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TRIBUTE: The Late DCP Jabang Sonko Inspired Honesty, Humility, And Sincerity Among All Those Who Served With Him In The Police….. A great son of the soil has bowed to mother earth.

Fatu Camara
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TRIBUTE: The Late DCP Jabang Sonko Inspired Honesty, Humility, And Sincerity Among All Those Who Served With Him In The Police….. A great son of the soil has bowed to mother earth.

‘IT IS SAID THAT IT IS FROM DUST WE CAME AND UNTO DUST WE SHALL RETURN’ Late Deputy Commissioner of Police, Jabang Sonko has bowed to mother earth. His death is most definitely a huge loss for his family, the Gambia Police Force, and the country.

Here is a man who came to the job younger, with passion and full of vigor to serve his country and rose through the ranks to the rank of a Deputy Police Commissioner until his untimely death.

He was steady, focused and had an excellent sense of purpose and responsibility. He was a seasoned and professional police officer who was genuinely committed to serving his country. He was a man gifted with man-management skills and rarely said or did anything that would anger anyone, and most of us the younger cops looked up to him. He never shunned a task and he never objected. His family should be so proud of him, as we in the Gambia Police all are.

The outpouring of messages perhaps might be strange to outsiders who have not worked with Boss Jabang Sonko but verves to attest to this brutal fact, and even transcends to establish the fact that he had established himself among his peers who admired him for his sincerity, honesty and understanding to the plight of the many young officers including myself. It is not only satisfying but equally gratifying on the one hand, to have the whole institution in grieving with you, to feel that solidarity, to know that we will never be left alone. The late senior officer inspired honesty, humility, and sincerity among all those who served with him in the police. He was an accomplished officer, a true son of the Gambia who cared and loved everyone.

I will always remember him for the glad tidings I have had with him during the decade plus years I have worked with at the Police Headquarters. He would always advise us in Mandinka ‘ngnaa domang domang nyoo fey’ which means let’s be patient and take it easy with one another.

He exhibited great interpersonal skills and related with everyone on a friendly and sympathetic terms. May Allah have mercy on HIS SOUL….

By Almameh S. Manga

Superintendent of Police

KHARTOUM, Sudan

Democracy Lessons From The Smiling Coast Of West Africa

Fatu Camara
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Democracy Lessons From The Smiling Coast Of West Africa

By Dr Katim S Touray

In December 2016, President Yahya Jammeh narrowly lost the presidential elections — a loss that shocked all Gambians, Jammeh included. In a hard-fought election, Jammeh was narrowly defeated by Adama Barrow, who received 43.3 percent of the votes cast, compared to 39.6 percent for Jammeh.

Although Jammeh initially accepted Barrow’s victory, he reneged a few days later. Thus, Jammeh plunged the country, which has long been a beacon of peace in the sub-region into an 44-day long impasse that filled Gambians with fear and trepidation. Jammeh finally left The Gambia and went into exile in Equatorial Guinea on January 21, 2017, following protracted negotiations and threats of the use of force against him by ECOWAS.

Barrow’s surprise victory over Jammeh was mainly because of a Coalition of seven opposition parties and civil society formed in October 2016. Barrow, who was then the leader of the UDP, because its leader Darboe, had been jailed by President Jammeh, resigned from the party to enable him contest the presidential elections as a Coalition candidate. Barrow was sworn into office twice: first on the constitutionally-mandated date of January 19, 2017 in Dakar, Senegal, where he took refuge during the impasse with former President Jammeh, and again on February 18, 2017 in The Gambia.

President Barrow came to power amidst high hopes of Gambians who had endured 22 years of brutal rule by former President Jammeh. In addition, President Barrow was expected to abide by his commitment to the Coalition 2016 Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) which called for him to step down after a three year transition period. President Barrow was also, as per the Coalition 2016 MOU, not to present himself as a candidate in the presidential elections following the three-year transition period.

Instead, President Barrow decided to serve his five year-term in office, provoking protests, which resulted in three deaths in January 2020. President Barrow was also widely criticized for his selective implementation of the recommendations of the Janneh Commission which investigated the financial dealings of former President Jammeh, his failure to ensure adoption of the new Draft Constitution of The Gambia, and for corruption under his watch.

Despite these criticisms, President Barrow, formed the National People’s Party (NPP) in late 2019 to contest the December 2021 presidential elections, after falling out with the UDP Party Leader Darboe, who he often referred to has his political “father.” President Barrow also formed an alliance with a faction of former President Jammeh’s party, the Alliance for Patriotic Reorientation and Construction (APRC) to help him contest the December 2021 presidential elections. This alliance was condemned by many given the dirty and gruesome record of former President Jammeh’s rule.

President Barrow nevertheless had a huge victory in last week’s presidential elections, with 53 percent of votes, compared to the runner up, Darboe who had 28 percent of votes; just over half of Barrow’s votes. The remaining four candidates, together, had less than 20 percent of the votes cast.

The polling and official results have been endorsed by local and international observers, including the African Union, ECOWAS, the EU and the Commonwealth. A day after the elections, three opposition leaders, including Darboe, announced that they would not accept the results, citing “inordinate” delays in their release and issues raised by their representatives at polling stations. However, one of them, the Independent candidate Essa Mbye Faal congratulated President Barrow a day later on his victory, as did the National Unity Party (NUP) candidate, Aboulie Ebrima Jammeh.

Although some UDP supporters protested the official results, it is noteworthy that the UDP leader, Darboe, called for calm. Fortunately, the protests ended as quickly as they started, and the entire country is now calm. As such, the 2021 presidential elections which were vigorously contested have come to an end without any unrest or major disruptions in the lives of Gambians.

The 2021 presidential elections provide valuable lessons which other African countries, indeed other developing countries around the world, can learn from. First, the legendary voting system in which voters drop marbles into drums, with one drum per candidate at each polling station has again proved to be highly effective. This is especially so The Gambia which has a high illiteracy rate which practically precludes the use of paper ballots.

Second, the on-the-spot counting of votes at polling stations they are cast, and in the presence of candidates’ representatives also increases the transparency of the system. Furthermore, poll results at each polling station are endorsed by candidates’ representatives, further increasing confidence in the system.

The 2021 presidential elections in The Gambia also showed that the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) should be strengthened, and that it should effectively communicate with the public to, for example, address outbreaks of fake news on social media. In the lead up to the elections, there were many stories which dented the IEC’s reputation, and reduced confidence both in its impartiality and ability to conduct the elections.

Electoral laws should be reviewed and strengthened to curb bribery of voters to secure their votes. In this vein, serious consideration should be given to public funding for eligible candidates, limiting their expenses to public funds provided, and introducing serious penalties for bribing voters or accepting bribes from politicians. In addition, the president vacate office three months before the elections which will be overseen by a non-partisan caretaker administration to reduce the impact of incumbency and his or her use of public resources to campaign.

The recently-concluded Gambian presidential elections have proved once again, that this, the smallest country in mainland Africa with a population of only 2.1 million people, and which bills itself as The Smiling Coast of West Africa, can teach other African countries by serving as a beacon of democracy by holding peaceful, free, fair and transparent elections. How nice!

 

Enter Gambia: Impasse 2.0

Fatu Camara
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Enter Gambia: Impasse 2.0

Gambia voted on December 4, 2021 hoping to see a new President on the morrow but more than two weeks later, we are yet to get a clear verdict. Much akin to the lyrics of Senegalese super star Youssou Ndour in his classic “Alboury”, by January 2022, we are likely to be singing that same song: ‘lamb ji fi amon daw; verdict bi lanyui xarr ba tei’ (the wrestling bout that happened last year: we are still waiting for the verdict!”

The fact is that there is no President in this country right now. That situation can only be fixed by the Supreme Court. That institution is the only one with the powers to answer the ultimate question: who shall be our next President?

The stakes have never been higher. And even the incumbent camp that tried to trivialize the UDP’s election petition case rose to a rude awakening on Friday morning as the two litigants met before the proverbial hall where there is only one hat: the court.

I have heard some religious leaders opine that those contesting this result should just let go and let God. They have a right to their opinion; but so do the UDP and GDC have every right to challenge the results of an electoral process that even international observers found faulty on many grounds.

We can, and we should, accept the will of God. But we shall only accept that when we know that to be the truth. The election result is shady and we shall zoom on it the powerful ray of truth to ascertain the reality before we can make any final decision. We would be remiss to call ourselves men and women of God and the then allow the devil to fool us.

Was it  not the message of prophet Amos in the Holy Bible that we should “let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream”? As for those deceptively making reference to destiny. My answer to them is the eternal truth explained to us by the legendary Persian poet Maulana Jaluddin ar-Rumi:

‘’When a master puts a spade in a servant’s hand

He doesn’t need words to make his meaning clear.

