By World News Daily Report

A 36-year-old woman from Michigan has made a crashing entrance into the Guinness Book of World Records yesterday at the Harper University Hospital by giving birth to her 14th child all born from different fathers.

According to the internationally recognized authority on the cataloging and verification of world records, Anita Sullivan has just become the first woman in recorded history to conceive children with more than thirteen different men.

“I’m extremely proud to have broken a World Record,” Ms. Sullivan told reporters. “My mother always told me that I was lazy and worthless, and that I would never accomplish anything in my life. Now, I’ve shown everyone that she was wrong, and that I can even be the best in the world when I put my mind to something. In fact, I’ve just accomplished something that no one had done before!”

Anita Sullivan says she’s been unlucky with relationships in the past, but she believes that this time she may have found the man of her life.

“I’m good at having babies, but I’m really awful when it comes to picking the fathers of my children,” says the young woman. “This time, however, I think I’ve learned from my past mistakes. Ramón isn’t like all the jerks I’ve dated before. We’ve been together for almost a year and a half, and I really believe it could work between us.”

Ms. Sullivan’s thirteen other children were all present at the hospital to meet their new sibling. They were all extremely proud to hear that their mother had broken a Guinness World Record, and posed happily for the 2017 edition of the book.

After their meeting with Ms. Sullivan, the representatives of Guinness opened a second investigation concerning the record for the number of child support pensions received by one person.

The Detroit native is already the beneficiary of pensions paid by 11 different men and is implicated in two other custody cases which should proceed before the family court over the next two months.

The investigation should be over by the month of March 2016 and Guinness will then be able to tell if Ms. Sullivan holds a second World Record or not.

By Arfang M.S. Camara

The Gambia Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Abuja Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI) led by its President, Prince Adetokunbo Kayode SAN.

The MOU is aimed at encouraging, promoting and facilitating trade cooperation among the business communities of The Gambia and Nigeria. The President of the Abuja Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI) visited the Gambia at the invitation of the Gambia Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI)

Speaking at the signing ceremony, Chief Executive Officer of The Gambia Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI), Alieu Secka said the invitation is to establish a practical framework for the development of stronger trade relationship between the Gambia and Nigeria, and to set forth the procedures of cooperation, which he said can enhance the implementation of reciprocal trade objectives.

For his part, President of the Abuja Chamber of Commerce Prince Adetokunbo SAN, used the occasion to address the Nigerian banking and business community in Banjul, during which he stressed the importance of more business activities between countries in the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) sub-regions, saying it would help lift the people out of poverty.

While exchanging views with the GCCI CEO and its council members, Prince Kayode stressed the need for all of Africa to key into the new Continental Trade Free Zone (CTFZ), Africa free trade agreement in order to expand intra African businesses.

He pointed out that the new dispensation will mark a turning point in the way they do business among themselves.

“A vast market such as Africa’s should be harnessed for the overall benefit of our business communities in our respective countries,” he said.

Under the agreement, it is expected that both parties shall coordinate their activities in order to establish and expand a trade network, facilitate business opportunities, collaborate in logistics matters, assist each other in organizing or participating in trade fairs, exhibitions, conference, seminars and other similar activities in particular in areas like tourism, education, oil and gas, construction, agriculture and technology.

By Fatou Sowe

Words in the streets within the urban settlements of the Gambia has it that the prices of basic commodities such as rice, cooking oil and vegetables are on the increase. As a result, this reporter went out and about the gauge people’s reaction on the issue.

At Serekunda market, Isatou Faal a housewife, has this to say.

“I understand that the whole world is experiencing hardship and the Gambia is no exception, however the hight cost of living for my family is gradually becoming difficult as a result of this issue. I urge the government to do something because Ramadan is approaching and if this continues my husband would find it difficult to make ends meet for the family.”

For her part, Ramatoulie Bah a vendor at Sinchu Alhagie said she is a petty trader through which she meets her financial needs and that of her young family.

“ I have been in business for more than 5 years but my experience this year is not encouraging because not only are imported goods expensive, but vegetables that are cultivated in the country are sometimes more expensive than the imported ones.

Alieu Jeng a shop owner in the Coastal Road market revealed that it is normal for the prices of goods to go up mostly at this time of the year and such has become a trend in the past years.

“In my opinion I think those complaining are the lazy ones who expect government to feed them. I urge people especially the youths to work rather than blaming the government or businessmen for their failure to work and earn a living.”

By Musa Bah

The fact that ID cards have not been issued in over a year in the Gambia is a problem that sheds bad light on the government of the Gambia. Firstly, it represents a sort of a hangover from the very high dosage of ineptitude and corruption that was forced down our throats by the previous government. The fact that the contracts that were signed by the government with Semlex were certainly not good for the country suggests that someone simply wanted to benefit from such contracts at the detriment of the nation.

Then, this same government – because they had been made to believe that Pristine Company was better for the country (and perhaps someone would have benefitted hugely) – made them sign another one with them (Pristine). This led to a court case being filed against Government of the Gambia for breach of contract.

