The Police Intervention Unit (PIU) have reportedly shot live bullets at peaceful demonstrators killing two activists leaving several others with serious injuries on Monday at Faraba Banta Village, Kombo East District.

According to sources the fracas emanated from Julakay Engineering Company that is currently engaged in sand mining operations though the villagers say they were not consulted and felt the operations will have serious impact on their environment.

Bakary Kujabi was reportedly shot on his chest and Ismaila Bah on his neck causing their instant death at the scene. The several injured include Francois Jammeh, Salifu Darboe, Jalang Darboe, Sainey Sonko, Dawda Daffeh, Pa Jammeh (shot on his leg), Buba Sanyang, Masanneh Njie, Sheriffo Touray and Amadou Jang Jawo who was shot on his buttocks is currently in critical condition. Many of them are admitted at the EFST Hospital in Banjul.

“We were not armed,” Mustapha Camara said.

The youth leader also an eyewitness told The Fatu Network that they were talking to the PIU officers posted at the village to ask the truck drivers to return the loaded sand until they received clearance from the National Assembly Select Committee that suspended mining operations at the place.

“While we were talking, two trucks of PIU officers came and fired two shots in the air….then started throwing tear gas…we picked it up and throw it back at them,” Mustapha said.

“They started firing rubber bullets before using live bullets killing our people,” he added.

“I was the first person who came to rescued Bakary Kujabi who was shot on his chest and the bullet passed through his back”

Mustapha explained that the seventeen (17) year old Bakary Kujabi was the only child of his mother.

“We want to know whether the IGP or President Barrow gave the order to fire live bullets at us,” Mustapha retorted.

Suwaibou Sanyang, another eyewitness told The Fatu Network that they heard the PIU officers saying aloud ‘Let us killed them’. He said they were using foul and abusive words.

The angry youths went after the alleged culprits dealing with Julakay Engineering Company. The Chief Bakary Sanyang of Kombo East was not spared, they brought the death bodies to his place and slapped him several times before fleeing away. The house and car belonging to Jung Conteh, former Chief was burnt likewise Jambawuntu Sanyang and Boyo Jarju. They all fled away with the Village Head, Nuha Kujabi, Bakary Saidy and Mamadi Saidy.

The villagers say one of the shooters of Bakary Kujabi was a PIU Officer and his name is Alieu Camara of Brikama New Town.

“I told him on his face that he has killed an innocent person”

The Police Spokesperson, Superintendent David Kujabi was contacted but said he is gathering information about the incident.

The person behind the Julakay Engineering Company is one Ansumana Marenah. He is from Badibu Suwareh Kunda, a close associate of the late Baba Jobe who introduced him to the former President Yahya Jammeh.

Mr Ansumana Marenah commonly known as ‘Julakay’ was a businessman and financiers of the former ruling APRC Party.

Meanwhile, Journalist Pa Modou Bojang, the presenter of Menbekering programme was reportedly arrested and detained at the Brikama Police Station.

Reports have it that yesterday, Monday 18 2018, two people were shot dead in Faraba Banta Village due to a scuffle between the Police Intervention Unit (PIU) and villagers who were complaining of the destruction of their environment by a foreign sand mining company. This problem had been brewing for a while before it erupted into that catastrophe. This is indeed deplorable.

The primary duty of a government, it is said, is to protect its citizens. It behooves your government therefore to do everything in its power to ensure that the people living in the Gambia are safe and secure. The issue of the environment has become a serious threat to the peace and security of the nation.

However, the incident that occurred in Faraba leading to the death of at least two people exposes some serious problems in our security services. Although the Inspector General of Police has said in a statement that no authorization was given to use firearms, the fact remains that agents of the State who are supposed to protect citizens opened fire and killed innocent civilians.

This shows that our security officials – or at least most of them – do not have the required training to do their jobs well. Whatever the case, trained officials should never open fire on innocent civilians. These people were supposed to be the guardian angels who would risk their lives to ensure that the civilians are safe, no matter what.

Another angle is that the security officials – the police in this case – have not been equipped enough to face challenges like riots or protests. As our nascent democracy grows, more and more people will take to the streets to protest their dissatisfaction over one thing or the other. Thus, it is of extreme importance that our security officers are prepared to take up the challenge to control, protect and secure the lives of people.

