By Madi Jobarteh

I am particularly concerned about the frequent and consistent empty, false and demeaning free talk that always comes out the mouth of the President. Not only are his comments irresponsible but more seriously, the President is notorious for releasing comments that are utterly false and disgracefully demeaning to the reputation and dignity of the Office of the President, and the nation as a whole.

The Office of the President is an embodiment of the collective dignity, will and power of the people of The Gambia. That office represents Gambians hence anyone who occupies that office must always demonstrate an attitude, in words and actions that manifests and strengthens our values, standards and honour. This is why one of the grounds of impeachment of the President is when he misconducts himself in a manner that, “brings or is likely to bring the office of President into contempt or disrepute.” This is why the President should check his words and actions before he acts.

Mere dictionary meaning of ‘disrepute’ is “the state of being held in low esteem by the public.” Contempt, on the other hand means the feeling that a person or a thing is worthless or beneath consideration. Embedded in these words are disrespect, disregard or neglect of sacred values, or abuse of the rule of law or disregard of the basic tenets of civilized behavior.

This is why, having recognized the dignity and sanctity of citizens and the Republic, the Constitution did not want the highest office of the land to be a place of disrespect and calumny. The Constitution does not want citizens and the rest of the world to look low upon our President and that high office. But this is precisely what Barrow has caused onto himself and the office he occupies! Look at how everyone is jeering at him!!!

Therefore the Office of the President is a position of honour and whoever occupies it should be a person of honour who should speak and act in an honourable manner with decency, truth, honesty and in line with the law at all times. The President should be a person who exhibits the highest and noblest Gambian and humanistic values and norms.

The President should serve as a standard and a role model for good behavior and patriotism to be emulated by our children and the rest of society. The President should always act and speak in a manner that generates respect, tolerance, justice and patriotism on the land and in the people.

Unfortunately, on many occasions, the President, Adama Barrow has spoken in ways that caricature political opponents, activists, intellectuals, journalists and ordinary citizens. He has used language that is divisive thus further polarizing the society. He has allowed his meetings and rallies to be platforms where his supporters would insult opponents and ridicule citizens who seek to hold him accountable.

Yet the President would neither stop his supporters from insulting others or dissociate himself and his party from those individuals and their nasty comments. In fact media platforms linked to the President would further share those nasty comments as if they do not realize the harm and the unGambian-ness of those comments.

Yes, many people belonging to other political parties or even not connected to any party do also engage in insults and political intolerance. We are yet to see any political party or leader call out a supporter for bad behavior and even sanction such perpetrators. Just like the President, many of our political parties and leaders are also notorious for not doing anything meaningful to confront politics of intolerance and insults.

But the President is the number one person who bears the primary obligation to ensure decent politics in the country. Pres. Barrow has  both a legal and political obligation to unify and pacify our society. This responsibility is founded in his oath of office and the Constitution and in our political system as a democratic republic. The oath says the President will defend the Constitution without favour or ill will hence to ensure freedom, equality and justice for all Gambians, regardless.

The recent comments by the President that he climbed a tree as tall as 500 metres and that he was part of individuals who placed charms under the head of corpses are indeed unbecoming of a President. These comments do not only show outright lies but are also criminal.

There’s no tree that is as tall as 500 metres. The tallest tree recorded so far on earth is 116 metres at most. Certainly there’s no tree in The Gambia that could be above even 50 metres simply because The Gambia does not have any virgin rainforests where such trees exist!

Secondly, for anyone to go to a cemetery to open graves in order to reach out to a buried corpse to place any material under its head is criminal. The laws of The Gambia criminalize desecration of cemeteries and therefore it is necessary that the IGP opens investigations into this matter since one of the perpetrators has openly confessed to the crime.

President Barrow must be advised, if not contained to realise that the Office of the President is the sole property of the people of The Gambia. No matter how much he wishes to occupy and remain in that office, he should not engage in words and actions that undermine the Constitution and the dignity and sovereignty of citizens. His advisors must tell him to be measured when he speaks publicly simply because he is the President.

The office he occupies is an honourable place and this is why he is referred to ‘His Excellency’. It is not that there is anything excellent in the person of Adama Barrow, rather it is that high office which is honoured with that title on behalf of the people. Even when he leaves office, the honour of ‘His Excellency’ goes with him since he once occupied the people’s highest office. So let Adama Barrow humble himself down and learn to respect that high office by speaking with decorum and in truth and sanity.