The contract signed with Pristine Company stated, among other things, that it will last for five years. During these five years, they were supposed to train personnel from the Gambia Immigration Department so that at the end of the period, those officers will take over from them. Apparently, they were not training anyone and in fact, our Immigration officers were not allowed anywhere near the printing facility. This shows that both Pristine Company and the Immigration Department failed to serve the interest of the Gambian people.

Pristine Company cannot – should not – sign a contract that they will train Gambians and then refuse to do so. The Immigration Department also failed inasmuch as they would have known after a year or two that their officers were not getting the training. They should have raised the alarms early in the game. But, they didn’t, or so it seems. Someone has got to answer for this.

Now, the new Government is stuck in between Semlex who have a valid contract, they say; and Pristine Company, who reportedly have our data and are unwilling to release it to be used by someone else. This is ridiculous! Meanwhile, Gambians are going around with no ID Cards. This is a woeful failure on the part of our governments – both past and present.

It was learnt during the investigation for this writeup that there are people within the Immigration Department who have the expertise to produce this ID Card much like how the Gambia Police Force are issuing the Drivers’ License on their own. Besides, if a foreign company produces these national documents, it means they have all our information at their disposal and who knows what can happen to it (or the country) in this age of hackers, black and white? It is high time we started depending on our little expertise and resources rather than always looking outwards for our needs.

How can a whole government be unable to issue national documents for a whole year or more? When we vote a government into office, it is with the understanding that they will do any, and all thing necessary to ensure that they give us the best goods and services. The issuing of National ID Cards has very serious security implications and should be handled with extreme care, caution and due diligence.

Government must step up and find a way of solving this problem once and for all, for all.

#ForTheHomeland

By Sana Sarr

This video of “Yayi Ministerre”, a famous “promoter”, known for advertising various products on television, has been making the rounds on social media. The woman has advertised everything – butter, mayonnaise, mobile phone companies – she has done it all. She’s even advertised competing brands of the same commodity. As a result, those familiar with her were not really surprised that she would treat our naive head of state as a commodity to gain favors. You can’t knock her for her hustle. What i found revealing, comical and tragic, all at the same time, was that the glaring ridiculousness was obvious to almost everyone who has heard it, except the one and only target of the “419” scam. First suggested by the look of appreciation on his face, and later confirmed by his response, we see that President Adama Barrow aka Prophet Moses aka Prophet Adama aka “The Chosen One”, gobbled it all up – hook, line and sinker. Rather than get angry at him, I felt sorry for him for his inability to catch the following clues in the video.

1. None of the people in the background could even bear to look directly at the two having a conversation. They’re all aware of what’s going on, but could not do much to stop it, so they sat there and tried to pretend that it was some fairytale taking place in a fictional time and place they weren’t a part of.

1. Notice guy in white, behind Yayi Ministerre. Dude is trying so hard to maintain a straight face, but you can tell he’s dying with laughter. Already suffocated by the smell of BS, he’s thinking “Merr bii mor Muna mewe!”

1. The man in black is so embarrassed that he covers his face with his hand… or was he trying to shield his face from getting hit with all the bullsh*t flying around?

1. The ladies sitting the at back are giggling and having a funny conversation as they listen, probably saying, “Maybe we should tell him he’s fit enough to play for Arsenal and he’ll buy it.”

1. The only time anyone in the picture showed approval was when “the chosen one” stated that Gambia will never have another dictator. Dr. Isatou Touray finally had an opportunity to reveal what was going on in her head the entire time. She nodded so hard that Isatou Njie Saidy would have been jealous of her had that been Yaya Jammeh speaking. “You can buy into this nonsense all you want but you best not believe we’ll sit by and watch you become a dictator. I’ll be the first one to strangle you with my head tie!” – is what Dr. Touray’s nods said!

1. This one is not so obvious from the images in the video but it should not be lost to anyone familiar with our culture and the relationship between praise-singers and the ones they praise. It’s quite common for leaders to be praised, but the praise-singers take the time to learn about them and speak highly of their parents and their lineage. They speak of how you come from a long line of praiseworthy people. The fact that Yayi Ministerre chose to fabricate praises based only on the names of the COLLEAGUES of “The Chosen One”, rather than his FAMILY, says a lot. It can be seen as a suggestion that she could not be bothered to take the time to go learn about his family, or that she did her research and concluded that his family are not worthy of her praise. Either proposition would have been demeaning to most in the culture, if only they realized it.

1. Also lost in the video is the fact that at the time it was recorded, the nation’s doctors were still on a sit-down strike. Since he took office over a year ago, our president has not had time to visit any schools or hospitals, but he has had time to take a stroll to the market to shop for some catfish, and time to sit down to be serenaded in fabrications of blasphemous proportions.

The Takeaway

It’s obvious that the man is naive and gullible. While we can laugh and crack jokes about this on a personal level for him, it’s sobering to remember the huge responsibility and power in the position he holds. If little Yayi Ministerre, cooking up simplistic cock and bull stories is appreciated for building him castles in the air with nothing but a bunch of Arabic names, it’s worrisome to imagine how easily our “chosen one” can be manipulated by professional con artists, seasoned businessmen and experienced diplomats at the detriment of The Gambia.

