It was the UDP that took the matter of the Public Order Act to challenge its constitutionality in May 2016. A heavyweight team of lawyers, namely Antouman Gaye, Hawa Sisay Sabally, Sheriff Tambadou, Neneh Cham and Combeh Gaye represented the party. But against their arguments, the Supreme, on 23rd November 2017 Court ruled that the Act is constitutional. Yet until today UDP or its lawyers did not speak up publicly as to their position on the judgment.
In a normal scheme of things, parties to cases like this would issue a statement to express their opinion, i.e. to agree or disagree with such judgment. Immediately the Supreme Court made its judgment the Minister of Justice issued a statement where he expressed respect for the judgment. Even when the judgment was in favour of the Government yet the Minister said they did not agree with the Supreme Court but reiterated respect for the independence of the Judiciary. Therefore why has UDP failed to also issue a statement until today?
But not just the UDP, why has all the political parties in the Gambia including NGOs especially The Gambia Bar Association failed to issue a public statement given that this act is a matter that directly affects their activities. Is it that our parties agree with the judgment of the Supreme Court or they do not just care about the rights of citizens of the Gambia? A demonstration of leadership would have required them to speak up to this matter because the right to demonstrate peacefully without a police permit is an entrenched right guaranteed in the constitution. Yet our political parties all remain mute on a major issue like this.
I am of the view that UDP owes it, first of all to Femi Peters to speak on this issue because he was the first politician to be jailed in 2010 under this most obnoxious and undemocratic law in post-independent Gambia. He was a man acting in his capacity as the Campaign Manager of UDP when he organized a rally in Banjul. He was arrested and charged for holding an assembly without permit to use a public address system as per Section 6 of the Pubic Order Act.
In his trial, his defense lawyer Ousainou Darboe likened Mr. Peters to Nelson Mandela who was also imprisoned under the same unjust laws. Darboe, at the time challenged the Public Order Act and described it as colonial. He contended that if Peters was sentenced because of that law then the court would be perpetuating colonial legacy in the Independent Gambia. Therefore if we travel to 2017 and the same Gambian Supreme Court certifies that law as constitutional it is morally and politically imperative that UDP issues a clear and direct statement on the matter. But to remain silent would be a disservice to Femi Peters.
Secondly it was again under this same bad and unconstitutional law that the entire UDP leadership and supporters were sentenced to three years in jail in July 2016 for protesting the death of Solo Sandeng. In fact if that Solo Sandeng were alive, he would have also been charged with them under the same bad law. Yet today the Supreme Court ruled in favour of this bad law and the UDP remains mute, even when it is the largest party that has suffered the most under this law.
Not only UDP but also no Gambian citizen or organization should remain silent if we are true to ourselves as genuine patriots and democrats. Who among us have not claimed that Solo was right to protest? Who has not called Solo Sandeng a hero? Yet how can we all remain silent when the law that caused the death of Solo and the incarceration of Ousainou Darboe is now said to be constitutional?
If we all remain silent then we are all guilty of double standards. It means we are agreeing that indeed the Public Order Act is constitutional hence we are therefore saying that Solo Sandeng was wrong to have protested. This means we are also condemning Ousainou Darboe and the entire UDP leadership for being wrong to have marched to demand our “Hero’s” body. It means the incarceration of Femi Peters was just and right.
Conscience should therefore dictate all Gambians that we must condemn this decision by the Supreme Court otherwise no one must ever celebrate Solo Sandeng as a hero and the trigger for our liberation. We cannot be celebrating Solo Sandeng yet at the same time agree with the Supreme Court on the Public Order Act. Either Solo was wrong or the Supreme is right or vice versa, but both cannot be right or wrong at the same time. I want to see which Gambia dare say that Solo Sandeng was wrong!
As far as Madi Jobarteh is concerned, my sense of honesty, patriotism and my conscience cannot allow me to judge that Solo Sandeng was wrong. Rather I strongly hold that the Supreme Court was totally wrong and Solo Sandeng was totally right.
Our Constitution guarantees the right to peaceful protest under Section 25(1)(d). Under its subsection 4, limitations were provided as to the enjoyment of the rights specified under Section 25. This is because such rights are not absolute. But the Constitution merely suggested limitations or restrictions. It never suggested denial of the right. Hence the Constitution has already given the powers to the State to limit the right to protest based on the specified reasons.
The unconstitutionality of the Public Order Act is that it gives power to the State to deny the right to assemble against and beyond the intention of the Constitution. Under Sections 5 and 6 of the Act, the IGP or Governor has the authority to deny a permit to embark on a procession or use of banners or public address system. By denying these elements of a peaceful assembly it means the Government has direct and effective powers to practically deny a citizen to enjoy Section 25(1)(d) of the Constitution. This means therefore the Public Order Act has gone beyond the limitations provided by the Constitution by giving power to the IGP or Governor to deny an entrenched right.