For The Gambia Our Homeland

The shameless report trending on social media lifted from some Gambian newspapers captioned  “7 UK MPS CALL FOR IMPLEMENTATION OF THE TRRC disappointed with Barrow’s broken promise” appears like an insult to Gambia’s political sovereignty and intellectual maturity.

For Gambian newspapers to be publishing such absurd criticisms from bunch of aimless jackasses in the British parliament merely reflects our indefinite mental enslavement to our former colonial masters.

It is not only a lame attempt to justify the agenda of a discredited TRRC whose report is yet to be completed for public appraisal but a failure to equally realized their partisanship for supporting the politically controversial notion that President Barrow should have stepped down after three years in office as “dictated in the Coalition party MOU” of 2016. One can sense the blockheads behind the lobby!

I don’t care if the so-called long Islington North MP Jeremy Corbyn is part of or even the leader of these bunch of jackasses unwarrantedly attempting to interfere in what is quintessentially Gambia’s internal affairs that even the British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has no business in, the whole nonsense left me wondering what these hypocrites have been saying or doing about the world’s recent exposure of the monumental atrocities committed against unarmed and defenseless Iraqis and Afghans by deployed British troops since 2001 now measured above the ICC’s threshold of “War Crimes and Crimes against Humanity”? (Oh, where is Boy Banjul, Essa Faal, our future president to spare us just one more crusade of obliterating these contemporary remnants of Neanderthals? Just leave Chairman Sise, Commissioner Samba and Imam Sey out on this one; and before I forget please don’t bring in Ex-convict Alagie Saidy Barrow as lead investigator either).

According to the investigation the British soldiers had executed innocent Iraqi and Afghan civilians and deliberately or illegally murdered fighters “who had surrendered and did not pose any threat” to anyone. The number? Only God Knows!

However the investigation further revealed that successive British government since 2001 “repeatedly interfered in the (British) criminal justice system, most blatantly by ministers shutting down criminal inquiries into UK forces committing those crimes.

In fact the current government of Boris Johnson is drafting laws before parliament “creating a presumption against prosecution” for alleged crimes committed by UK soldiers overseas more than five years ago.

Why can’t the Gambia government also do the same of passing a law to create a presumption against prosecution of alleged crimes committed during the Jammeh government under scrutiny more that five years ago? What the heck will the difference be other than to throw our useless activists or broke hustlers into a state of misery, demanding our former colonial masters to intervene forthwith?

No wonder the investigators concluded their report with emphasis on the habitual and long history of the failure of the British Empire to prosecute its nationals responsible for atrocities of the worst crimes committed against humanity including of course those against Gambians who were forced into slavery and into their two World-Wars of genocidal magnitude.

So please give us a break with these imbecilic remarks from idle British Parliamentarians dignified by our newspapers.

SAMSUDEEN SARR

BANJUL THE GAMBIA

By Hassoum Ceesay

Preamble

Forty years ago, The Gambia was rocked by a coup attempt against the PPP government of Alhaji Sir Dawda Kairaba Jawara. The violence lasted 8 days, and 1000 Gambians were killed and property worth 5 million US Dollars was lost to looting and arson, dozens of women were raped. The Kukoi coup was unique in that it was led by a civilian, and the plotters led by Kukoi were mainly civilians including taxi drivers, fishers, and watchmen.

Fiddling while Rome burnt!

While President Jawara was away in London, UK, attending the marriage ceremony of Princess Di. and Prince Charles, Kukoi assisted by 11 men walked from their base in Tallinding to Bakau where they attacked the Field Force armoury and started the coup on 30 July 1981, a day before Eid. The first to die was Kikala Baldeh, the armoury commander. Thence the rebels took over Radio Gambia, Yundum Airport, and State House. At Radio Gambia, Kukoi made his first broadcast to Gambians announcing his coup, and composition of his new government called Supreme Council of the Revolution(SCR) which he chaired. At State House, Kukoi kidnapped the First Lady and the rest of the Jawara family and held them hostage, until they were freed by a special British force. Hostage taking was a disturbing peculiarity of the Kukoi coup hitherto unknown in coup making in Africa. Kukoi had other techniques at hand: he kidnapped notable Gambians and forced them at gunpoint to denounce Jawara over Radio Gambia. Sanjally Bojang, the respected chief and farmer was a good example. They were forced to denounce Jawara and to ask him not to return to The Gambia.