With his response, it’s obvious that our president has actually started to believe that he is indeed “the chosen one”, who, as he reminded us, was chosen by God almighty Himself, and “in less than 3 months,” HE (not the Gambian voters), “removed a dictator of 22 years.” This delusion was started by none other than his “political father”, Lawyer Darboe, when, at a Town Hall meeting in NYC, he likened Barrow to Prophet Moses delivering the Jews to the promised land. Now “Moses” has grown wings to fly and you can rest assured that Gambians like Yayi Ministerre will continue to provide fodder to feed the ego. As the Mandinka saying goes “Niyae la mbiroo kuluu, jang naa beh moe boye la, asee folow boye” …. Or the Wolof saying “lu waaye rendi, sa loho lai naacha.” I hope we all take heed and do what we can to tame candle before it turns into an inferno!

“Doff ken duko neh yaa morm hewe bi. Dangkore neh chi nga borka.”
You don’t tell a lunatic that he owns the party. You tell him he’s just an invitee. – Olof Njie

Police in Gunjur have invited Dr Amadou Scattred Janneh, a human rights activist and leader of The Liberal Alliance Party, for questioning.Dr. Janneh is expected to report to the Police station Thursday, March, 29 at 10am.

Over the week youths and activists in Gunjur led by Dr Janneh removed a waste pipe being used by the Chinese fishmeal processing factory, Golden Lead. The pipe is said to be pumping waste into the sea at Gunjur Beach.

When Fatu Network contacted Dr Janneh, he confirmed his invitation by the police in his home town, Gunjur.

‘ The invitation is in connection with Golden Lead factory pipe removal.’

The Fatu Network will keep you updated.

Press Release:  Government Spokesperson Clarifies On Semlex, Other Issues

28^TH March 2018

Due to consistent inaccurate media reports brought to the attention of the Spokesperson of The Government of The Gambia, the Minister of Information and Communications Technology wishes to clarify that:

Ministry of Justice

Further to news reports that the Semlex Contract was aborted, the Minister of Justice and Attorney General has confirmed that the contract between the Government of The Gambia and Semlex has not been aborted.

As indicated by the Spokesperson of the Government of The Gambia during the last press conference, the company was invited by the Government of The Gambia for a re-negotiation and review of some of the provisions in the existing contract.

These negotiations have been concluded and plans are underway for the implementation of the Biometric Identity Cards to start soon.

Ministry of Transport, Works and Infrastructure

The Ministry of Transport, Works and Infrastructure project funds for the Basse-Fatoto-Koina and the Basse and Fatoto bridge projects totaling US$75 million is a grant and not a loan, as reported.

Ministry of Interior

The Ministry of Interior has expressed concern over the frequency in the use of weapons to commit crimes, theft and burglaries as such, the Ministry of Interior wishes to inform the General Public that the Gambia Police Force will, with immediate effect and within the ambit of the laws of The Gambia use all powers vested in it to combat violent crimes.

The Ministry of Interior also calls on Gambians to compliment the Government of The Gambia’s efforts to reduce crime by cooperating with and sharing relevant information with the Police, where and when necessary.

Foreign Affairs and Gambians Abroad

Further to the statements of the Minister of Foreign Affairs, International Cooperation and Gambians Abroad (MoFA) television appearance on the stance of the Government of The Gambia on the deportation of Gambians from the United States of America, last Friday, March 23, the Spokesperson would like to reiterate that all sovereign states have the right to determine who comes in and or stays in their countries

The Government of The Gambia further urges Gambians resident in other countries to regularize their immigration status and, to strive to respect the laws of the countries they live in.

For further information, please contact:

Demba A. Jawo

Minister of Information and Communications Infrastructure

Spokesperson of The Government of The Gambia

Tel: (220) 4378000                

Email: [email protected]

By Omar Wally

A 25 year old has been placed under arrest for the alleged murder of a 17 year old in Jeroba-Kunda village in Upper River Region.

Superintendent David Kujabi, Public relations officer of The Gambia Police Force, said the incident happened on March 26, 2018.

‘The deceased Samba Krubally, went to pick cattle from the farm and the accused Saidou Cham confronted him accusing him of cattle rustling’.

According to Police PRO, when Samba tried to flee, he fell down and the accused hit him on his head with a stick several times which resulted to his death. The suspect is currently under Police custody and charged with murder, said Superintendent Kujabi.

In a similar but different incident, Police PRO revealed that a 20 year old woman identified as Jojo has been found at Labato. Jojo is said to have drowned recently.

‘Her remains are currently deposited at Edward Francis Small Teaching Hospital in Banjul

State House, Banjul, 28 March 2018 –German Member of Parliament, Mr Johannes Selleh led a team of German investors to a courtesy call on President Barrow at the State House in Banjul. The delegation consists of business people in various sphere of development including agriculture, infrastructure, energy, development finance, sports business and expressed interest in exploring the opportunities available in the country.