Our hands, like that spade, are signs of God…

If you really trust in God, then work hard,

Sow the seed, and lean on the Almighty’s help…

Effort isn’t a war with destiny:

Destiny itself has imposed on us this effort…’’

If God so imbued us with with the wisdom of setting up a judiciary as an integral part of our Democratic mechanism, then we will be fools if we fail to seek redress in the face of compelling evidence depicting electoral fraud.

In the mean time, our institutions need to function effectively so that our ship of state does not sink. This might not be an easy ride; so those sitting at the steering wheels must hold fast with integrity. The future of this country lies in the hands of our institutions and the men and women leading them.

Our current debacle was orchestrated by only one person, and that is the  incumbent usurper of power, Adama Barrow, who should not have been a candidate in this election in the first place.

He broke a thousand and one promises but if Adama Barrow fulfilled just one cardinal promise that he made as candidate of the 2016 coalition, the need to challenge this result could have been obviated.

The transitional President charged with cleaning the bugs in our Democratic processes, Adama Barrow, was not supposed to present himself as candidate in this year’s election. He would have created a level playing field and removed the problem of incumbency thereby giving us the unique opportunity of a fairer and freer election post-Jammeh.

This can be done and must be done effectively: the battle at the Supreme Court can be successfully conducted without jeopardizing our peace and stability or making the state dysfunctional. The acceptance and implementation of the verdict should also be a hitch-free process if we are all sincere and committed to our professed democratic ideals.

The process might be rough; it will certainly be tough. But it shall be worth every drop of sweat as our democracy goes through yet another state of gestation to usher in the much needed maturity that will make it thrive for generations to come.

I repeat: The men and women in charge of our institutions are the ones responsible for the proper functioning of our governance infrastructure as we try to debug our democratic ecosystem.

We pray for the emergence of truth and nothing but the truth in this foggy electoral haze that we are trudging through:

“My Lord, judge [between us] in truth. And our Lord is the Most Merciful, the one whose help is sought against that which you describe.”

– Surah Anbiyaa, 112

God bless The Gambia.

#KanaSong #CantCageMe

Momodou Sabally

Former Presidential Affairs Minister, International Speaker and author.

The Pros and Cons Of The Presidential Elections

Fatu Camara
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The Pros and Cons Of The Presidential Elections

By D. A. Jawo

The hottest political topic in this country today is the petition by the United Democratic Party (UDP) to the Supreme Court against the election of President-elect Adama Barrow, claiming some electoral malpractices and calling for the annulment of the results.

It is quite a tall order indeed, especially considering the margin of Barrow’s victory. However, the UDP and any other participant in the elections has the constitutional right to challenge the results or any aspect of the elections. Therefore, the onus is now on the Supreme Court to determine whether or not the UDP has a prima facie case against President-elect Barrow and the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC), respondents to the petition.

While everyone is anxiously waiting for the outcome of the court case, most people are also trying to come to terms with the results of the elections, wondering how Adama Barrow managed to get such a landslide victory against his most bitter rival, Ousainou Darboe. It appears that even many supporters of the National People’s Party (NPP) never foresaw such a huge margin of victory, hence their muted celebrations.

Even though there were five candidates who lost against Barrow, but the biggest losers were the UDP and their presidential candidate, Ousainou Darboe. No doubt most UDP supporters were quite devastated by the results because most of them were quite confident of victory. Therefore, for not only losing but Darboe scoring less than half of what Barrow scored, came as a big shock and disappointment for them. Most of them are no doubt still wondering what may have gone wrong with their campaign strategy.

Of course, several things may have gone wrong with their campaign, which of course included over-confidence as well as failure to have an effective campaign strategy, as opposed to the NPP, who no doubt ran a very effective campaign, which eventually paid dividends for them.

Where has the UDP strategy faltered, one may wonder. UDP is a well-structured party which was expected to perform much better in the elections. However, the very fact that they performed well below everyone’s expectations shows that something was fundamentally wrong with their approach to the elections.

One of the most effective strategies by the NPP was the successful dis-information campaign they mounted against the UDP, portraying the party as a tribal clique inclined towards the Mandinkas and hostile to the other ethnic groups. Of course, like many other political groups in this country, the UDP had among their midst some ethno-centric bigots who were making disparaging comments against non-Gambians and other ethnic groups. However, such extremist elements were also found in almost all the other parties, including the NPP.  But, the NPP strategists made a lot of capital out of those ethno-centric allegations against the UDP and to a very large extent, succeeded in making such allegations against the UDP stick and eventually convinced many non-Mandinkas that the UDP were against them and they would suffer a lot of discrimination under a UDP government. Eventually, the NPP succeeded in scaring away many non-Mandinkas from voting for the UDP.

Of course, most of those allegations against the UDP were not true as all indications are that the UDP is quite a decent party which have very good intentions for this country. While the party’s leader and many of their executive members belong to the Mandinka ethnic group, but there is no evidence that the UDP have any bad intentions against the other ethnic groups. The very fact that some non-Mandinkas hold important positions within the party hierarchy is enough indication that those allegations against the party were mere propaganda with the sole objective of demonizing the party and making it look evil in the eyes of the other ethnic groups.

However, as election is a process, one needs to look at every stage of the process in order to conclude its freeness and fairness. Of course, most people are making some reference to the fact that most of the election observers have concluded that the election was free and fair. But, the observers can only attest to what they witnessed and that was the very tail end of the process, which was the casting of ballots. The question is what had happened during the other processes; were they all free and fair? That is the crux of the UDP petition, most of which was out of the purview of the election observers.

It is alleged that many people who were not qualified to vote in this country got registered, which was said to be part of the NPP strategy. However, the UDP and the other political parties were given the opportunity to go to the revising courts to challenge some of those anomalies of the voter registration process, but none of them took the opportunity. Therefore, it seems too late now for the UDP or any other individual or group to challenge that aspect of the electoral process.

Another school of thought is however that the UDP were victims of their own complacency and some poor judgments of the party leadership, particularly the party leader, Ousainou Darboe. It is quite obvious that he played a big role in the disintegration of Coalition 2016, which succeeded in toppling the dictatorial regime of former President Yahya Jammeh. Darboe was accused of being one of those who contributed to the disintegration of the Coalition when during the run-up to the National Assembly elections in 2018, he vehemently opposed the suggestion to contest the elections as a coalition but he instead insisted on the different component parties going it on their own, which was the death-knell of the Coalition. That was the very beginning of the disintegration of the Coalition.

Darboe also made so many complimentary decisions in favour of President Barrow, not only threatening to take to court anyone who challenged Barrow’s intention to serve five years instead of the three years that he had agreed with his coalition partners, but he also described Barrow as Moses who came to liberate the Gambia, which comments later came to haunt him. We had seen how he had later tried to contradict some of those comments he made about Barrow, including calling on him (Barrow) to serve three years instead of the five that he had been defending, which change of position seems to have put him (Darboe) in a very bad light, with some people describing him as an expert on ‘wah-wahet’ (changing his tone according to circumstances).

One other area that the UDP seems to have shot themselves on the foot, particularly during the election campaign was the decision (albeit not official policy) to boycott some media houses simply because they accused them of being supporters of the NPP. Those media houses included Fatu Network, QTV and Star TV, which many political analysts saw as a great mistake on their part and it has no doubt cost the party some support. However, rather than the party leadership coming out now to denounce the boycott, they should have done so from the onset.

However, regardless of the outcome of the court case, the UDP should not get so despondent but instead they should regroup and re-organise the party in readiness for the National Assembly elections and the local government elections. They should understand that if they can control the National Assembly and local government, they would be in a position to have a big say in the mode of governance. There is no doubt that they must have learnt very good lessons from the presidential elections which would serve them well in the next election cycle.

Political Campaigns, Democracy and Secret Ballots

Fatu Camara
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Political Campaigns, Democracy and Secret Ballots

By Capt. Ebou Jallo     Saturday, December 18, 2021

I would like to expand on a few ideas I expressed earlier during the week in a string of FaceBook posts concerning the UDP petition before the Supreme Court in The Gambia.  I am not discussing the merits of the petition nor dappling into any legal argumentation with any Gambian lawyer—I need not.  This is a critical exercise about issues that concern the republic which aims to enlighten and enrich the discourse about our polity. However, I would like to emphasize here two things: The Supreme Court has no jurisdiction to entertain civil and criminal proceedings against President Adama Barrow; and a secret ballot as established in section 40 of the Gambia constitution is fraud proof because it is virtually impossible to corrupt a voter exercising his/her political right to elect a preferred candidate.

Democracy, to paraphrase the social theorist Jurgen Habermas, can best be described as the institutionalization of communicative action as the seat of political power. This means that reasonable and ethical political authority can only be achieved through freedom of speech, freedom of expression and freedom of association.  The Gambian voter is free to speak his/her mind, express his/her personal state by voting a preferred candidate, and associate with any socially integrated group.  Political parties too are legal entities with the same rights as the individual voter.  As an organization they too speak to the voters through party manifestos, advertisements, and rallies; they are also free to go into coalitions or alliances with another group of Gambian citizens; and through expressive dramaturgy, political campaigns also interact with voters by managing perceptions of their party or nominated candidate.  This expressive dramaturgical activity can take many forms in the process of demonstrating the goodwill of a political party. And none of them is “corrupt practice” if it is meant to solicit the ingratiation of the voters.  This may be done by monetary gifts to cover campaign expenses, transportation of voters to rallies, distributing food, T-shirts, cooking utensils, or making grandiose promises/statements during political rallies- this is a legitimate process for a political party to make its candidate agreeable to the electorate.  Restricting such activities during a political campaign shall be an abrogation of the fundamental right to freedom of expression and the death of democracy in the Gambia.