The writings were on the wall!

The writings were literally and figuratively on the wall. There was a looming disaster and all Gambians knew something terrible will befall our Republic. In 1979-1981 period, there was youth revolt led by the various anti government subterranean groups like Black Scorpions, Movement of Justice in Africa(MOJA), The Gambia Socialist Revolutionary Party of Pengu George etc. These groups organized youths into resistance mood, and there was arson such as the burning of President Jawara’s yatch, the MV Mansa Kila Kuta; the burning of markets, street graffiti and sustained insults on state leaders including Jawara and denigrating of state institutions like The Gambia Commercial and Development Bank. In November, the assassination of the Field Force(Paramilitary) Commander Eku Mahoney at Baku Barracks by a sentry, Mustapha Danso shocked. By the time Kukoi struck, the PPP government was under sustained attack and severely undermined. Kukoi’s coup was the coup de grace; a lot of damage had been inflicted on the state already. As a historian, based on the archival evidence I have seen, the coup could have been avoided if Jawara and his security services were more alert. Kukoi for example, was moving in and out of the country unchecked and also certain opposition members like Pengu George were openly calling for armed revolt against Jawara. Nobody arrested them.

Who was Kukoi?

Kukoi Samba Sanyang was a brilliant young man. Born in 1953, and died in Mali in 2013. He finished Saint Augustines High School in Banjul and entered the famous Ngasobil Seminary in Senegal to train to become a Catholic priest. After a few years, he was expelled and in 1977, he stood as an NCP candidate in the elections of that year. Kukoi had faith in the democratic process of our Republic; he lost the elections in the Foni East Constituency that year getting less than 800 votes, and became disillusioned. Between 1977 and July 1981, he travelled the world learning revolutionary ideas. He lived in Libya and became known to Colonel Gaddafi who is suspected gave him the support to overthrow the PPP government. Kukoi was a brilliant man who became a miserable revolutionary.

How was the coup crushed?

The coup was crushed when Jawara was advised by his loyal Ministers, then holed up at the Police HQ in Banjul ,that there was enough resistance by loyal forces of the Police to stop the coup. He invoked the 1965 Defence Pact with Senegal and asked his High Commissioner to Dakar to work on military support from Senegal army to restore democracy in the country. Senegal sent troops to Banjul on 1 August 1981 and they crushed the rebels and Kukoi fled to Bissau. Dozens of Senegal soldiers died in fighting including the passengers in a military chopper shot by the Kukoi rebels at Radio Syd which killed all 18 soldiers on board. Senegal sacrificed to restore democratic order in The Gambia.

Aftermath

Jawara handled the aftermath well. He refused to be vindictive or vengeful. No ethnic group or region was profiled for the coup.  Over 2000 people were detained but each was accounted for, and there were no missing prisoners. Any detained person was given an arrest warrant and their names gazetted. There was no impunity. The hybrid courts tried the accused, and many, including opposition leader S.M Dibba, were freed, others sentenced. No executions took place from the treason trials. Rule of law was maintained.  All the 3000 rifles let loose from the Bakau depot were recovered by end of August 1981 thanks to joint effort by Gambian and Senegal security. Also, Jawara dared the assassins and  Meet the Farmers Tour from August 18 to 27 1981 to explain to Gambians what happened, and to call for National unity and reconciliation. State institutions like Civil Service and Judiciary were soon back at work.

The media played a key role in the reconciliation process. Through the Radio Gambia flagship programmes like One Gambia, One Nation, Gambians quickly reconciled and started the recovery process. He further explained that ‘through the Looted Properties Commission led by Alh K. Conteh,  contrite Gambians returned over 70 per cent of looted goods back to their owners; through the Detainees Review Panel led by Sheikh Joof, many people who were wrongfully arrested were released even before the end of August 1981. Through the External Aid Commission led by Ambassador E.M. Taal, international support poured into the country and ordinary Gambians also contributed money, chicken, and cows to the Government recovery effort. The people of Bakau Wasulung donated D600.00! Japan, for example, donated so many vehicles that Government started allocating cars to Civil Servants, a practice which exists today.