The theory of separation of powers in a democracy is for there to be checks and balances. The three arms of government; the Executive, the Judiciary and the Legislature are supposed to hold each other to account. This is to ensure that no arm of government has unlimited power to abuse the power that they have. This is quite important and must be taken seriously. The National Assembly Members are supposed to ask questions which concern them, their constituencies and indeed the whole nation. This can only be done if the relevant ministers are available to answer questions and shed light on issues which have to do with their ministries.

It has become common that some ministers will not attend these debates but would rather assign colleague ministers to step in for them. Obviously, this can be acceptable only on special occasion when the concerned minister has something very urgent to attend to and will not be able to be in the House. This past adjournment sitting was attended by only the minister of Justice and that of Energy.

Hon. Sidia Jatta of Wuli East raised this concern and vowed never to speak about any issue if the minister responsible is not available. This is understandable as, if the minister is not present whatever is said is likely to be just repeating formulas and the purpose of the debate is defeated. Whichever minister is deputizing for an absent one has his own things to take care of and may not be able to answer all questions raised by the members at the time. This is why five questions were raised in a sitting and only one of them could be answered.

The adjournment debates happen three times in the year. Deputies have fifteen minutes each to ask questions, raise concerns and seek clarity from the line ministers. Naturally, having the schedule of the sittings should enable ministers plan their schedule in such a way that they will not necessarily miss the sittings. It is of extreme importance for them to submit themselves to the National Assembly Members so that they can give them the answers to their questions.

We voted for a change, not only of government, but of the system as well. Ministers must understand that they have a duty to the nation, a duty that they must hold sacred. The National Assembly Members are the representatives of the people and have been mandated by the Constitution, among other things, to hold the Executive to account. Thus, the Executive arm of government must cooperate with them so that we can rebuild our country. The disregard of procedure of the previous government which all but crippled our economy must not be repeated by this one. Let us fulfil our duties and responsibilities.

Have a Good Day Mr. President…

Tha Scribbler Bah

A Concerned Citizen

Generals Umpa Mendy & Ansumana Tamba close associates of former President Yahya Jammeh were on Wednesday, March 21, charged with desertion ( Staying away for six months without communicating with their commander) at Military Court in Yundum.

The two generals accompanied Jammeh to Equatorial Guinea last year; but return to the country in January.

General Umpa Mendy was the Principal Protection Officer of Jammeh while General Ansumana Tamba, served twice as Commander of the State Guards battalion.

Up until last year, he was the only heavy weapons specialist at The Gambia Armed Forces.

The two generals will reappear at Court Martial on April 4, 2018.

The maximum punishment for desertion is life imprisonment or a lesser punishment such as dismissal or three years imprisonment provided by Gambia Armed Force Act.

In the past week or two, the West Africa Examinations Council sat in a conference here in The Gambia. During this conference, Mr Baboucar Bouy was appointed as the Chairman of the WAEC zone. This is an honour for the Gambia and clearly engenders a lot of opportunities and hope for the Gambia.

There is no doubt that the past few years have been very difficult for students in the Gambia, and perhaps other countries in the WAEC zone as well. Majority of the students who have been writing the West Africa Examinations Council’s external examination end up failing woefully. This has become a threat to our education system and by extension, an issue of national security.

Obviously, measures should be taken to arrest this situation. The way and manner of conducting examinations should be investigated so that measures to reduce the rate of failure will be devised. Perhaps we should even look into the relationship that should exist between our curriculum and our development aspirations. The Ministry of Basic and Secondary Education should therefore work with WAEC (that should be easier and more productive now that we have a Gambian as the Chairman) to come up with a syllabus that is relevant to our needs.

Another serious cause for concern is the fact that in the past few years, we have been having serious problems of examination malpractice. This is being aided by the fact that many a time, the question papers leak before the exam. This happens on social media and students see both questions and answers before they enter the exam hall. This is very bad for the country on many fronts.

One consequence of this is that it injects the students with academic dishonesty which can bud into corruption and other evil practices. The other consequence is that it will make students lazy as they will see that they can achieve things without making any efforts. With that attitude, the country’s development will be put at serious risk.

One suggestion that could be introduced which will improve our education system and minimize the possibility of students engaging in examination malpractice or cheating is computer-based examinations. The government in collaboration with the West Africa Examinations Council could work together to introduce this very useful method in our school system. It is not very expensive or difficult to use this method and do away with paper-based exams. This will be of great benefit to the nation considering that the world is moving digital now. We should not be left behind in the digital migration of knowledge.

My opinion is that the Gambia should take advantage of having a Gambian as the Chairman of WAEC and promote our country’s agenda. This will give us the opportunity to put forwards ideas, plans and initiatives that will boast our development agenda.

Have a Good Day Mr President…

Tha Scribbler BSah

A Concerned Citizen

By Alieu Ceesay, Sports Journalist

It is enough! The Gambia Football Federation (GFF) must stop with immediate effect using funds from the world football governing body to finance the national football teams. The funds from FIFA are not meant to be spent on national teams’ participation in qualifiers and test games.