It is also important to ensure that the security services are well paid and well-motivated to sacrifice for the good of the country. Even if the security services are well trained and well-equipped, if they are not well paid, they will lack the motivation and incentive to risk everything, including their lives, to make sure that the people of the nation are protected.

The saying that prevention is better than cure comes to mind here. The government should ensure that all issues which can cause people to walk out in the streets to protest are removed. Thus, the government should make sure that all crimes are thoroughly investigated, and perpetrators brought to book if need be. There should be an end to impunity because wherever it prevails, violence is bound to follow.

The various incidents which have happened in the country and were not properly or thoroughly investigated are the catalysts to many subsequent troubles. In one way or the other, if trouble brews somewhere and it is not given the due regard it deserves, it can cause something else to happen which may be of greater magnitude.

The scuffles that took place in Kanilai, Farato, Busumbala, Tallinding are all harbingers to what transpired in Faraba yesterday. Mr President, you must take the bull by the horn, as it were, to ensure that your legacy is not the killing of innocent Gambians because due process was not followed in solving some of the problems that we have in the country.

I therefore condemn the killings of innocent civilians in the strongest terms possible and call on your government to mount a thorough and exhaustive investigation to ensure that whoever fired those bullets or had a hand in the problems leading to it is prosecuted to the full extent of the law.

Remember, peace is not the absence of violence but the presence of justice.

Have a Good Day Mr President…

Tha Scribbler Bah

A Concerned Citizen

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Faraba Bantang Incident

The Democratic Union of Gambian Activists, DUGA, holds President Barrow and his administration solely and wholly responsible for the senseless murder of unarmed civilian protesters in Faraba Bantang. We watch with horror as the Barrow government continues to spiral out of control, from the murder of Haruna Jatta in Kanilai (with no investigation, even though one was promised); to the arrests of peaceful environmental activists; and now these senseless murders and arrest of a journalist. It is appropriate to say that the Barrow government has lost its way and is determined to consolidate itself by any means necessary.

We have said it, and will unequivocally reiterates, we will never tolerate a return to dictatorship or any form of tyranny in The Gambia. What was unacceptable under Jammeh is STILL unacceptable in The Gambia today.  We lay the blame squarely on President Barrow and his government for arming the PIU with live bullets to quell a peaceful protest.

We condemn, in the strongest terms, the brutal killings and injuries of innocent citizens of Faraba Bantang. We call on the Barrow government to immediately launch a comprehensive and independent investigation into this unfolding national tragedy and bring perpetrators to justice.

Signed,

The Democratic Union of Gambian Activists

Alagi Yorro Jallow

I grieve with the people of Faraba bantang in the Kombo East: The build-up of political and economic crimes in the Gambia has not only left many in anger and unspeakable poverty, but a tiny percentage with ballooning stolen wealth has also created deep insecurity and restlessness. The Gambia is at the cusp of a crisis which may lead to a political decay. How this fear and political chaos will unfold will depend on how President Adama Barrow handles the people’s cry for justice.

Fatoumatta: The Gambia government is responsible for the deaths of two unarmed protesters killed and several others injured while peacefully protesting about sand mining and environmental destruction in their community. These police brutality must be condemned as a crime against human and people’s rights.

At the same time, I’m deeply horrified that the Gambia stood on the wrong side of history (again) while this is happening in a new-found democracy hailed by the entire world. President Adama Barrow must have learned from his predecessor’s bestiality of police brutalization when trigger happy security officers killing and brutalizing unarmed civilians.

Fatoumatta: When a government begins to go down the path of killing its own citizens the way Adama Barrow’s government is doing, imitating the past government of Yahya Jammeh’s playbook, shifting blame is usually the first tactic in patching up a crumbling image. Protesters always provide a soft target for regimes gone rogue. Among them have been a few angry young men and women protesting injustice and destruction of their community. No matter how much you wish it, those protesters, they do NOT make a militia. They are simply unarmed young men and women tired of getting killed, tired of living at the bottom of the barrel, tired of their votes never count. The government has enough force to arrest those who destroy property and take them through due process. But instead, this government kills them, kills young people in their homes, kills people going about their own business, beat young and old people with tear gas. Are these people enemy combatants belonging to a militia?