It is impossible to bribe a voter in an election conducted by a secret ballot.  Bribery implies a quid pro quo transaction: this for that.  It is ridiculously inefficient and unwise to give stuff to a voter expecting that he or she shall vote for you in a secret ballot- it makes no sense at all.  Any claims of fraud or “corrupt practices” should have been identified, registered with the IEC and hopefully addressed well before the election day.  This is what responsible and competent citizenship demands.  It is a sign of bad faith for any one to participate in an electoral process, get defeated in broad daylight; regroup the next day crying foul and dish opprobrium on everybody else but your own self.  This is a disgraceful and very regressive behavior from the UDP.

 

LAMIN NJIE – OPINION: UDP has been busy on all fronts. From going to court to tackling fake news to disowning its supporters, this party looks out-of-sorts

Fatu Camara
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LAMIN NJIE – OPINION: UDP has been busy on all fronts. From going to court to tackling fake news to disowning its supporters, this party looks out-of-sorts

UDP is looking really out-of-sorts following its brutal humbling by President Barrow 10 days ago. The party is having a bad day.

It’s actually not a dream. UDP has indeed lost this election. And they have done so in so much ignominy, it’s hard to believe.

If UDP had taken my advice back in April, maybe the story would have been different. Maybe supporters of this party would not be in so much pain today. They could have even been celebrating.

In my OpEd in April, my argument was that two things were dangerously working against UDP. They were the incumbency advantage President Barrow had and the issue of supporters of UDP alienating the party by way of insulting and attacking anyone who doesn’t support the party.

When I predicted that UDP was losing this election, I did so without any malice or hatred towards the party. In fact I did so out of love. I wanted this party to get a good strategy, one that could hand them State House. The one they were operating by was bad. They were arrogant and called me names. They have now paid a heavy price.

We have now all seen what now remains of the party. From trying to reject the election result to tackling fake news to even disowning its supporters who are yet to learn their lesson in terms of their bad behavior towards others, UDP looks really out-of-sorts.

With the party filing a petition in court and all of that, an old man I gave a ride this morning told me you don’t kill a chicken without it writhing around. This is exactly what is happening to UDP right now.

May Allah make it easy for them. At least UDP is family home to me as my entire family is UDP and they too are in so much pain.

Maybe UDP can someday recover from this. Maybe they need to sack their current leaders for failing them so bad. Or maybe they even need to scrap the party and form a new one. Time will surely tell.

A Time For Work

Fatu Camara
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A Time For Work

Katim S. Touray, Ph. D

President Adama Barrow has an another opportunity to make history or, if he blows it, be consumed by it.

Dear Baba: Open Letter to Lawyer Ousainou Darboe

Fatu Camara
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Dear Baba: Open Letter to Lawyer Ousainou Darboe

By Sana Sarr

I begin by thanking you for your invaluable service to our country and its people. In 1996, when the military took over, the PPP fled, only you rose up to join the PDOIS as serious challengers trying to uphold our democracy. Since then, you have given, you have sacrificed, you have lost, you have suffered and you have endured. For that, you deserve to be honoured and appreciated, and I thank you.

You helped provide a lifeline that helped our democracy survive and eventually defeat a dictatorship. On December 4, 2021, that democracy was put to a test in the first presidential elections since the dictator was ousted. Unfortunately for you, the results did not turn out in your favour. To the disappointment of many, myself included, Barrow won. Surprisingly, backed by nothing but conjecture, you gathered some strange bedfellows, Essa Faal and Yaya Jammeh (via Mama Kandeh), to announce that you reject the results. A day later, Essa did a “Turn Around” leaving you and Jammeh.

Uncle, it has been a week since that press conference at your house and we are yet to hear any details from you of HOW the elections were rigged in favour of the incumbent! I’ve heard some “non-reasons” raised by some of your supporters, including…

– The incumbent’s margins of victory are too high

– Voter turnout was too good

– Barrow beat us too badly

– The IEC took too long to announce the results

– The incumbent beat us in our traditional strongholds

Unfortunately, none of these explains how the elections were rigged and certainly, none provide evidence that’s admissible in court. Personally, my expectation was that anyone, especially an experienced attorney like you, would have done their investigations and gathered enough credible evidence BEFORE calling a press conference to reject elections results. Since you did not do that, and after a week of not advancing any explanation or supporting evidence to the public, I am inclined to believe that whatever you thought you had is simply not convincing enough to you, and you know it will not pass the smell test in a court of law.

Uncle Ousainou, you know as well as anyone else that the foundation on which a democracy rests is the trust and confidence in the electoral process. Your rejection, without evidence, threatens to undermine that foundation which, mind you, you helped build. I heard the forceful statements you made against that alleged supporter of yours who called for violence in The Gambia to protest the election results. Not only did you condemn the dangerous statements, you called for the suspect’s arrest. While I appreciate your statements and believe that you were 100% sincere when you made them, I cannot ignore the fact that your rejection of the results contributed to and empowered that clown to be bold enough to make such inflammatory statements. Since your rejection, many of your supporters have been angry and have been calling for the president’s removal. “Ayeh jee”, they’re singing.

Sir, it’s undeniable that we need a formidable opposition as we continue to build our democracy. The incumbent’s margins of victory, winning even in opposition strongholds, is far from the best sign of things to come. This rejection of yours carries a threat of eroding voter confidence in our electoral process. If they believe that the incumbent can rig the elections, your remaining supporters may stay away from the polls in the upcoming parliamentary and local government elections, leaving the field wide open for a clean sweep by the incumbent’s party. The APRC is dead, the PDOIS will probably only win 2 seats (Wulli West and Serekunda East) if even, and the incumbent has gobbled up the NRP. Therefore, the country NEEDS a strong UDP.

With all these considerations, I beg of you to either provide credible evidence that you know will convince the Supreme Court to overturn the elections. I’m the absence of such incontrovertible evidence, I implore you to kindly call another press conference, or issue a statement, to announce your acceptance of the results and concede. This reversal of your position will not make you appear weak, it will make you look like a leader who is not too afraid or too proud to admit when they’ve made a mistake – an admirable character trait.

This concession will also release those supporters from their prisons of anger and bitterness, help them find closure, and move on to focus on winning seats in the parliamentary elections.

With warm regards to you and all your loved ones,

A Concerned Gambian.

 

 

Beyond 75: our promise to every child

Fatu Camara
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Beyond 75: our promise to every child

By Gordon Jonathan Lewis, UNICEF Gambia Representative

Seventy-five years ago today, the world came together to create the UN children’s agency to support and secure the lives of children affected by World War II.  UNICEF was founded on the principle that no child, no matter who they are or where they come from, should be subjected to violence, abuse or neglect, and on the commitment to galvanize efforts to build a world where every child can survive, thrive and reach their full potential.  For 75 years, UNICEF has stayed true to this cause, and for decades, UNICEF has championed child rights in The Gambia and around the world.

As we celebrate this historic milestone, we are also reminded of the promise we made to children, 32 years ago, when the world adopted the Convention on the Rights of the Child.  In ratifying the Convention, The Gambia committed itself to put the best interests of children first in everything it does.  Children and young people are The Gambia’s most treasured resource – they will lead the next generation that will usher in change and build the future that every Gambian aspires.

Building that future requires urgent action by the government, its partners and local communities to improve the quality of education, make vaccines available for every child, invest more in the mental health of children and young people and scale up efforts to address the climate crisis.

With more than 78% of primary-school-age children in school, The Gambia has made remarkable gains in making education accessible to children across the country.  But for many children, being in school does not equal learning.  Like most developing countries, The Gambia faces a learning crisis which, if left unaddressed, could jeopardize the country’s development.   We must urgently reverse the situation by investing in an education that builds basic reading, writing and math skills, as well as competencies in problem-solving and critical thinking that young people need to be productive. We must also invest in building the skills of teachers and motivate them to teach more effectively.

Making vaccines available and accessible to every child helps protect them against diseases, such as measles, polio and smallpox, and to grow healthier and perform better in school. The Gambia has an impressive vaccination record and we must work together to sustain it.  We must invest more in the procurement of vaccines, improve cold chain facilities and combat misinformation that is driving vaccine hesitancy.  In tandem, we must do more to reduce wasting and stunting among young children and scale up programmes and policies that guarantee the nutritional health of every child.