It is meant to help develop the game from the grassroots and to be use on the upkeep of the daily running of the federation. It is the responsibility of all governments through their Sports Ministries to finance national teams of all sports.

However, this is not the case in the tiny West African Nation, The Gambia. The Gambia Football Federation Must ceased competing in all football competitions until the government through Ministry is ready and committed to fully or partly finance the national teams.

Just like previous engagements of the teams, a credible source reveals that last Friday international friendly between the Scorpions and Central Africa Republic was fully funded by the federation, which is not appropriate.

The federation is also financing the National Women Team’s qualifier game away to Burkina Faso next month in Ouagadougou.

The fact remains that, in as much as the Ministry is concern about what transpires at the Football House in Kanifing regarding funds from FIFA, it should be seen contributing its quota to the national teams as it is the case in other countries.

It is often said, every right comes with a responsibility and therefore, the ministry’s rights to scrutinize the Football Federation should be accompanied with the Ministry fulfilling its expected responsibilities, not only to football but all sporting disciplines.

One would argue that the budget allocated to the Ministry of Youth and Sports (estimated D68M) might not be enough to finance all the football activities in a year, but the ministry should be seen participating anytime the national teams play.

Critics continue to complain that the game is not developing but how does one expects it to be developed if the funds coming from FIFA for that purpose is used on the national teams just to have Gambia play international football.

Football remained the most followed and watched sport in the country, but the results are far from the way fans want it. The desire to promote and develop the game and other sports is said to be among Minister Henry Gomez’s top agendas, but not much has changed in our sports yet. Since neither the Ministry nor the GFF can do it all alone, there is the need for the parties to partner in financing the teams.

The private sector should also be seen supporting anytime the national teams play, but is rather unfortunate, most of the private sector prefers supporting political activities for recognition from political leaders.

Football and wrestling are arguably the two most popular sports in the country and perfect sports to have one’s product and service marketed well.

It is evident that the relationship between the Ministry and the GFF is not a good one. The two must be engaged in a dialogue to sort out their difference for the development of the game.

Minister Henry Gomez vowed to develop Gambian sports from 0% to 100% when he took his oath, but that is yet to be seen. This intention of the minister requires a lot of money and support from every Gambian to realize it.

The government must, therefore, consider allocating good budget to the Youth and Sports Ministry.

The entire budget of the Ministry of Youth and Sports is not even enough to finance the sports activities, much more the youth activities.

Football and sports in general is no more a leisure but a business, therefore, the one that invest most, is more guarantee of success than the one who does not invest.

President Adama Barrow and Government should critically look into the current poor state of the country’s sports facilities. The government should start investing in facilities to develop the game.

The Gambia can boast of only one Stadium, which has not undergone major refurbishment since construction in 1984. The Gambia deserves better sports facilities, not only within the Greater Banjul Area, but across all regions.

In achieving this, sports administrators must be open and engage the government through the ministry of sports. On the hand, the ministry must be willing to listen to the concerns of the administrators and stakeholders.

The ministry must begin to prioritize issues. The Gambia has lot of talents, but greed, camps and infighting for positions is killing the sports in the country.

Unless and until the stakeholders, administrators and ministry see Gambian first before individual and camp interest, Gambian sports will continue deteriorate.

By Alieu Ceesay

A furious former Gambia National Team Head Coach Raoul Savoy on Friday told Gambian Sports Journalists to stop lying that he was sacked.

Coach Savoy who is now Central African Republic’s coach, was responding to one of the questions posed by a sports journalist during a post match press conference. He was asked as to whether The Gambia Football Federation was wrong to have “sacked” him in 2015.

The Scorpions of The Gambia hosted the Central African Republic side in an international friendly at the Independence Stadium in Bakau.

The game was watched by thousands including The Gambia’s First Lady Madam Fatou Bah Barrow. The match ended 1-1 at the regulation time.

Assan Ceesay put The Gambia ahead in the second half, before Central Africa found an equalizer minutes later.

“You [Sports Journalists] should stop lying. First of all, GFF never sacked me, I quit because my wife was very sick,” Savoy reacted.

Sports Journalists who were not happy with Savoy’s remarks, reacted bitterly branding him as “coach who has not achieved anything.” Despite the draw in Banjul, Savoy was happy with a draw against his former Gambian side.

He blamed the referee and what he called the bad state of the football pitch at the Stadium. Coach Matarr Mbodge is part of the technical staff of the Scorpions Team. He told the press after the game that the game was very important for the country.

He applauded Gambians for coming in numbers to support the team. He is hoping that the same turnout will be seen when the Scorpions host Algeria in September.

Captain Pa Modou Jagne alias Nda, said it was an honor for him and his teammates to be invited to play for their country. He is hopeful for a better side against Algeria next September in the African Cup of Nations Qualifiers.

For immediate Release

19th March, 2018.

The Law Students’ Association of the University of The Gambia is dismayed and saddened by the recent denial of visa to four of our students who were supposed to take part in the Jessup Moot Court competition in the US by the US Embassy Banjul.