Fatoumatta: In this new political dispensation, Gambians do not need police brutalization, governance by bestiality and mistreatment meted on innocent Gambians. We do not need this police brutalization, governance by bestiality and mistreatment meted on our friend on the people of Faraba bantang village;we do not need this police brutalization, governance by bestiality and mistreatment meted on fellow citizens whose views we do not agree with; we do not need this police brutalization, governance by bestiality and mistreatment meted on the poor; we do not need this police brutalization, governance by bestiality and mistreatment meted on environmental and political activists; we do not need this police brutalization, governance by bestiality and mistreatment meted on monkeys even!

President Barrow this police brutalization, governance by bestiality must stop this! You must end it. You must not even imagine using such tactics.

More importantly though, these beasts must be brought to book. It cannot be that we rave about this and it is all forgotten…with time.

Fatoumatta: Government must identify these, it’s agents, strip them of their public service employ and place them under the hammer of justice. Faraba banta ‘ honestly do not deserve bestiality. Gambian need answers and justice!

Fatoumatta:  President Barrow and his combined security must stop the killings of innocent people. The value of human life must be greater than political and ethnic loyalties. Today, the Para-military killed two unarmed citizens of Faraba Banta, opened fire on protesters and several others wounded: The Gambia’s combined security forces, especially the Para-military must be retrained and reoriented on crowd control and community policing in a democracy.

Fatoumatta: Gambians wish to see nonviolent change that will bring economic, social and political justice. Most of all, we call for the immediate end to the killings of innocent people, the police brutality being perpetrated on Gambians, a vice that continues to happen up to this moment must ceased.  Political and communal violence has become a vicious circle that occurs in the Gambia since the killing of Haruna Jatta last year.

The leadership of the coalition of human rights lawyers and activists should commit to supporting (materially) the immediate dependents of those killed in Faraba. They died for a cause not advocated by any political party, protested to protect their environment they believed in. In death, they are more loyal to their community than a politician.
Civil society groups should assist the families of the deceased with pro bono legal assistance to pursue justice and compensation for those whose deaths may have resulted from bullets or unlawful use of lethal force by the police.

Solidarity is two-way, Mr. President.

The Gambia Government under Pres. Adama Barrow and his Interior Minister and the IGP must be held to account for the deaths of citizens in Faraba. The statement by the Interior Minister and the IGP that they did not give orders to paramilitary officers to shoot is misleading and inadequate ad cannot be used for their defence. The fact that live rounds were issued to these officers in the first place means they were required to use them and they did use them. Therefore the IGP cannot absolve himself of responsibility.

The PIU is a disciplined force under the command and control of the IGP who is under the direction and management of the Interior Minister. The deployment of PIU personnel including the arms they carry are not the choice of the individual officers but from their high command based on operational requirements. Therefore the fact that PIU officers were deployed to Faraba and provided guns and live bullets indicates that the decision came from their high command which is under the IGP and the Interior Minister.

For that matter the IGP must take full responsibility for the use of live rounds in Faraba. If they did not intend to have the PIU officers shoot then they would not have given them guns with live rounds. The use of live rounds by PIU officers is not unprecedented as we can vividly recall how they used live rounds in April 2000 to massacre Gambian schoolchildren. The PIU has been notorious for the use of force and violence on Gambian citizens as we saw how they manhandled Solo and fellow patriots when they protested on 14 April 2016. Therefore the PIU has a clear history and policy to use violence against Gambians which the IGP is fully aware of.

President Adama Barrow must therefore hold his IGP and Interior Minister fully accountable for the deaths and injuries in Faraba by deploying a notorious force known for their brutality. The failure of the Gambia Government to effect necessary system change within the security, sector particularly in the PIU since January 2017 itself calls into question the leadership and commitment of this Government to protect the fundamental human rights of citizens. The time has come to suspend or disband the PIU for a thorough and proper reform of that institution is conducted.

In light of the above the National Assembly must therefore institute an immediate open public hearing to be broadcast on national radio and television so that Gambians can hear and see direct and undiluted facts of the incident from the horses’ mouths. Public officials and security officers who gave orders and executed those orders including those who allowed PIU officers to carry armed guns must be held to account.