Digital technologies are revolutionizing the way children communicate, learn and socialize.  But for many children and young people, staying online comes with huge risks.  84% of respondents in a recent U-Report poll “think online sexual harassment and bullying is a problem for children and young people in The Gambia”.  Yet, even beyond the digital platforms, children and young people are increasingly becoming anxious about the future.  It is time to protect and care for children’s mental health and to integrate their mental health into primary health care.  This must be accompanied by a strong policy framework that ensures all children live free of violence, abuse and exploitation.

In another U-Report poll, close to 50% of young people in The Gambia said rains and floods were the biggest climate change-related challenges their communities were facing, and 50% said that reduced food production was the biggest threat to their livelihoods. This is strong evidence that the climate crisis will be a permanent fixture in the lives of Gambian children if urgent action is not taken.  It is time to address the climate crisis, scale up investments in climate adaptation and resilience, and strengthen children’s and young people’s participation in climate decisions.

So, on and beyond our 75th anniversary, our promise to every child is to never give up on you, continue listening to you and providing the platform to amplify your voices and demand the protection and fulfilment of your rights.  In upholding our promise to you, we will never give up!

How a Political Animal beats Two Lawyers like a Drum

Fatu Camara
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How a Political Animal beats Two Lawyers like a Drum

By Capt. Ebou Jallo    11 December, 2021

Aristotle once wrote that “man is by nature a political animal” and hence the German philosopher Hannah Arendt would later add that the identity/meaning-constructing realm of the public sphere fulfills a deep human need.  Indeed, President Barrow was not prattling when he called himself a political animal. Elections happen within a moral matrix of a society where emotions and sentiments carry more weight in our judgments than reason.  This is one law in campaign politics that some “educated” Gambians can never understand because the idea is so simple and yet elusive to the inattentive and the egotistical.

I have read some post-elections diagnostics of what happened on 4 December but none really understands the depth of the issue which can be reduced to these four propositions:

(a)   Political judgments are intuitional and not logical.  They can either bind or divide a society.

(b)  Passions or emotions always subordinate reason or rationality.

(c)   If you want to persuade others to vote for your party, then you must appeal to their deep-rooted sentiments.

(d)  Politics is all about learning from people who disagree with you; and not listening to your own echo chambers.

Let us put this “theory” to a test with a simple thought experiment:  If you ask any UDP party militant two questions: “Is it wrong to have sex with a white horse?” and “is it wrong to vote for Barrow?” Almost all UDP supporters shall unfailingly answer with a vigorous “yes”, but none can possibly explain why.  They may most likely give a conditioned “reason” why they think such actions are wrong betraying in the process the ironclad limitations of their prejudices with arguments that support their conclusions.  This only shows that reason or rationality is a tool that is neither impartial nor objective.  Rationality is just like a briefcase lawyer or a government spokesman… No wonder lawyers make very lousy politicians- their lack of wisdom, political judgment; and especially the lack of capacity for empathetic understanding of others, sensitivity to the socio-political environment and immediate reality.  If you want to change people’s mind to vote for you then you must appeal to their hearts, the seat of emotions.

People elect candidates in elections the same way they acquire food preferences. This is not mere speculation but a well-researched study by world renowned scientists. My favorite example is the work of the social psychologist Jonathan Haidt who wrote the book “The Righteous Mind: Why Good People are Divided by Politics and Religion”.  People choose parties and candidates like they chose their favorite cuisines and if Henry’s “Dahin Sipa Sipa” smells more appealing than anything plain yellow then they will stick with Henry.

Haidt argues we do have universal moral “taste receptors” like our palate which can sense political flavors. This bridges our biology to our politics once again reflecting Aristotle’s political animal.  Most of the opposition ‘flavors’ or brand revolves around either personalities or their so-called manifestos.  None of their personalities except Barrow’s appealed to the voters.  UDP had a 5- point promises or agenda, Essa Faal had a Soobeya Blueprint that looks like a pitchbook straight out of an investment bank; and PDOIS has a manifesto more obfuscated that Karl Marx’s dialectical materialism—none of which appealed to most people who voted last Saturday.  Barrow had one simple and elegant agenda: victory at all costs.  This resonated more with the innate moral foundations of authority, sanctity, and liberty with a powerful subliminal appeal that voters cannot resist.  Political elections are evolutionary fitness tests in the public realm.  We all carry a selfish gene with a deep desire to always win and flourish.  Incumbency gave him the authority/sanctity appeal; and his personality is simply non-overbearing. President Barrow tapped deep into this human genetic interest with a stroke of unanalyzable genius and skill; and he won!

The UDP in the other hand made subliminal appeals to identity politics (Aji Yam Secka in Niani and Lawyer Darboe in Basse) which were nothing but empty parochial altruism- feigning an inclination to care more about a particular tribe at the expense of the state.  This has been the UDP’s fatal flaw throughout the campaign.  Caring for any socially integrated group of Gambians must be more than just symbolic.  A politician must demonstrate care for the people by communicating with candor, sincerity, and making universal appeals to all Gambians in all regions of the country.  The UDP is so convinced of their own self-righteousness agenda to a point of blind sighting themselves at their own peril.  It takes real courage to challenge/question one’s belief system and demons.  Moral courage allows for the interaction of heart and mind in a healthy mental framework and in politics.  Hopefully, their earth-shattering defeat in the polls shall teach them a lesson to be civil in their politics and learn from their opponents by empathizing with dissent.

Why elections cannot be cheated in the Gambia on Election Day?

Fatu Camara
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Why elections cannot be cheated in the Gambia on Election Day?

By Madi Jobarteh

Given the storm that has arisen in the wake of the December 4 presidential polls, many people have reached out to me asking how elections are conducted in the Gambia and if it could be manipulated or cheated. Of course, over the past few days, I have also heard so many outrageous stories being peddled that the election was stolen. Thus, as someone who has been involved in elections management in the Gambia over the past 15 years, this is what I tell those people.

First of all, the materials used for elections in the Gambia are the metallic ballot drums with a nozzle and a bicycle bell fitted inside the drum just below the nozzle, and translucent crystal balls or marbles. Probably this is the most primitive, direct and simplest election materials in the history of the modern world. Yet, by its crudeness it is also the safest, most secure and most difficult to manipulate or cheat.

In Gambian elections, the polling staffs includes staff from IEC and party agents. Every party or candidate in the election is required to provide an agent at every stage of the election. Together they all sit at the polling desk to receive voters. These agents are provided the voter roll so that together with the IEC staff, they also check if a voter’s name is on the list or not before the voter is handed a marble by the presiding officer. Hence no one can vote without a party agent not knowing and seeing the name of that voter in the voter list for that polling station. If he does not see it, he can raise objection and record and report to his or her party.

First of all, before voting starts, all polling staffs (both IEC and party agents) swear to an oath of due execution of office and secrecy, publicly. Then the presiding officer opens the ballot drums one by one so that all polling staffs look into it to confirm that they drum is actually empty. Then the drums are sealed with some kind of tough material which cannot be untied except broken or cut. Each seal has a serial number which polling staffs (including party agents) are required to record. This is the basic opening procedure before voting starts.

Before the ballot drums are placed in the voting booth, they are tied together by metallic binding wire by their handles such that one cannot move one drum alone but will need to move the entire set of drums together. And I can tell you that these drums are damn heavy. These opening of polls procedure also include the presiding officer counting the marbles she has received which are recorded by all the party agents present, as well as by observers and the journalists if they want to.

Next, at the polling station, there are domestic and international observers in addition to media. There are also voters who are already in the queue watching everything from a distance. The security officers on elections duties are also present and witnesses to every step of the procedure. Therefore, the setup is such that the election materials are secure and safe at all times and viewed by all.

When voting starts, the presiding officer sits closest to, but outside from where the ballot drums are placed so that she can hear the bell ring when a marble is dropped inside. If the presiding officer did not hear a bell ring after a voter gets in and comes out, she can ask the voter whether he voted or not. Furthermore, she can decide to go inside the booth to confirm but she has to be accompanied by the security officers and party agents. Sometimes some voters put a marble in their pocket and leave or just place it on top of the drum instead of dropping it inside. The presiding officer can intervene to either retrieve the marble or show the voter how to vote.

At the close of polls, the presiding officer asks the party agents and the security to go inside the voting booth to retrieve the drums which are still tied together. But first the nozzle through which marbles are dropped is sealed to prevent any more voting. Then the left-over marbles are counted and recorded as in the beginning. Remember at every stage of these procedures from the beginning to the counting of the vote, various forms are signed by the IEC officers and party agents to ensure confirmation.

After this, the drums are then taken out and placed in the middle of the polling station in full view of everyone before they are opened one by one. Once again, the polling staffs including party agents cross check the seals and their numbers to make sure that they are the same numbers they had recorded during the opening process. When everything is confirmed then the seals are broken with a plier or knife.

It is now that counting on the spot begins drum by drum on a counting tray which can carry either 100 or 200 marbles at a time when filled. The process continues this way until the end. It is also necessary to note that the polling station is not to be populated by everyone. Rather, there are accredited persons listed who can be present in the polling station, especially at these procedural stages to ensure non-interference. The security has the power to remove any unaccredited person. The observers and media can also report the presence of such persons.