Haddy Drammeh, Muhammad Lamin Ceesay, Fanta Jawara and Muhammed Jeng were selected through a rigorous process by the moot coordinators at the Faculty of Law to represent the University in this important competition. Since their selection, they have dedicated immeasurable time, energy and resources into preparing for the event, sometimes at the detriment of their academic work.

For years, we have been sending our students to the US to represent us at this prestigious competition. Every year, our students have been doing great in the championship. Our students have made a name for the Faculty for their outstanding performances at the event in recent years.

Understandably, all four were denied visa because the embassy is not convinced that the students will return to The Gambia at the end of the competition. This was principally due to the refusal, in 2017, of two of the Faculty of Law’s participants to return to the Gambia after the competition. Ensa Kinteh and Ousman Suwareh both absconded leaving the image of the Faculty in tatters.

Their infamous decision to abscond has cost the Faculty so much. We wish to express our disappointment with such selfish actions and note with emphasis our opposition to any attempt to put the name of the Faculty of Law in disrepute.

The Law Students’ Association wishes to commend the Jessup Moot Court team for their sacrifice, commitment and resilience towards propelling the name of our faculty beyond limits through advocacy. We hope that all students of the Faculty of Law and the UTG will desist from such irresponsible acts that shatter the dreams and aspirations of many and worse, put the name of the UTG in disrepute. We urge students to be considerate and promote camaraderie.

We wish to reassure all students that the LSA will do everything within it’s powers to ensure this ugly chapter is wiped out of the Faculty of Law books and that we will work on reassuring the embassy that such an incident won’t happen again.

LSA President
Badou Jawara.
Cc: UTGSU
Relation

Thursday, 22 March 2018 – The Chairperson of TANGO John Charles Njie held a meeting with members of the Gambia Association of Resident Doctors led by their president Dr. Ebrima Bah on Thursday March 22 to seek possible ways of resolving the on-going impasse between the Association and the Government. In welcoming the members to TANGO head office in Fajara, Mr. Njie expressed the concern of TANGO on the on-going sit-down strike by doctors and TANGO’s commitment to finding a lasting solution to the issue. He said TANGO has decided to engage the doctors directly in order to obtain first-hand information about the situation and thereby determine possible ways of intervention.

The doctors informed TANGO that the sit-down strike was not about their ego or in disregard of their oath to serve the sick and the country. Rather they embarked on this action purposely to push for institutional and operational reforms within the health delivery system which has been in dire conditions for years. They noted that as soon as Pres. Barrow took office, the Medical and Dental Association had written to him in March 2017 to express the challenges and offer suggestions for improvements within the health system. The doctors noted that they had also engaged the Minister of Health and Social Welfare early in her appointment with concrete suggestions for changes within the health delivery system. Yet for over one year there has been no changes only to have the Minister now falsely accuse young doctors, without basis, for corruption in the health sector. The doctors lamented the misinformed comments of the Minister which they noted has the potential to damage the trust between doctors and patients.

Since the outbreak of their strike, they narrated that they had separate meetings with the parliamentary Select Committee on Health, the Secretary General and Head of civil Service as well as the Vice President. The Vice President promised that by the end of the day Wednesday March 21 there will be a proper apology and from there they will wait to hear from the Doctors. The doctors noted that contrary to public perception, they are not affected by egotistic considerations, rather they are compelled to take action because of the misleading comments of the Minister against the backdrop of the pending reforms that they have been seeking since the coming to power of the new government and the appointment of the Minister of Health to no avail. They noted that while everyone is at home, it is doctors who stay up the whole night taking care of the sick yet they lack the necessary tools to do proper diagnosis and the required medication in order to reduce the pain and save the lives of patients.

In response, Mr. Njie extended empathy to the doctors and all civil servants working under unfavourable conditions to deliver services to the nation and pledged TANGO’s readiness to engage the relevant stakeholders to address the situation. The meeting expressed hope that the Vice President would succeed in obtaining a proper apology from the Minister which will be followed by constructive engagements on institutional reforms. The meeting agreed that doctors will end their strike on receipt of this apology and retraction of the Minister’s unfortunate statement and a roadmap established by the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare for concrete institutional, administrative and operational reforms. Meantime TANGO will seek engagement with the relevant government institutions with a bid to addressing the issue which is fast becoming unbearable for the country.

End.

In July 2005, at least 54 Ecowas nationals including 44 Ghanaians were alleged to have been killed in The Gambia by soldiers on the orders of President Yahya Jammeh. The killings led to a major diplomatic crisis between The Gambia and Ghana before regional and international bodies stepped in, investigated the matter and defused the tension. The Gambian government ended up paying token money to the families of the murdered Ghanaians.

On 25 August 2005, the then Ghanaian Foreign minister, now President, Nana Akufo Addo, sent a letter to the Gambian Foreign minister detailing Ghana Government’s finding on the matter. Akufo Addo’s letter contained a statement by Martin Kyere, then 27, the only Ghanaian survivor of the massacre. The Standard investigative team has laid its hands on Kyere’s statement, abridged here: “[Our] group left Saly-Mbour in the Thiés Region on Friday, 22 July 2005 at 5.45pm. A total of 56 [people] joined the canoe. The owners took the canoe to Barra beach and abandoned us at about 9.30am. The leaders of the group Victor and Amo then called a Captain Pat to come out with a credible plan to get us into a ship at sea.