The National Assembly must also investigate the way and manner mining license was issued to a businessman to operate in Faraba when there has been no general consensus among the people. The Gambia Government must understand that it has no absolute and exclusive power or authority to dispense off the land and natural resources of communities just because it thinks it is the Government or that there is law to back such decision.

Communities also have rights to their environment equally and such environment and its resources cannot just be taken away from them by a government regardless. Therefore the Government must not take any action or decision that seeks to threaten the social, economic, cultural and environmental rights of citizens.

For The Gambia Our Homeland.

JUSTICE FOR THE FARABA VICTIMS NOW!

Dear Mr. President,

When you appointed me Executive Secretary of the TRRC back in late January 2018, my understanding was that your government was fully and genuinely invested in addressing past human rights violations and preventing the recurrence of future human rights violations. I believed that under your watch, no Gambian blood will ever be shed by Gambian security forces and that with your support, the TRRC will help bring justice to the victims and the families of victims of people who lost their lives or otherwise suffered gross human rights violations under the former regime. I am writing to you because today, I begin to feel that my conviction as stated above has been badly shaken and that ultimately, it will be hard for me to pretend to address the issue of gross human rights violations in an environment in which the very same violations are being repeated as evidenced by the tragic killing of protesters in Faraba Banta on Monday, June 18, 2018.

How can we purport to right the wrongs of the past when we are seeing a repeat of those very same wrongs in the present? How can we purport to seek justice for past violations when exactly the same violations are being committed in the here and now? How can we honestly say “Never Again” to gross human rights violations in The Gambia when gross human rights violations are being committed right before our eyes? Surely, it would be grossly dishonest and hypocritical of me personally to head an institution that claims to be investigating extra judicial killings of the past regime when extra judicial killings are being committed – as in the Faraba case, right under my eyes? It is never right for police to open fire on unarmed civilians, however tense and volatile the situation. Why can’t the police use tear gas or rubber bullets or even batons to disperse protesters, rather than use life bullets to kill them? We can’t have that in the New Gambia. We cannot tolerate that in the New Gambia.

Surely Mr. President, you do understand the very difficult situation in which the Faraba killings have put me and the entire mandate of the TRRC. You understand how difficult it will be for me and my colleagues to go about the country talking about the injustice of killing unarmed protesters by the former regime while police officers have opened fire and killed unarmed protesters in the here and now. I cannot just emphasize strongly enough in what an impossible situation the Faraba killings have put the mandate of the TRRC. Suffice it to say that the Faraba incident has just made the mandate of the TRRC a million times more complicated and difficult than it already is.

The purpose of this open letter is to both express my personal outrage at what happened at Faraba, to show how it has made my work and position much more difficult and untenable and to ask that your government does something NOW to salvage the situation. I am writing to ask that those responsible for killing the victims of the Faraba shootings be identified, arrested and brought before a court of law NOW. The job you have entrusted me with is a job I love and a job I believe can help us all build a truly just, democratic and enlightened Gambia. But it is a job I cannot do when the very things we are condemning in the past are being repeated in the present. SO PLEASE DO SOMETHING NOW – and I do not mean the usual lengthy investigations. I mean BRING THOSE WHO KILLED THE FARABA PROTESTERS TO JUSTICE NOW. This is one case that must be treated with the urgency and seriousness it deserves.

I thank you for taking the time to read this open letter and for taking FIRM, UNAMBIGUOUS ACTION NOW to demonstrate to the TRRC, the Gambian people and the International Community that extra judicial killings are not acceptable and will Never Again be tolerated in The Gambia. #NEVERAGAIN!

Yours Sincerely,

Baba Galleh Jallow, Ph. D
Executive Secretary, TRRC

The Office of The Inspector General of Police wishes to bring to the attention of the General Public that in the early hours of 18^thJune 2018, residents of Faraba Banta and personnel of The Gambia Police Force were involved in a clash that led to the regrettable death of Bakary Kujabi and Ismaila Bah and injury to several others.

The Office of the Inspector General of Police wishes to make it clear that it did not authorize the use of fire arms and will investigate the circumstances that led to this unfortunate incident.

The Office of the Inspector General of Police wishes to express sincere condolences to the bereaved families and promise that appropriate action will be taken.

The community of Faraba Banta is hereby urged to keep the peace, be law abiding and refrain from violence while investigations are launched.

Thank you.