At every stage of the counting process, the figure is recorded by all polling staffs and party agents on prescribed forms. The number of votes for each candidate are announced loudly for all to hear. When counting is done, then the Presiding Officer takes the result to the collation centre for verification by the Assistant Returning Officer. The results are escorted by security officers and party agents from the polling station. At the collation centre, there are also two party agents to observe the tabulation and upon satisfaction they sign the result form.

Next the Assistant Returning Officer sends the results in a sealed envelope to the IEC Regional Office who also verify. At the Regional Office, there are also two party agents who also observe the verification and upon satisfaction they sign the result form. Next the results are transmitted to the IEC headquarters where there are again party agents to verify the results and then sign the results form. It is after all these processes of verification in the presence of party agents, that the IE Chairman would now announce the results to the nation.

Therefore, the results that go to the Assistant Returning Officer and then to the Regional Office and then to the IEC headquarters is the same result that party agents already have and know. By that time, they would have already informed their party structures about the results. Remember, when in 2016 elections IEC announced the first results, by then Yaya Jammeh had already known that he had lost to Adama Barrow by 19 thousand votes which he himself said. Therefore, how can anyone cheat elections in this country? Even Yaya Jammeh could not cheat on election day and he never attempted because it is practically impossible.

The only way to cheat on election day in the Gambia will be to burn down the entire polling station, or destroy ballot drums, or prevent party agents, observers and the media from being present at the polling stations or bribe all of them not to record or make false claims.  Who can do this?

Therefore, the claim that December 4 presidential elections are stolen is utterly false and outrageous.

Therefore, to those who are in doubt about the credibility of elections in the Gambia, rest assured that there is no cheating on election day in the Gambia, so far. Never. It is not possible. If it happens, no one will be in doubt.

For the Gambia Our Homeland

LAMIN NJIE – Opinion: Essa Faal is not so popular after all. A dismal 17,000 for a man who boasts of having over 70,000 young people behind him is a grim indictment

Fatu Camara
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LAMIN NJIE – Opinion: Essa Faal is not so popular after all. A dismal 17,000 for a man who boasts of having over 70,000 young people behind him is a grim indictment

Essa got a little over-confident when going into this. He thought his new-found fame that came by the grace of the TRRC would translate into votes. He shouldn’t forgive the person who told him this lie.

Essa actually looked like something who was going to do really well in this election. Since announcing his bid in September, a lot of citizens quickly endorsed him. His Buffer Zone meeting was well attended and little wonder he declared that the love was real.

It now looks like fake love going by this election. I predicted that Essa would come third in this election and failed. Even Halifa who Essa taunted as having crude ideas at the presidential debate did better than him. This is some rude awakening for the flamboyant lawyer.

This election came with a mixed bag of shock and surprise for some including Essa. One would have expected him to do well in Banjul at least. This is where he comes from. But only 612 people saw him worthy of being president out of a staggering 21,000 voters.

I felt sorry for him when I saw him wave at a crowd of supporters that gathered at UDP leader Darboe’s house as he arrived at Darboe’s house to meet the UDP leader. That was a fake wave. This was a clearly stunned and shocked and confused man. A man who couldn’t understand what was happening to him.

Essa must now take stock of his disastrous performance. His performance has betrayed his TRRC fame and he has to conduct an inquiry into what went wrong.

President-elect Adama Barrow: The Political Enigma In Chief: The unexpected and Ingenious Strategy of Barrow’s Second Term

Fatu Camara
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President-elect Adama Barrow: The Political Enigma In Chief: The unexpected and Ingenious Strategy of Barrow’s Second Term
Alagi Yorro Jallow
Part I
Fatoumatta: The 2021 presidential elections have finally come and gone. The fever-pitched atmosphere that characterized and inundated the polity pre-election has been doused by the seemingly credible, free, and fair election of presidential Adama Barrow. As a result, the pre-election doomsday prophesies and innuendoes that the presidential election would make or mar the country’s unity has come to pass.
The commendable performance of the umpire of the elections under the stewardship of Alhagie Alieu Momar Njie and Mr. Sambujang Njie, CEO of the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC), should be recognized and must be commended for conducting a credible, free and fair, inclusive, and transparent election process.
President-elect Adama Barrow secured a second term as President in the biggest test of the Gambia’s emergent democracy since dictator Yahya Jammeh’s 22-year rule ended. President Barrow, however, garnered 53.2% of the votes. At the same time, his nearest rival emeritus lawyer Abubacarr Ousainou Darboe leader of the United Democratic Party (UDP), obtained 27.7%.
As a result, Alhagie Alieu Momarr Njai, chairman of the Independent Electoral (IEC)Commission, declared incumbent president Adama Barrow in the December 4, 2021, presidential elections.
Fatoumatta: This is the first presidential election in 27 years, not to include former president Yahya Jammeh, who has remained in exile in Equatorial Guinea since being defeated by President Adama Barrow in a 2016 presidential election. Overall, the 2021 presidential election “conforms to national and international standards,” the African Union’s observer mission said in a statement.
In addition, a coalition of civil society organizations in the Gambia and international election observers declared the election “free and fair” despite a rejection of former Vice President Abubakar Ousainou Darboe and, leader of the United Democratic Party (UDP), and Mr.Mama Kandeh, opposition leader of the Gambia Democratic Congress (GDC).
Likewise, the conduct of Gambia’s political gladiators (Honorable Halifa Sallah of the People’s Democratic Organization for Independence and Socialism (PDOIS), doyen, and dean of Gambian politics other presidential candidates conceded to the defeat and accepted the election results as the will of the Gambian people) must also be acclaimed for their democratic and patriotic stance.
However, more significantly, the gesture of Mr. Abdoulie Jammeh, Dr.Isamila Ceesay, Ahmed Mai Fatty, and other politicians’ symbolic acceptance of the outcome of the results and phone calls to concede defeat and congratulate President-elect Adama Barrow even before and after the final results were officially announced should highly be extolled and would go down well in the annals of history. Never in the history of our burgeoning democracy has such magnanimity and statesmanship been exhibited by politicians aspiring for the land’s highest office.
The gesture, without a doubt, forestalled any hatched plans by evil does to scuttle the latter stages of the elections. This is a milestone that is indelible in the history of the Gambia.
Fatoumatta: The 2021 presidential election is the first election to be conducted since the defeat of former president Yahya Jammeh in 2016 by President Adama Barrow that saw an opposition candidate winning the presidential elections, and the results allowed to stand.
This is also a feat worthy of acclamation, good for the Gambia’s political development. Every discerning Gambian should be proud of. The wind of change has suddenly filled the atmosphere. You can almost touch it in the length and breadth of the Gambia. You can feel it in the Gambian Diaspora community parts, and you can sense it. Everywhere you go, Gambians are looking forward to a government of the people, by the people, and for the people.
Fatoumatta: Anything short of this, the power and voices of the people through the ballot, would surely be put to good use once again in the coming general elections in April 2022. However, while the majority of Gambians are still basking in the euphoria of President Adama Barrow’s victory, discerning Gambians are concerned about the “opposition” in Gambian politics.
Is there an opposition in our nascent political development? Opposition in politics means “the major political party opposed to the party in office and prepared to replace it if elected.” President Barrow’s National People’s Party (NPP) has emerged as the dominant political party in 2021.
From developments in the just concluded presidential elections, it will be a significant political party in the Gambia. A salient fact here is that majority of the supporters of the National People’s Party (NPP were mainly from other dominant opposition members, mainly from the mighty United Democratic Party( UDP), the former ruling Alliance for Patriotic Re-orientation and Construction (APRC), the Gambia Democratic Congress (GDC) and other peripheral parties.
For instance, most of the senior executive members of the National People’s Party (NPP) were primarily from other opposition party’s as senior members mentioned above.
Fatoumatta: The second term of President Barrow has not officially taken overpower, and we are already witnessing an overwhelming amount of politicians decamping to President Barrow in his NPP-led coalition government.
In other climes, politicians are identified as “the opposition” and are well-grounded in such parties. Is it that in Gambian politics, the end justifies the means? It seems it does not matter where you are coming from or how you made money, or where it is gotten from, provided you have got loads of it, you can switch to any political party and aspire for any office in the land and win. Most of these politicians and former presidential candidates who endorsed President Barrow appear to be anticipating ministerial and top positions and foreign service appointments in the NPP-led government. However, they all have suddenly become “Messiahs” of change. In some parts of the country and the Gambia Diaspora community is automatically an employment opportunity for some people, irrespective of competence, antecedence, or integrity; likewise, the prominent defectors from other political parties.
Essentially, some political parties do not possess any clear-cut and well-defined ideology. Instead, it seems, politics in the Gambia is akin to the “stomach infrastructure” ideology popularized by Jean -Francois Bayart, author of “The State in Africa: The Politics of the Belly.
Fatoumatta: Nevertheless, there have been opposition members since our emergent democracy since the First and Second republic. There have been people who have vociferously and silently been playing the role of the opposition in trying to ensure that the Gambia carves out a healthy democratic development. In their quest to legitimize a viable opposition, some unsung heroes have died and lost everything along the way, believing in their cause.
They have lost an arm and a leg but remained steadfast and dogged in the opposition movement. Some have resisted tantalizing overtures and juicy appointments of sitting administrations, believing instead in a formidable opposition. These are the genuine opposition members who gave victory to incumbent President Adama Barrow in 2016 with their time, efforts, sweat, blood, and lives, not some now masquerading as apostles of change.
These people were the ones who initially painstakingly built this “Barrow brand” most people are now clamoring for and sadly exploiting.
President-elect Adama Barrow should be wary of sheep in wolf’s clothing, screaming change, acting like proponents of change but are not necessarily agents of change. Perusing some of their self-aggrandizement motives, they exploited the popularity of President Barrow and the overwhelming cries of teeming Gambians for change at the helms of affairs.
However, most are opportunists and might reveal their true colors after officially being sworn in on January 19, 2022.
Fatoumatta: The presidential election is over, and challenging problems await President-elect Adama Barrow. He needs capable hands, proven and tested, with like-mind vision, capable of taking the Gambia to greater heights. Regardless of political party affiliation, ethnicity, creed, and gender, he needs skilled individuals who believe in the Gambia project.
He needs to act as a leader of the Gambia and Gambians, not a leader of a political party or particular region of the country. He needs seasoned professionals and technocrats from far and wide, home and abroad, who are willing to build a brighter future for the teeming youths of the Gambia. President Adama Barrow’s journey began sometime in 2016 when he got elected into office.
It has taken him a dozen-plus five years to achieve his goal. He knows how arduous and pain-staking it was, eventually getting this elusive victory; credited to the teeming populace who believes in him. It is now his turn to meet the aspirations of teeming Gambians looking up to him for the prophesied change they voted for. With great power come greater responsibilities. Whoever much is given, much is expected. There are great expectations on the shoulders of president Barrow. The timber and caliber of the “politicians and technocrats” he appoints as his ministers would be scrutinized serially. Indeed, they would determine the direction his government is going to take. However, the fire of change is still burning.
Fatoumatta: The expectation of hope is still alive within the populace. The passion with which Gambians came out en-masse to vote for an agent of change, whose integrity and honesty are parallel to none, is still blooming.
Surely, Gambians would not want to be disappointed. Surely, Gambians would not want the flame to be extinguished. Gambians would not want their hope to be dashed. Gambians would not want their efforts to be in vain. The National Assembly elections are not too far away; however, before we get there, Gambians would like a bigger, better, and more extraordinary Gambia Anything less, and the President would surely face the music.

