several court dates the state prosecutor didn’t even appear in court, likewise the state witnesses gave flimsy excuses such as being stranded in the provinces because of automobile break down. This game that the state and its witnesses played went on for three years. Three different magistrates presided over this case because Jammeh was not satisfied with their deliberations. Jammeh finally found a home grown “mercenary magistrate” in the person of Omar Cham to reverse the dictum of justice.

The die was cast in Juwara’s case when the magistrate that presided over the case for the past few months was abruptly replaced on the day of the April 14, 2016 hearing by magistrate Omar Cham who finally convicted and sentenced him to six months in jail on April 18, 2016. The other accused, Tamsir Onasis Conteh and Hamidou Jallow were given hefty fines of D125,000 and D175,000 respectively or risk 5 -7 years in jail, way beyond the normal court fines in such cases. The normal fines in the criminal code are between D5 -10,000. According to reliable sources, the home grown “mercenary magistrate”, Omar Cham has since his remorseless judgement been promoted to be a principal magistrate.

Beware of the rewards from “Jammeh the porcupine”!

The Jinni is out of the bottle and can never be put back in. In fact, we are breaking all the bottles to liberate the “Jinni”. Mercenary judges/magistrates, NIA, Junglers, and all enablers are put on notice that FEAR, no longer resides in the Gambia.

FREE WAA JUWARA AND ALL POLITICAL PRISONERS! PUT JAMMEH ON TRIAL!

By Habib

Why is it extraordinarily difficult to be politically correct in Gambia? The answer is not to dwell in confusing and frustrating nostalgia. The simply answer is — Self-improvement. Some people may argue that our distemper is mainly caused by tribal fragmentation and by the systems national dysfunction. Many have the observation that our politics and much of our thinking is drenched by self -improvement phenomena. Hence, this is one of the reasons why Gambia and it citizens have trudge through long stretches of difficulty to gain freedom from the clutches of dictatorship. Imaginary red lines drawn against the regime tend to fade quickly. We heard it all. Solders will do the right thing if — there is the slightest unrest. Well! wrong so far. They retreated to the rear to nurse their fear of Yaya Jammeh, leave the fight to the old failed citizens and women.

In an unusual public display of political settlement, the Gambian president dispensed with goofy euphemism of how he is going to continue his brutal strategy and no one dears to challenge him. Yaya Jammeh is a man of contradictions when it comes to anything but his opponents. One sure thing about Yaya Jammeh is— he speaks with Teutonic precision about the killings and horrible things he will do to his opponents live on TV. Most of us feel like our men in uniforms continue to portray the massacre of political opponents and the expanding threat to Gambians— and now to our women — as anything but what it is. Thus, Gambians are franticly searching for a counter-explanation from those serving in uniform, former solders or 1994 coup plotters — why this regime so brutally turn on Gambians. Assurance of our citizen’s safety and trust in our men in uniform is dissolving as more is learned about the events of April 14th and 16th.

Denial can be an inviting temptation. The viral videos of 1995 of Yaya Jammeh are out. Panama papers are out with almost Billion dollars siphoned from or through Gambia. Children are dying on remote backway treks. Education system failed many children. Our elders are disrespected and humiliated daily. Ability of Gambia to be taken over by strangers draws tantalizingly near. By now everyone knows Yaya Jammeh obsession and his ultimate golden Fleece is clearly —consuming African trade mark (ATM) and riches. Yet many people can’t bear to come to grips with the reality.

It is sad that Gambians have repeatedly given Yaya Jammeh and his regime the benefit of the doubt in the face of his incompetent judgment. Yaya Jammeh and his regime are not trying to find one way to serve the Gambian population but always trying to find someone else to blame for their problems. He has successfully scared the population and created a practical culture of self-improvement only. This is the central challenge facing our era. He is out there scolding, rebuking and reproving Gambians with reproof and impatience. Yet, some people brazenly claim everything is fine and peaceful. Their headlong drive of refusing to come to terms with reality is leading Gambia to the bouts of political insanity.

Those in high authority or leadership positions in APRC regime do not speak truth to power and are resorting to stunt betrays of high degree of contempt by keeping quite or avoiding Gambians — whom they presumably think will not remember their stands during these historical trying moments. Disaffected diasporian Gambians have however recognize their cowardice and are doing everything possible to change the culture of silence, expose those enabling the system, or self- improvement minded people only. Wishing, avoiding people or pretending will not change these outcomes. Gambians now have a national consciousness and much of our thinking is drenched on education our fellow citizens about the dangers of self-improvement in our political landscape today.

By Habib (A Concerned Gambian)