Inspector General of Police

‘I Am Sorry If I Hurt You Knowingly Or Unkowingly’ Those are the words of Seedy S.K Njie, former Information Minister and one time spokesperson of The Alliance For Patriotic Reorientation & Construction (APRC) apologizing to Gambians for any wrong he may have caused anyone including his neighbors and friends during his time as politician with the former regime.

The former member of Parliament in renewing his total allegiance and unalloyed loyalty to President Barrow and his government called on all Gambian to unite, preach peace and work towards national reconciliation. Seedy Njie was speaking to Star Fm Radio Sunday afternoon.

‘I wish to call on all Gambians to desist from ranting insults and castigating our leaders and opponents on social media such as whatsApp and facebook. The act is against the ethics of Islam and Christianity and it will never help but rather breed chaos and violence.’ Seedy Njie said.

‘All should embrace President Barrow and his government to transform the country to the promised land’. He added that the National development Plan 2018-2021 seeks to transform the Gambia from a developing nation to a middle income country.

Seedy Njie said out of the $2.4 Billion of The NDP, 57% will go towards addressing infrastructure and energy, whilst the agriculture sector will provide irrigation and mechanisation. Youth employment, civil service sector reform, good governance, freedom of expression he added are all embeded in the NDP.

‘We now need all hands on deck to realise those gigantic dreams of the president’. Seedy Njie said

Responding to claims made by the National Assembly Member for Central Badibu, Hon. Saho, Seedy SK Njie said every Gambian is free to belong to any association, religion or political party of their choice as well as move freely within and outside the country.

‘Any attempt to disrupt such will be against the law and will be illegal’.

Seedy called on Hon. Saho to advise himself and his people to refrain from inciting violence.

‘As a UDP MP he should encourage cohesion and unison at his constituency and urge his people to support President Barrow’s agenda as a coalition partner rather than trying to incite violence’.

He said it is false information that he visited Njabakunda recently for a meeting. ‘ That has never happen’. But he was quick to add that the people of Njabakunda have every right to join the Barrow movement or any organisation of their choice.

On The President Barrow Youth Movement For National Development, the firebrand politician said the movement is across party lines and it aims to unite and encourage youths to rally behind president Barrow as an independent president and support his developmental agenda on a nonpartisan line.

‘I repeat I am 100% Barrow and will continue to support him always and I am ready to help him to make sure that he will not fail and will always stand for him and his Government because he is the president of the Gambia’. Seedy SK Njie told Star Fm Radio Sunday morning.

Alhassana Jammeh, Gambia’s Ambassdor to The Kingdom of Morroco is currently in Banjul for consultations after he was recalled for allegedly bitting off the finger of one Mr. Jarju’s, his protocol/welfare officer.

According to credible sources, Amabassdor Jammeh attacked Mr. Jarju with a stick after he said Jarju disobeyed his orders.

‘His order was for no staff to use any of the mission’s vehicles for personal use’. A source told The Fatu Network

According to the source, Jarju used one of the vehicles to go pay his children’s tuition. This, the source said didn’t go down well with Ambassdor Jammeh who angrily rushed into Jarju’s office upon his return with a stick hitting him.

‘As Jarju was trying to stop him, he bites off his finger’. A source told The Fatu Network on Saturday. The source added that Jarju was rushed to the hospital but doctors say the finger was cut off from the vein therefore they cannot do much.

When asked whether background checks are conducted for Ambassadors before appointments, an official close to the foreign office said he is not aware for many of the appointments are done in consultation with the Office of The President.

Ambassador Jammeh’s family is said to be very close to The First Family which many believe is the reason for his appointment.

The Fatu Network has tried reaching out to the foreign minister, Mr. Ousainou Darboe but he is said to be currently out of the country on an official mission. Mr. Darboe is ecpected back in Banjul Saturday evening.

Meanwhile, Moroccan Police are said to be investigating the issue and have spoken to numerous staff at the Embassy. Ambassador Jammeh’s fate hangs in the balance as sources say The Morrocan Government do not want him back as Ambassador.

The Fatu Network will follow this story for you.