International Human Rights Day 2021: Long Road for The Gambia

Fatu Camara
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International Human Rights Day 2021: Long Road for The Gambia

Today marks International Human Rights Day dedicated to the promotion of human rights awareness and protection in celebration of the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). The day cannot be more significant for the world in these times, especially for the Gambia which just came out of a 22-year culture of human rights violations under the APRC Regime. It is five years since Gambians ousted that regime yet the protection of human rights remains a challenge in this country.

 

The theme for this year is, “Equality, Reducing inequalities, advancing human rights.” This theme relates to the human rights principle and objective of ‘Equality’ as espoused in Article 1 of the UDHR that ‘All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.’ The principle of equality is at the heart of human rights. Where there is equality, there is non- discrimination. Hence without accepting that all human beings are equal in rights and dignity regardless of sex, origin, tribe, belief, birth or any other status, there will be discrimination which gives birth to exclusion, prejudice and leads to violations.

 

It is obvious that there is a high prevalence of inequality in the Gambia, socially, economically and politically. There is widespread and deep-seated culture of discrimination, exclusion, prejudice and violence in this society. These are based upon and fuelled by the caste system and patriarchy which are fused with the stinking culture of corruption and lack of accountability across the society. As a result, there is a perpetual violation of the rights and dignity of persons on account of their origin, birth, sex, disability, age or other status. These violations are perpetrated in Gambian homes, schools, markets, streets and other public spaces, in the communities and work places in the public and private sectors.

 

The 1997 Constitution guarantees the equality of all citizens. Section 1 subsection 2 stipulates that sovereignty of the Gambia resides in the people, meaning all Gambians are equal in sovereignty, hence rights, as the source of power and authority. Chapter Four of the Constitution guarantees the fundamental rights and freedoms of all citizens without any distinction. It has guaranteed the equality of men and women in Section 28, the rights of children in Section 29, and the rights of persons with disabilities in Section 31. Furthermore, Section 33 guarantees the right of all before the law and prohibits any law that is discriminatory. These constitutional provisions on equality are further buttressed by the Women’s Act, the Children’s Act and now the Disability Act, among other laws.

 

However there still remains some provisions in the various laws of the Gambia that undermine equality in various ways. At the same time, despite the Constitution guaranteeing equality, several cultural practices remain that contravene the Constitution on this issue. The prevalence of the caste system in many communities is an affront to the principle of equality. The caste system does not only perpetrate and perpetuate inequality but also encourages discrimination, dehumanisation, and violence against persons including sexual and gender-based violence while limiting the voice and participation of citizens in the affairs of their communities. Therefore, there is need to abolish the caste system because it is an offense to a democratic republic.

 

As we celebrate this day, it is also pertinent to highlight that after five years of removing the Dictatorship, draconian provisions still hold sway in the Criminal Code, Public Order Act, Information and Communications Act, the Elections Act, Official Secrets Act, while anti-human rights provisions can be found in the Constitution such as denying persons to hold certain public offices simply because they hold a dual citizenship. These laws need to change in order to guarantee equality not only before the law but also ensure availability and access to opportunities, power and enhance citizenship participation.

 

Equally concerning on a day like today is to realise that violations of rights continue to take place perpetrated by the State and non-state actors of which there have been no accountability until today. Without accountability, human rights are meaningless simply because violations and perpetrators go unchecked hence impunity. Over the past five years there have been numerous violations for which the Government said they were investigating yet there has been no result shared with the public.

 

These cases include the gruesome murder of Marie Mendy and Zilson Gomez for which there is still no justice and accountability since April 2021. The cases of Haruna Jatta of Kanilai in 2017, Ousman Darboe in Sere Kunda as well as Kebba Secka in Senegambia continue to be ignored since 2019. Until today, no one knows the case of PIU officers who were standing trial for the killing of protesters in Faraba in 2018. In May 2021, an 11-year old boy was raped and there is still no justice. In October 2021, a fire incident at Bilal Boarding School killed 5 young boys yet until today there is no justice. Where are the police investigation reports?

 

As recent as this week, we have seen the paramilitary police use unnecessary force on unarmed citizens in and around the compound of UDP leader’s home leading to injuries. Rather PIU officers were seen celebrating their actions of using teargas on people. We are yet to see any investigation by the police on the actions of it officers in that incident. In Brikamaba, drug law enforcement officers severely manhandled a young man in September leading to severe bodily injuries. That incident as well as the assault on one Ebrima Sanneh by the Commander of the Anti-Crime Unit Gorgui Mboob in 2020 all point to not only the destruction to human rights in this country, but also the failure of security sector reforms.

 

In all of these cases, either there is no justice or justice is being subverted in such a way that the perpetrator is rewarded while the victim is neglected. As the Gambia have just elected a new president, it is critical therefore that these issues be brought before him so that the necessary attention is given to these issues. Meantime, if there is any lesson to learn, it is that all citizens must now stand up to become Human Rights Defenders in this country. If we fail to do so, then the rights of each and every one of us are under threat.

 

For The Gambia Our Homeland

 

……………………………………………..

Madi Jobarteh

Skype: madi.jobarteh

Twitter: @jobartehmadi

LinkedIn: Madi Jobarteh

Phone: +220 9995093

 

Why UDP lost the 2021 presidential election

Fatu Camara
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Why UDP lost the 2021 presidential election

By Dr Ebrima Ceesay

Late Joseph Goebbels, chief propagandist for the Nazi Party, said something along these lines: repeating misinformation does not make it true, but it can make it more likely to be believed. Indeed, it was Adolf Hitler’s Minister of Propaganda, Joseph Goebbels, who said: “If you repeat a lie often enough, it will become accepted as truth.” Psychologists call this phenomenon the “illusion of truth effect”.

Relatedly, two people can also look at the same glass and see completely different things. In other words, some view the glass as half-full, while others see the glass as half-empty, and this manifestation is referred to as “perception” by psychologists. Needless to say, our perceptions profoundly impact how we approach matters or things in life. Therefore, the lesson to learn is that the power of perception cannot be underestimated, and one ignores it at his or her own peril, as the UDP leader, Ousainu Darboe, has just found out the hard way, in this year’s presidential Election. But more on that later. In effect, perception, not necessarily factual; yet, it can, nonetheless, feel very real and can actually mould, shape, and influence how human beings approach situations and make decisions. In fact, perception can be said to be the lens through which we view people, events, form judgements and make decisions.

