Supporters of former President Yahya Jammeh on Monday marched to the Ministry of Justice and handed a petition letter to the Minister of Justice for him to give to President Adama Barrow.
“Our petition is geared towards the processes, in the appointments, and the process throughout the course of the TRRC. We are of the opinion that the process had been compromised very seriously,” APRC interim leader Fabakary Tombong Jatta told reporters in Banjul.
He added: “We had said earlier, at the onset, even when our doubting Thomases said that ‘so far the Janneh Commission could not put down the APRC, the TRRC would be the killer blow’. That notwithstanding, we said very clearly we are not opposed to any TRRC to investigate into the alleged activities of our government.
“We believe we were in government for 22 years and it’s people’s right to find out some of the alleged allegations. What we wanted and what we had cried for was that it should be done honestly, transparently and for the greater interest of the Gambian people. I am sure most of you will agree with me that from the onset, the whole process of the TRRC has been compromised.”
APRC’s latest strategy to discredit the TRRC has to do with people who served on the commission including its chairman Dr Lamin J Sise.
Tombong Jatta said: “Number 1 of the whole issue is we have the 1997 constitution that guides any operations of government. It’s the supreme law of the land, it cannot be mortgaged, it cannot be compromised, it’s not owned by individuals or even the custodians. Therefore, the appointment of Dr Lamin Sise for us is illegal. If you refer to section 201 of the 1997 constitution, it made it clear who can be appointed into a commission of inquiry and who should chair a commission of inquiry, whether it’s a one-man commission or more than two people.
“And from all our investigation and information, Dr Lamin Sise with all his expertise and experience, is not qualified among many qualified people to take up that responsibility. It [Section 201] provides that a person shall not be appointed chairperson of a commission of inquiry unless; (a) he or she has been a judge of a superior court whether in The Gambia or outside; (b) he or she is qualified to be appointed a judge of the superior court.“
He said elsewhere: “We have also observed that some people who are already convicted in the issue, like the vice chairperson whose daughter we are all aware was implicated in the 30th December attempted coup. You have the mother to sit and determine the truth about that government when we have a lot of independent-minded qualified Gambians who are not compromised in any form.
“The other side we queried about is the fact that we are aware that Alagie Saidy-Barrow who was part of the December 30th, 2014 attempted coup in this country, fled and went to the United States. In America, he was held, tried and convicted for his role in the December attempted coup. Upon becoming into force of the coalition government, we all witnessed his return to The Gambia with a red-carpet welcome. He was taken as the lead investigator in the TRRC. He had used the gun and he failed and you’re giving him the weapon of the pen to try his luck again. Are we short of intellectual, qualified personnel who are not compromised, who could have done that job to at least give the commission a beautiful outlook? You expect us to believe that that person would honestly give justice to the whole process?
“We are also aware that the executive secretary of the TRRC, Baba Galleh Jallow, who throughout his professional journalistic and academic career, has posed himself as one of the greatest critics of our party and our government. And it is known that he is a friend to Alagie Barrow and even they lived together just by the time of the December coup in United States of America. The man himself who had described the December attempted coup to the American Revolution of 1865. It’s the sama Baba Galleh whom if you remember went to the extent of giving threats to government, demanding for the full implementation of their report or risk facing [] consequences.
“We also witnessed the issue of Captain Yankuba Touray. He went to the TRRC, we all saw it. He relied on the provisions of the 1997 constitution giving him immunity. He was forced to speak, he said he is not speaking within that period. The commission decided to send him to the Attorney General for contempt of the commission. That charge was thrown out. But we also heard the then attorney general saying that they would teach him a lesson. He came and he was prosecuted for murder of former minister Ousman Koro Ceesay. Some junta members, some other people in the commission had confessed for their actions. Why should Yankuba alone be prosecuted before the report of the TRRC is out two years ago?”