At 2pm, he returned from Barra town alleging that he has been instructed by Captain Pat and a man called Lamin to find [another] canoe and transfer the group to a new place. At 5.30pm Victor returned with two canoes with four Gambians. One of the Gambians started giving instructions to stop the ferry coming from Barra and to return to Banjul. That made it evident that a police operation was ongoing. At 6.45pm we were marched into Barra Police Station. Twenty five people handed over their travelling documents. The two women in the group were asked to give written statements. The men made [oral] statements. Then they collected 7,000 Euros, 3 million CFA and D250,000 from Victor. The group was divided into two with one group containing 30 and the other about 20. The group of 30 was taken on a white colour 207 Benz bus driven by a policeman. The group left about 8.30pm. They were put on a naval boat and crossed to Banjul. Then they returned to collect us.

“We then met over 150 soldiers and policemen armed with rifles and Uzi weapons at the Banjul side of the river… A military man dressed in a bizarre manner, wearing a traditional cap with cow horns on them was holding a long sword with talisman all over him. The sinister looking soldier used his long sword to remove every dressing or anything a member of the group was wearing. They searched and removed any money from us. We were marched, amid beatings with police cudgels with some losing their teeth.

Then ten of us were put in one bus and tied together and distributed to various security posts. On Sunday, the 24th, at about 1.30am the two Senegalese were removed from the group leaving eight Ghanaians and one Togolese. The Ghanaians were myself, Richard Boakye, Kwadwo Antwo, Eric, Edmond Kumi, Fi and George Amo. Lamin was brought into the cell. On Sunday 31st July at about 11pm, together with Eric and Fi I was put onboard a police vehicle were six others were there including a Nigerian. We were taken into a warehouse and after 30 minutes more prisoners joined us taking the number to 15. At about 11.30pm, three soldiers armed with banderols, knives and guns and the man with the sword now in mufti appeared and instructed us to pick our bags. Lamin was taken out of the group and was undressed naked except for his underpants.

They used copper wires to tie our hands behind us and put us in a vehicle with our bags. They took us away from the warehouse at about 1.30am on a highway. At about 2.30am, the vehicle hit a sheep. They picked up the sheep and brought it with its blood in the vehicle. One soldier told us, ‘You will travel with the sheep’. We continued until we entered a forest. After an hour’s drive the soldiers went down with our personal effects. They spent 35 minutes and returned without our bags. One soldier hacked Mr Amo’s shoulder with a sword because Mr Amo complained that his hands were hurting him [from being tied]. Then we knew they were going to kill us. So we started making efforts to untie ourselves. I succeeded in untying myself and jumped into the forest. After about four minutes I heard people shooting and it continued for two minutes. I walked through the bush and came to a Senegalese border town, Bounkiling in Casamance where they gave me clothes and a letter to travel to Dakar on 5th August.”

According to Foreign minister Akufo Addo, the “56 West Africans” went to Banjul after being made to believe that there was a ship on the high seas off the Gambian coast to transport them to Europe.
The Standard has also seen the autopsy report of the eight Ghanaians whose bodies were discovered near Ghana Town between Brufut and Tanji during the period. The reports prepared by Dr Duanda of RVTH noted ‘severe skull fracture’, ‘devastating crushed skull exposing brain matter’, ‘traumatic skull and maxilla facial fractures’ during external examination of the bodies. The causes of death were listed as ‘massive traumatic crushing of the skull’ and ‘shock’.

Source: Standard Newspaper

Business mogul, Amadou Samba, has described his relationship with former President Jammeh as “parasitic” as he reappeared before the Janneh Commission yesterday on matters relating to the construction of a recording studio and conference centre at Kanilai among other matters.

Mr Samba said the Kanilai works were done by Swami India Construction Company. He admitted signing numerous agreements on behalf of Kanilai Family Farms but made it clear he had no vested interest in the group and that the consequences would have been dire for him had he refused to sign the documents.

“Like I said, I have no vested interest in the affairs of KFF, and I don’t even know the managers or the general manager of the company. If there is any liability, KFF will be responsible for it and not me,” Mr Samba stated.

He confirmed that the president asked him to find workers to construct four houses for him in his compound but said he did not know the cost of the houses since there was no formal contract.

Mr Samba told the commission that Jammeh used his company, Gamsen, and its resources, to build the said four houses, claiming that some of his materials are still in Kanilai for 20 years and he dared not ask Jammeh about them.

He testified that the fishpond and the three- storey building in the president’s Kanilai compound were built by CSE but did not know who built the military school.
Mr Samba further testified that Jammeh would occasionally ask him to do some work for him and he would use his own money and when he asked the president he would tell him “different stories”.

Samba, a trained lawyer who became one of The Gambia’s most successful businessmen, further explained to the inquiry that he did not play any role in the management of Sindola Hotel in Kanilai except when he was asked to be a signatory to one of the accounts.