Regrettably, in my view, Ousainu Darboe’s political frailty, by and large, had, all along, been caused by long-standing (unaddressed) perception problems, a case of perception actually altering reality, in that Ousainu Darboe, from the outset, was depicted by many Gambians particularly minorities in The Gambia, as an exclusionist, who was divisive and in the habit of promoting toxic identity politics. Consequently, going forward, this exclusionist tag became a liability for him, politically. His inability to effectively confront these perception problems, head-on, to nip them in the bud, did cost him dearly in political terms, in the end. For over two decades, what psychologists call the illusory truth effect, as mentioned earlier, was well-exploited by Yahya Jammeh, in that Jammeh’s seeds of deceit, that whisper of a misinformation about Ousainu Darboe being tribalistic, blossomed over the years, and became accepted, in the end, as the gospel truth at least by most minorities in the Gambia.

Unfortunately, this age-old propagandist method, first employed by Yahya Jammeh (but actually borrowed from Joseph Goebbels) against his (Jammeh’s) arch political enemy, as mentioned above, appeared to have worked very well, over the years, against Ousainu Darboe and even today that very misinformation about Ousainu Darboe being tribalistic is still being repeated. Therefore, UDP’s problem has been that its leaders have massively underestimated how much “others”, particularly minorities in The Gambia, have feared an incoming UDP government, while, on the other hand, they also overestimated their ability to reach beyond their loyal support base, strong but not enough to deliver victory, as I had forewarned on this medium, ahead of the presidential election. Yet, even to the casual observer of Gambian politics, it was clear that there was an entrenched fear in many quarters within the country, of an incoming UDP government.

Ironically, in post-Jammeh Gambia, the UDP’s popularity, on one hand, peaked to unprecedented levels, but equally, the party was widely loathed, on the other hand, as the presidential election results have just confirmed. That is a paradox, isn’t it? In fact, the paradox of the UDP brand needs to be studied by our scholars at the appropriate time. Where did the problem lie? Did the party itself have an image problem, or was it actually an individual problem to do with the person or image of its leader Ousainu Darboe? Did Ousainu Darboe, in the end, become a liability for the yellow party.

Yet, regardless, history teaches us that the more misinformation is repeated, the more it will be believed to be true. In other words, repetition can make a statement seem truer, regardless of whether it is factual or not. Understanding this effect could have helped UDP avoid falling for this (unaddressed) age-old propaganda against its leader which, in my view, dealt a fatal blow to Ousainu Darboe’s presidential ambitions, as it denied him the Gambian presidency, in the end. The UDP leader’s ineffective fight back mechanism has meant that the so-called exclusionist label, sadly, has stuck not because it fitted Ousainu Darboe but because he let others, particularly his political opponents, define him narrowly over the years, if I may add.

Since 1996, Ousainu Darboe has found himself stuck in a story that many Gambians have cast him in, and with the benefit of hindsight, it is now clear that disrupting these negative narratives, regrettably, has been a total failure, on the part of the UDP leadership. In fact, the illusory truth effect on social media in particular, and how it has affected Ousainu Darboe over the years, also needs to be carefully studied in due course by our emerging scholars.

In sum, the point that I am making is that Ousainu Darboe has, all along, been labelled an exclusionist – a divisive figure – and regrettably, his Achilles heel has been that he had been unable to effectively remove these labels. And in my view, Ousainu Darboe also appeared to have underestimated how much an incoming UDP government was feared by “others”, particularly minorities in The Gambia, not realising that the perception problems he faced since the formation of the UDP in 1996, have actually become a burden or liability for him. In short, various political forces, particularly Yahya Jammeh, have succeeded in shaping what many Gambian voters see, feel, and think about Ousainu Darboe in particular, and UDP more generally. Of course, the end-result being that most minorities in The Gambia – rightly or wrongly – viewed, or at least perceived, the UDP as a party whose modus operandi was exclusion and not inclusion. There was at least a perception among minorities in The Gambia that the party lacked diversity.

In this sense, the UDP’s rebranding effort (at the eleventh hour among the minorities in The Gambia) was too little, too late to save the party’s woes in this key election demographic: minorities. Regrettably, the UDP has had a very poor brand among ethnic minorities, many of whom have accused the party of lacking genuine inclusivity as well as perceiving the “diversity” within the UDP as mere “tokenism”. Interestingly, the UDP made a request at the eleventh hour to have a meeting with the leadership of the Gambia Christian Council (GCC) but that request got a lukewarm response from GCC, as the council’s leaders apparently were not keen on it. In the end, a compromise was reached, and it was later agreed that UDP be first allowed to meet an ad-hoc committee of the Christian Council, after which a decision would be taken from there.

Yet, I would argue that Ousainu Darboe’s reputation as a so-called exclusionist and a divisive figure has been largely a social media construct, of course, fed, over the years, by Yahya Jammeh in particular, and in the end, this has cost him dearly, in political terms. The way “others”, particularly minorities in The Gambia, viewed him, and the way he presented himself did not also help his cause, particularly when he became Foreign Affairs Minister and wielded enormous political power at the time, thereby adding fuel to the fire, as it were. Rightly or wrongly, there was a widespread perception that he promoted exclusionary tactics, favouritism, and cronyism in his former posts of both Foreign Affairs Minister and Vice President. Furthermore, as a president-in-waiting, I think it is also a fair statement to say that Ousainu Darboe was prone to making unforced errors, through poor or tactless decision-making, which no doubt also cast a cloud over his political judgement.

Therefore, UDP losing this year’s presidential election has to be blamed, to a large extent, on a catalogue of errors on the part of the UDP leadership, chief of which included complacency – the party’s ill-advised go-it-alone stance (being too comfortable and confident of victory), and also making the fundamental mistake of allowing others (mainly opponents, especially Yahya Jammeh) to continue to define who the UDP leader was, thereby controlling the narrative endlessly. Interestingly, the UDP did not also like the use of the words, “coalition”, “alliance”. The party’s leaders preferred the “endorsement” of their presidential candidate, as opposed to the formation of a “coalition” or an “alliance”.

In fact, ahead of the presidential election, I personally engaged one or two members of the party’s leadership trying to impress them on the urgency of forming a grand opposition coalition, but they made it loud and clear to me at the time, that they were only looking for “endorsement” from other political parties and not necessarily the formation of a coalition or an alliance. Of course, the other mistake UDP also committed, in my view, was to have seen this year’s presidential election as mere ethnic censuses, in which Gambian voters would vote predominantly for co-ethnic political parties and presidential candidates. For example, I heard a prominent UDP militant repeatedly peddle – on YouTube – very unconvincing arithmetical postulations around the number of registered voters from the respective ethnic groups in The Gambia and how this ethnic arithmetic would favour UDP.

You see, before Adama Barrow parted ways with the UDP, I argued on this medium in 2018 to be precise, that the December 2021 presidential lection was UDP’s to lose, because an undivided or unified UDP, in simple terms, would be formidable and unbeatable, having got the real or raw numbers, in relation to the demographic make-up of the Gambian population. Simply put, the UDP already carried the support of the largest demographics in the country after National Assembly and local government elections and that was likely to determine the results of the December 2021 presidential election. I said at the time that the ethno-linguistic distribution or composition of the population of The Gambia will play a big role in who would make it to the Gambian presidency. In sum, the winner of the 2021 Presidential election will have largely been determined by these key demographics: women, youths, rural vote, the two must-win jurisdictions of West Coast Region and Kanifing Municipality and the Mandinka majority. Of course, there could have been some overlaps between these demographic groups. For example, a young rural voter could also straddle both the youth vote and the Mandinka majority cohort.

But of course, on my part, I included a clear caveat that UDP will only have or win the Gambian presidency if Ousainu Darboe did not miscalculate, in which case the UDP could lose it. I had warned at the time that various scenarios can play out to frustrate or hamper Darboe’s chances of winning the presidency. Having assessed each one of these possible scenarios, I concluded at the time (and this was in 2018 before Barrow and Darboe came to their parting of ways) that the nightmare scenarios for the UDP was one where you would have a disunited party with both Adama Barrow and Ousainu Darboe running against each other as presidential candidates in the December 2021 presidential election, because potentially, the two men would take natural votes from each other. A breakaway faction of the UDP, led by incumbent President Barrow, was always going to prove to be Ousainu Darboe’s political nemesis.

Why did the Republicans (UDP) lose in the elections

Fatu Camara
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Why did the Republicans (UDP) lose in the elections

The UDP lost not because they aren’t a commanding force but because they divorced the silent majority that they needed the most.

The UDP lost not because they do not love and intend good for our country The Gambia, they lost because they substituted the art of political persuasion with unruly behavior and intimidation by a majority diaspora contingent that unfortunately have no voters cards to decide.