Photo Credit: Pa Modou Bojang, Membehkering

Myths are an integral part of the human experience – and, in The Gambia, like most societies, we have our own — “the tolerant society”. Growing up, one always heard the phrase: “we are a tolerant country”. It is not that this is not true, as a matter of fact, it is; however, the estimates of the facts are grossly overblown. Because upon further interrogation – you realize that this is factual only because the minority ethnic/religious groups are the ones tolerating the tyranny of the majority, their disgust, condescension, condemnation, their superiority complex. The day the Manjagoes and the other minority groups start exacting a price or demanding their voices, rights from the majority, the day they demand a tabernacle inside their State House; the day they demand Christian prayers in our “Muslim” schools, the day they confront the intolerant majority with their receipts, that would, writ large, end this myth a la the “tolerant society”.

As a Gambian Muslim — be it Mandinka, Wolof, or Fula — what exactly are you tolerating from these minority groups? Imagine living in a country where many people condemned you to hell because of your faith; imagine being “othered” your whole life. For a good many of these ethnic/religious minorities, they have to put up with the majority’s superiority complex, their disgust, that if they don’t convert to Islam, they are hellbound. I wonder what kind of conversations Manjagoes and other ethnic minorities have with their children at home; that their country, the only country they have ever known, irrespective of the “othering”, of the disrespect, of disgust, that they should just ignore and keep the peace. It must be cutting. It must be an emotionally laboring enterprise. Against this challenge – the notion of the “tolerant society” is helpless, if not, useless.

Essentially, how many of us know a word, or know anything about the culture of the Manjagoes, Karoninkas, Jola Casas, Mankagnes – absent the tokenism, obscuring and/or making fun of their languages and cultures? How many of us make an effort to speak or even understand the cultures of these ethnic minorities apart from the stereotypes? Most of us don’t even care to separate these distinct groups – because, we have lumped these groups into the “Njago” melange. The majority, at this juncture, is basically on autopilot – singing the “tolerant society” song, because, it is convenient, because the majority is not on the other side of the ethnic/religious analogy — and, because these groups are yet to haunt the majority’s consciousness — but a day will come when the myth of the “tolerant society” would be put to the test and we shall all be confronted with the bigotry of the majority.

Gambian society has standardized the whims of the majority, interpreting its heritage and legacy. This legacy aspires to the tyranny of the majority. Our phraseologies—peaceful co-existence, tolerant society— all serve to obscure the visceral experience minority communities have to put up with, that it has propelled a tier system of we are better; it birthed the “Njago” euphemism, one that is analogues to the “other”, one which we could project all our negatives towards, one even a conversion to Islam would not whisk away.  In our society – the “Toubab” is the one we want to be and the “Njago” is the one we don’t ever want to be. We must never look away from this. It is hard to face this – but a mature society has to. The notion that we have Manjago, Mankagne, or Christian friends, neighbors, that we are a “tolerant society” — that our parents always taught us to respect people irrespective of their identity — is not going to save us from our bigotry,  intolerance – and that of our society.

Personally and socially, acknowledging and confronting that it exists; that the generational process of “othering” of ethnic/religious minorities affects their lives, and that you have contributed towards it too, consciously or unconsciously. Our society will not change until it re-examines itself and tackles what it really means by a “tolerant society”. Until then — generations keep being born, thrust into a society preaching tolerance in theory  — and the banality that is the “tolerant society” is evermore edified.

Saul Njie

06.11.2018

Retired Brigadier Hugh Blackman CBE, a former British Army Brigadier is appointed Senior Security Sector Reform (SSR) Advisor to The Gambia by the Democratic Control of Armed Forces (DCAF) in Geneva, Switzerland.

Retired Brigadier Blackman is deployed to run the 18-month project that will be stationed in The Gambia with support from experts based in their Headquarters in Geneva and external experts from ECOWAS. He recently retired from the British Army and has worked previously in capacity building, governance and SSR missions in Sierra Leone, The Republic of South Africa, Libya and The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

“I have spent 34 years in uniform,” Retired Brigadier Blackman said.

“I have a lot to learn from the civil society, particularly the media,” he added.

Attila Lajos, EU Ambassador to The Gambia explained that the project is part of EU’s support to the Security Sector Reform (SSR) process in The Gambia.

“The programme seeks to contribute to meaningful security sector reform and greater accountability, leading to improved peace and security for the Gambian population,” EU Ambassador said.