He continued: “My relationship with Jammeh was parasitic because anytime I compete with him I will lose and emotionally I was suffering and these were the hazards I was going through. I was never involved in politics but when Jammeh came, he would call me and ask me why I was not at meetings. I was doing my business in the UK. I started my business in The Gambia in 1986 but when Jammeh came, it was different because of the competition.”

Sulayman Samba, former secretary general, also faced the inquiry on matters relating to the management of international gateway.

Source: Standard Newspaper

Musa Bah

In our previous article on the same title, we looked at how religion is being attacked from outside and how it is being ridiculed as primitive and barbaric. Most of these attacks though emanate either form religious people or were caused by them. The existence of a Supreme Being who controls the Heavens and the Earth is widely accepted due to the manifestations of God, the Almighty.

The challenge that proponents of religion face today is – or should be – more on the effort to ‘cleanse’ those within than warding off the attacks of those without. The actions of the ‘believers’ bring disrepute to religion and; its enemies capitalize on it to sway more people to leave religion and become atheists. To stem the flow of recantation therefore, we must look both within religion and outside it.

That means we must seek to find the cause of these behaviors and try to change the attitudes of the adherents of religion that come with it and make them behave in a more seemly and conformist manner to stop the flow of weapons (arguments) which we willingly hand over to the enemies of religion. The world needs religion; no doubt, because all other systems have failed to bring peace and tranquility to the world.

A little delving into the history of Communism will reveal that it has utterly failed in bringing the equality it was meant to bring. That inequality and the inevitable grudge and frustration that comes with it brought it to its knees. This was exemplified in the fall of the Soviet Union a few decades ago. It broke it up into many small and poor countries, many of which went away with a lot of anger directed at Moscow.

Capitalism on the other hand has the ability to present a farce – an illusion of equality – to the world. We are told that Capitalism offers everyone the chance to succeed and thus ultimately, equality will be attained. It projects giving power to the people by giving them the opportunities to improve their livelihoods. But we observe on a daily basis how even in the most advanced Capitalist countries, a large section of society is left to fend for themselves against many hurdles – both natural and artificial. The economic competition makes it almost impossible for them to pull themselves out of the bottomless pit of poverty and want. A little study of Hurricane Katrina will make this point clear.

Thus, the only option left to save the world, to prevent a massive catastrophe which will consume the world, is religion. (In this writeup, religion means any Divine Religion that is based on the belief in the existence of God: Islam, Christianity, Judaism, Buddhism, Hinduism, Confucianism, Zoroastrianism and indeed all religions.)

Thus, it becomes quite clear that the argument has shifted from whether or not God exists, to what palpable effect(s) can be observed in the belief that God exists and what establishing a connection or link with Him can do for man on both the individual level and on societal level. That is why the study of the lives of the people who have primarily established a connection with Him should be studied and used as a basis to establish this fact.

Towards that end, we have to of course study the lives of these people before and after the connection was made. The Holy Qur’an gives a pointer to this when it said, ‘Faqad labistu fiikum umran min qablihii afalaa ta’qiloon’ (Say, O Muhammad, I have lived among you a whole lifetime before this (the claim to prophethood), wont you reflect?) Ch. (10 Verse 17) The Meccans were being told to reflect on the fact that the Holy Prophet Muhammad (thousands of blessings be upon him) lived an entire life among them before he claimed and yet, not a single one among them could ever point out anything wrong that he ever did. The question is; if he were false or evil, could he have hidden it all from them all a whole lifetime? The obvious answer is NO. One would therefore assume that if he did not lie about men, or his relationship with them, it would be farfetched to imagine that he would lie about God or his relationship with Him.

When the Meccans received this message, those among them who were gifted with insight accepted the message and became Muslims. In a short time, they were transformed from ignorant, vile people to pious and spiritual people who valued the relationship with Allah more than they valued their own lives. Within a short time, the land of Arabia was converted into a civilized society. This was why they were able to conquer the rest of the then known world and ushered in a new dawn of civilization.

Observing the transformation brought about Islam, Dr. Michael Hart ranked Muhammad (thousands of blessings be upon him) number one among the world’s greatest men ahead of Moses, Jesus and others who brought about similar, but less, transformations earlier. It would appear that at that time (the time of the Prophets, if you like), this argument – the transformations that a belief in God can bring about – was powerful enough to turn the tide in the argument of the existence or otherwise of God in favor of religion.

Why then, one may ask, is the argument now almost in favor of those who say that God has no place in our ‘enlightened’ lives? The answer to this question is complex and will need a lot of details to even begin to satisfy modern man. However, it is enough to say that people – or most people – no longer seem to care much about values and morals, even among the so-called religious ones. That, therefore, is our next stop, so to speak. In the next instalment of ‘The Onslaught on religion’, we will seek to reveal how the deteriorating morality, the infights and bickering between and among religions has – and continues to – harm belief in God. Then we will attempt to give solutions from our own very limited knowledge of these and other complex issues.

All praise belong to Allah, Lord of the Universe!