The UDP lost not because they do not have a majority peaceful membership but lost because they have a rotten few whose pleasure is derived from cursing people sometimes as old as their parents and imaginarily disenfranchising and displacing any who dares disagree with them because for them, it is always their way or the highway.

The UDP lost not because they do not have people within them that have the potentials and technical know-how of stirring the affairs of our dear motherland to the dreamland. They lost because they refused to embrace the early warnings issued by well-meaning Gambians about the fear a few bunch of her militants have been instilling in the hearts and minds of peace loving electorates who in their own words are okay continuing with an incompetent Barrow than welcoming an intimidating UDP – an echo that roamed every corner of Gambia before, during and even after the elections because it was voting against the UDP, not for competency in the presidency.

But how soon can the UDP forget that it is the dislike of fear that made Jammeh and his APRC lose in 2016?

The UDP lost not because they aren’t a committed and resilient party. In fact they’re in my view, and until the elections, the party with the most committed and resilient membership but they lost because some of her membership mistaken belonging to the party for the ugly cause of “we vs them” as demonstrated many times by the rogue ones amongst them before the elections.

The UDP lost not because they weren’t prepared for what lies ahead in terms of electioneering but lost because they didn’t realize that some of her members especially online have over the course of the past five years costed and caused enormous damage in our society that aroused a protest vote against what the majority voters perceived as fear of tribalism, bigotry, disenfranchisement, profanity, profiling and unaccountable pride manifested by a bunch of the UDP supporters on and offline which was known to the leadership of the party but ignored because it was probably serving its purpose – shutting up and atmost scaring away the very people they’ll need and meet at the polls on their dream journey of disembarking at the State House.

Yes, the UDP lost because they have the “TRRC” and “sansanding bolong-baa” fora for cursing people including their long dead parents instead of a “boka loho” or “nyo daayma” forum to entice voters which was needed for the realization or birth of a “Yellow Nation”.

They lost in the most painful way – on their last chance as a commanding and solitary party, on the last participation of their founding party leader, to one of their own making and probably by the biggest margin of their five presidential election defeats in history.

The UDP lost because they cared less about the respect that the silent majority deserved and got punished badly by that same silent majority in the most painful way.

However, her local militants especially my polite and peace loving friends and sisters Hawa, Sainabou, and Jainaba who have invested so much in time, sweat and resources in pushing for what would have been a well deserved victory for the party and most especially uncle Darboe, deserves an unreserved apology from the unruly bunch mainly in the diaspora that accorded the party futility in this election.

Yes, I mean an apology.

Lessons though are meant for reflection in order to learn the headway and so do I hope that the Republicans as I fondly call them, will together with the rest of the other political parties learn from this bitter lesson as means of avoiding repeats.

~ Muhammed Teks Tekanyi

#GambiansHaveSpoken

 

 

LAMIN NJIE – OPINION: If politics was religion, Halifa Sallah would be first to enter heaven. As he bows out, I can only thank him for his loyalty to nation

Fatu Camara
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LAMIN NJIE – OPINION: If politics was religion, Halifa Sallah would be first to enter heaven. As he bows out, I can only thank him for his loyalty to nation

The end has arrived for Halifa Sallah – he has announced he is retiring from representation. The PDOIS leader will not seek political office ever again.

It’s actually strange that Halifa had a troubled career as a politician. It’s said a man must have a sinless character for him to be able to achieve certain things in life. That simply is not true with Halifa. His perfect character trait has cost him.

Halifa voted on Saturday and cried while talking to reporters. There’s only one thing that made him cry: Gambians are going to miss an opportunity to put the best man in office. He knew he wasn’t going to win and that broke his heart.

This election was important in many ways. It’s the election that will finally set Gambia on true democracy. Anyone who won must spearhead this. That person must also deliver a Gambia where the economy is thriving and citizens have decent jobs to be able to take care of themselves and their families.

If Halifa would have made a good choice? I believe so. He surely has the competence and ideas to run a government that would live up to expectation. But Halifa scoring just a little over 30,000 votes in the election shows just how far this man has continued to fall as a politician. Halifa is really not meant to be president.

But Halifa has done his part. He has lived a life of dignity as politician. He is not greedy and has been ruled by his conscience in the over 30 years he has been a politician. We will not have his sort again.

And before I go, I want to say if politics is religion where the first rule is to have the best of characters, Halifa would actually be the first person from Gambia to enter heaven. But politics is not religion after all.

UDP should stand down!

Fatu Camara
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UDP should stand down!

By Madi Jobarteh

The leadership of UDP need to ask their members to stand down and allow NPP to peacefully celebrate their victory.

UDP should go to the courtroom and not on the street. The election results cannot be overturned on the street. Hence UDP will bear responsibility if violence erupts in this country!

Lawyer Darboe should understand that he bears command responsibility for the actions of his supporters in this circumstance, just as every other supporter also bears individual responsibility if they violate the law.

The leadership of UDP has legal capacity to know better. Therefore Lawyer Darboe should put it to his supporters to stand down ASAP. They have no reason whatsoever to be on the street. They must follow due process.

President Adama Barrow and the NPP are the winners of the December 4 elections until the next elections in 2026 or if the Supreme Court annuls the results. Until then there’s no justification for their current actions and no one has any power to overturn the verdict of the people.

UDP leadership should be honest to their membership especially the uninformed youths and not give them any false impressions or expectations.

NPP should be let to celebrate as they wish peacefully and without violence. All other parties should give them space. This would have been the case if it were Ousainou Darboe or Halifa Sallah or Essa Faal or any other candidate who was declared by the IEC Chairman as the duly elected president.

For the moment the duly elected president is Adama Barrow of NPP. Therefore let’s give NPP the chance and space to celebrate their victory. Period.

The men and women of conscience in UDP who are honest and brave should impress on their leadership and membership to stand down! The actions of their members are undemocratic, uncivil  and unnecessarily irresponsible.

All other political leaders, religious and traditional as well as business and CSO leaders and all men and women of conscience should speak up by telling truth to Ousainou Darboe and UDP to stand down. Go to court and not on the street!

For The Gambia ?? Our Homeland

LAMIN NJIE – OPINION: The two men who have impressed me most as field commanders for their parties are Seedy Njie and Momodou Sabally

Fatu Camara
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LAMIN NJIE – OPINION: The two men who have impressed me most as field commanders for their parties are Seedy Njie and Momodou Sabally

If there are any political battlefield commanders who have done an incredible job for their parties in the lead up to this election, it’s Seedy Njie and Momodou Sabally.

Hate them or love them, Seedy Njie and Momodou Sabally have shown every fidelity and devotion to having their leaders win tomorrow’s election.

Seedy has at every turn been about President Barrow while Momodou Sabally has been about Darboe. Both men have spent the past months talking to voters, asking them to vote for their leader.

Commanders are all about winning wars. These two gentlemen are really commanders. Only that their mission has been to hand State House to their leaders – and really, never for once did they tire from this mission.

These men incidentally serve father and son, who as fate would turn out are also the two heavyweight contenders in this mammoth contest. However this goes, Seedy and Sabally should feel proud of what they have done for their leaders. Sabally even got the Commando sobriquet thanks his to service.

Still, Tomorrow’s election is set to live up to the hype and excitement. My grandmother who is close to 90 years old travelled alone this evening from Busumbala to our house in Ebo Town just for the election. And when I enquired if she will not have an issue identifying the candidate she will vote for among a staggering six candidates, she responded she has more experienced in voting than any of us. She is excited.

 

 

 

Elections and the Origin of our Discontents

Fatu Camara
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Elections and the Origin of our Discontents

As Gambians go to the polls in less than 72 hours, it’s hard to muster enthusiasm for any of the top candidates.

Barrow is in the habit of spewing bald lies with a straight face, surrounded by mediocrity and incompetence. His greatest accomplishment seems to be leaving Gambia worse than he found it. This is no mean feat, given the person he took over from, Jammeh.

Lawyer Darboe seems more concerned about what being president means for him than what he can do for The Gambia. He had no problem supporting Barrow for three years as foreign minister and vice-president, while Gambians’ dreams of reform and better governance receded. I don’t see a Darboe government embarking on the radical changes needed to move the country forward.

Mama Kandeh’ alliance with APRC casts doubts on his ability to escape the influence and clutches of former leader, Yahya Jammeh. Despite allegations of human rights violations, Jammeh still retains immense influence among Gambian voters. It’s challenging to see a marked departure from corruption and governance deficits of the past if a president Kandeh stays politically wedded to Jammeh.

In the ultimate analysis, it’s futile nurturing any attachment to outcomes in the process. If the majority of Gambians want a better life, they should use this opportunity to elect people of competence and integrity.

Incompetence and corruption should not be rewarded with blind loyalty. If Gambians choose to squander such an historic opportunity for change, then they should be well prepared to bear the consequences.

There’s not going to be any solace from above or below. The country we want is not gonna be handed to us, we have to build it.

Sainey Darboe, Vancouver,Washington

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