According to Ambassador Lajos, the 18-month EU-ICSP funded project is organised along two main lines of intervention to focus on supporting the government in its efforts to launch a deep and inclusive SSR process. The other intervention would be enhancing its external oversight by state and non-state actors.

The EU Ambassador revealed that since February 2017, the ECOMIG Forces in The Gambia are funded by the EU. He added that the sub regional troops would continue to stay as long as their presence is needed in the country.

“We have spent over €8 Million Euro for the ECOMIG forces’ activities in The Gambia,” he stated.

“There are lot of academic studies for the democratisation of the security sector in the Gambia,” he pointed out.

Ambassador Lajos called on the Gambian Civil Society groups to fully participate in the security sector reform. He challenged the media among others to organised debates toward that direction.

Meanwhile, the EU Ambassador emphasized that Gambians must take the lead in nation building.

By Alhassan Darboe,Gunjur Newsonline

Professor Muhammadou Kah, formerly of The Gambia university and now Vice President of Academic Affairs at American university of Nigeria has been honored by Ada University in Azerbaijan.

Professor Kah bagged a prestigious job as Founding Dean and Vice Rector for Technology and Innovation at Ada University in Azerbaijan shortly after the expiration of his tenure as VC of the University of the Gambia.

Speaking to GunjurNewsonline from his base in Nigeria, Professor Kah disclosed his sense of humility and gratitude for the reception and honor his former employers bestowed upon him despite his departure from  the university to serve in his current position as vice president of Academic Affairs at American University of Nigeria, a top University in Nigeria and Africa.

His words: “I just got back to Nigeria from Baku, Azerbaijan. It was quite humbling and an honour for me to be the guest of honour and processed with faculty colleagues. I was given the honour to stand on stage as Founding Dean and Vice Rector for Technology and Innovation and Graduate the Inaugural Class of the School of IT and Engineering I helped establish.”

Touched is what he was by the fact that the announcement and unveiling of his successor was delayed until he got on stage as a mark of respect and appreciation for his successful tenure there as rector before heading to serve AUN.

“They delayed the announcement of the appointment of the substantive Dean until this moment. The Substantive Dean’s appointment was formally announced when I came on stage to hand in Diplomas and after their very kind words about my tenure there. He joined me on stage as well. Quite humbling, thoughtful and kind. The President of Azerbaijan and the 1st family attended as well, “added the distinguished professor.

Based in Nigeria, Professor Kah serves on the Board of The African University of Science and Technology (AUST) in Abuja;an African center of excellence for postgraduate education in STEM

Kah has been a well-spring of motivation and mentorship to many young Gambian students some of whom followed him in his academic odyssey from UTG to Azerbaijan.

And succeed they did in their quest for education with many acquiring their graduate degrees in Azerbaijan.

The first Gambian graduate was Ndey Haddy Jeng who bagged a master’s Degree in Diplomacy and International Affairs.

Upon graduation, she returned home to serve in Foreign Affairs and later at the quondam President’s Office where she rose to Deputy Chief Of Protocol. Last year, Jainaba Fye and Omar Jallow graduated with master’s degrees.

Jainaba Fye, another Gambian, graduated with a master’s Degree in Diplomacy and International Affairs and returned home and is a senior staff with the British High Commission in The Gambia.

Omar Jallow also graduated with a Master’s in Public Policy after which he returned home to work at MDI.

Lamin Jawara, the most recent Gambian graduate in Azerbaijan postulated:

“The second layer of years of studentship has finally come to an end with the sense of fulfillment. It has indeed been a prodigious and intriguing journey. I wish to express my profound gratitude to everyone who has contributed in one way or another to this accomplishment. My heartfelt gratitude to Prof.Muhammadou Kah and Dr. Jainaba Kah for their unflinching support during the course. I count myself lucky to be under the guardianship of such a benevolent, charismatic, industrious, above all caring couple. It was indeed a singular honor and privilege to share those memorable moments with them. Their humble advice, motivation, and concern will always resonate in my mind”.

Kebba Jammeh a UTG alumnus and currently a consultant in the office of Chief Economist at world bank in Washington DC had this to say about the role professor Kah plays in the success and lives of many young Gambians. “There are many kind words that can be said about Prof. Muhammadou Kah; especially in mentoring young people. I for one, without his support, it would’ve been hard for me to leave UTG for my master’s degree in Italy when I received the scholarship from Collegio Carlo Alberto”.