This power of denial is the crux of the matter. Hence the Supreme Court was wrong to maintain that the Public Order Act was constitutional because the Act has superseded the Constitution. One would have expected that the Supreme Court would rather declare the Act as unconstitutional and then go further to clarify the meaning, extent and forms of restriction, which could include the IGP to order a deferment of a protest or change of route or timing or place for an assembly. The IGP can even restrict the kind of language or materials to be used in a protest provided if there are security or public morality issues at play. All of these measures will tantamount to limitations that are constitutional.
But the Public Order Act contravened both Section 25(1)(d) and sub-section 4 simply because it gives the power to the IGP to deny altogether the right to peaceful assembly, which is not the intention of the Constitution. It is therefore highly concerning that UDP, PDOIS, NRP, PPP, NCP, GMC, GPDP and GDC as well as the Gambia Bar Association and all CSOs, business, UTG and all media houses and journalists have failed to speak to this all-important sovereignty issue!
For the Gambia, Our Homeland!
Jammeh’s Monthly Salary Was D170, 000 Says GTBank MD
By Fatou Sowe
Mr Bolaji Ayodele the managing director of Guaranty Trust Bank has told the Janneh Commission that former President Yahya Jammeh had his salary at GTBank and it was D170, 000.
He told the commission that Jammeh had four accounts with the bank including his salary account and other three accounts which were foreign currency accounts all opened in 2015. He added that the last transaction on his salary account was on January 23, 2017.
Mr. Ayodele said that the total deposit into the account was D5, 780,725 and the balance was D4,207, 889.63, further adding that there were two withdrawals.
He testified that the Euro account was opened on 8th January 2015 with a deposit of €15, 833.03 and the pound sterling account was opened in 2015 with a deposit of £12, 500.
With regard to the office of the former First Lady’s account, the witness revealed that there were four accounts opened on October 10, 2016; namely Dalasi, Euro and Dollar accounts respectively but there was no Sterling account.
On the dalasi account, former First Lady, Zainab Jammeh and Alagie Ousman Ceesay were signatories to the account and the first transaction was done on the same day the account was opened while the last transaction was on January 13, 2017.
The total deposited into the account, according to him, was D126, 844.20. According to him, this account was classified as government account because it was opened based on the letter the bank received from the office of the First Lady and the balance in this account was D15.
On the Dollar account, he stated that it was opened on October 10, 2016 and the last transaction on it was made on January 13, 2017. There was a total deposit of $287, 451 leaving a balance $8, 691.
He said all the payments were in cash deposited by Alagie Ousman Ceesay, Chief Of Protocol Officer, office of the former president. He however disclosed that there were various transfers to the United States of America, France and Morocco and there were twenty-six transfers in three months.
On the Euro account, the banker testified that there was a deposit of €33,896.52 in the account and the first transaction was make on January 10, 2017, while the last transaction was made on January 13, 2017, and that there were five deposits made by Alagie Ousman Ceesay.
Mr. Ayodele further disclosed that all the transfers were sent to The US to different payees and the balance was €0.31; adding that there was no pound sterling account.
At that juncture, the witness agreed with Counsel Bensouda that the accounts were used for the First Lady’s personal business.
Documents relating to all these accounts were tendered and admitted as exhibits.
On Operation Save the Children Account, the account had both Dalasi and Dollar accounts and the signatories were former First Lady and the former Vice President, Isatou Njie Saidy.
The accounts were opened on January 29, 2016 and there was a letter from the office of the former First Lady, signed by Fatou Mass Jobe-Njie.
According to him, the first transaction was made on September 28, 2016, while the last transaction was made on March 8, 2017 and the account was frozen.
He said the total deposit in this account was $506, 865,160 and the sum of $25, 000 was transferred to Israel and there were two cheques amounting to $68, 250 and $88, 000 which were all transferred.
He said there was a balance of $597,165 and the sum of $4,190 was transferred to T.K Motors and that there was no transfer of dollars to hospitals.
On the dalasi account, Mr. Bolaji revealed that the sum of D21, 237, 877.60 was deposited while the balance was D1, 494, 261.58 and the first transaction was on February 16, 2016, while the last transaction was on November 28, 2017.
He added that the sources of the funds were donor agencies, and the Republic of China donated over $400, 000 into the dollar account. He further disclosed that Jah Oil Company donated D1, 000, 000 while NAWEC donated D400, 000, as well as Gambia Revenue Authority (GRA), Gambia International Airline (GIA) and Gambia Food Safety all donated significant amount to Save the Children dalasi account through buying tables for gala dinners.