Sometime last year, the government of the Gambia released a statement that it had resumed direct control of the country’s international voice gateway, terminating the services of intermediary company MGI. The move follows preliminary report by the ‘ICT Taskforce’ installed by the President for GAMTEL to directly collect international call termination fees from other operators – which should’ve been the case anyway!

In view of circumstances as to the scandalous contracts that MGI and ‘Spectrum international’ was, major questions still linger need clarifying by the management team at both GAMTEL & GAMCEL on why it chose to delegate the international gateway revenue collection to obscure & opaque firms. For a start, how did the deal come about, and who or whom approve of it? Excuse me, but can you try answer without the ‘Jammeh-card’ excuse label! A detailed forensic overview of Gamtel/Gamcel financial records is overdue; an independent audit is called for!

Back in 2008, we saw the then administration cancelled a partnership agreement with the Lebanese-owned ‘Spectrum International’, citing fundamental breaches of partnership agreement. The statement went on to elaborate underperformance of Spectrum blaming it for the deteriorating performance of the country’s telecommunications infrastructure under its watch. In writing this article, I found no trace to show that Spectrum had ever submitted financial statements, nor was the said contract subject to parliamentary scrutiny. As such, neither could one evidence if it had payed taxes to the state or that of other Gamtel-sanctioned contract under review – Please, there is need for clarity [PAC-PEC Committee in Parliament].

As things stand, suspicions run riot with regards to the financial regime & overall management of Gamtel/Gamcel super-structure. And if the ‘Janneh Commission’ is anything to go by, those intermediary firms contracted to the international gateway, making a fortune out of the deal, should be summoned before the judges. For all we know, Spectrum International and MGI could still be making money at the expense of Gamtel/Gamcel taking advantage of a poorly governed call termination collection system. The government of the Gambia better get its house in order, address wastage and leakages. Potentially, billions of dalasis may have been lost to corruption over the past many years, yet not a single head stand to pay a price. Yeah, I’m against privatisation, in case you ask, but I think it’s about time for a rethink on these fat-cat quangos being a drain on Gambian taxpayers.

Across Africa, change and progress continues, but so are bent officials are at it through dubious, selfish means to gain ill-gotten wealth. In view of the changing times and the many challenges ahead, Gambia need a regulatory mechanism ‘Telecoms Regulator’to reign in changes & provide oversight over the country’s telecommunication industry.

In a recent interview with #ThePoint Newspaper, the managing director of Gamcel, Elizabeth Mendy-Jonhson, was quoted as saying, ‘MGI was to be paid the [ridiculous] amount of one million dollars, but that the company would not ask for it’. But when put to her by Counsel Bensouda that MGI has already deducted $1,093,600 for roaming; she replied to not being aware of that transaction. Hang on a minute, so a whooping fifty million dalasis deducted from a public-owned enterprise yet the person in charge knew nothing about it – well you do the math!

Soon after parting ways with MGI, Gamtel was losing a million dalasi a day. This is not my opinion, but government itself, raising further questions where all that money disappeared to? Government should adhere to public calls for a proper auditof all parastatals, especially GRA and Ports, because it worries see officials struggle to recollect transactions amounting to several millions they had signed for. That gives pause for concern; for a parliamentary probe into the telecommunication company’s financial history from 1994 to date.

Gibril Saine   Twitter: @gibbysaine

GDC Press Release:

The GDC party leader, Hon.Mamma Kandeh with few delegates visited Taneneh village Saturday to scout for an amicable solution in reconciling the ongoing graveyard issue.

Hon. Kandeh spoke to placate their emotions and to thank the people of Teneneh for keeping and maintaining the peace.

Hon Kandeh sympathetically, extended an offer to Seedu Barrow, to grant him a plot of land of the exact size if he wishes as a way of compensating him to let go and allow the manjago community in Teneneh village to continue using the place as a graveyard to bury their dead.

The GDC chief executive emphasized that graveyards are human’s final resting place and urged Seedu Barrow to exercise mercy for the purpose of peace, common understanding and a common belonging amongst us.

In the final analysis, the people of Teneneh village appreciated Hon Kandeh’s visit and welcomed his kind words in seeking to reconcile the quagmire. They thanked him for visiting.