The Kukoi Coup shattered briefly The Gambia’s great reputation as a peaceful and democratic country. But due to assiduous leadership, our Republic recovered from the shock and had another 13 years of solid democratic rule before the July 1994 coup. The ill-fated Senegambia Confederation, The Gambia National Army(1984) and the intelligence service(1987), NIA, all came out of aftermath of the coup.

Any lessons for today?

What are the lessons The Gambia of 2021 can learn from The Gambia of July 30 1981: Well, there was too much bile and bitterness and insults against our elected leaders and public institutions in the years leading to July 30 1981 catastrophe. Public confidence was severely eroded. There was angst. The opposition NCP started their ‘sosolaso’(a Mandingo war song) campaign promising not to spare the PPP, for example. Kukoi used this opportune moment to strike. So Gambians should be remembering this.

Hassoum Ceesay is a historian and regular contributor to this journal. His latest book The Gambia and Pan-Africanism: 1900-2020, a Study in the International Relations of a Small State has just come out.

By Madi Jobarteh

The decision of Mayor Bensouda to suspend his CEO and Director of Finance and report them to police for investigations for corruption has been recognised by anti-corruption campaigners to be the most effective means in combating corruption. That is, to fight corruption, it must be taken up at the highest level by bringing top officials to book. When senior officials are confronted it sends an unambiguous message to the rest that indeed there are no more sacred cows! Hence the decision by the Mayor is indeed in the right direction. It is a pragmatic deterrent.

One American CSO defined corruption as thus: “Corruption is the abuse of office for personal gain, and it takes many forms. It’s the politician taking a bribe before awarding a building contract to the briber. It’s the city council member paying for his family vacation with public funds. It’s the official demanding bribes from citizens in exchange for access to clean water.”

In this definition, we can clearly see this KMC saga in it in full. In fact, the Late Kofi Annan, former UN Secretary General once said that “Corruption is a curse and an attack on the foundations of any civilized society. It undermines morality, democracy, good governance and the rule of law. It swallows resources needed for development. And it is an affront to people who bring high ethical standards to their work and dealings with their fellow human beings and who expect the same in return, in the time-honoured tradition of “do unto others. Corruption is evil and insidious, and must be opposed at every turn.”

The only reason the Gambia is so poor with citizens deprived of the most basic social services and necessary public infrastructure is simply and squarely due to corruption in the Government. When a government is corrupt, society itself becomes corrupt as citizens are forced to bribe in order to access basic services that they have already paid for with their taxes. To tell the truth, corruption is an epidemic in the Gambia thanks to the Government!

Corruption has thrived in this country because the governments we have since Independence are not interested in transparency and accountability. Corruption cannot be fought and defeated when there is no transparency and laws are not enforced to ensure accountability. The Gambia does not lack good laws to combat corruption, what it lacks is the political will to fully enforce those laws to prevent, detect and prosecute perpetrators. It is for this reason that Mayor Bensouda needs commendation and encouragement for showing that political will! Now, let us call the President, NAMs, Mayors, Chairpersons and Councillors to emulate him.

In fact, Kofi Annan said it best when he noted that if corruption is a disease, transparency is a central part of its treatment. The President of the World Bank Jim Yong Kim buttressed this point even better by saying that only radical and greater transparency should drive the prevention and uncovering of corruption.

In the world of human rights, the greatest threat is corruption. Every human right violation there is, at the core of it lies corruption. Perpetrators violate rights simply because they want to unduly access resources, illegally maintain power and enjoy privileges or cover up their excesses. Hence to ensure access and control and hide, perpetrators such as public officials bend laws and inflict pain on individuals in order to silence and exterminate anyone who would serve as an obstacle to their diabolical objective.

This is why, while we commend the Mayor, it is necessary we also urge him to go further to review the bylaws of KMC just to ensure that there is radical and greater transparency and then enforce those bylaws. To be transparent means he should also bring in the use of technology in the work of the Council so as to make financial management more effective, open and accessible to all stakeholders especially citizens.

In fact, the Local Government Finance and Audit Act has stipulated that the budget estimates of Area Councils should be pasted in every ward for public scrutiny. But how many times do citizens see the budget of the municipalities and area councils? To ensure effective transparency and accountability and combat corruption, it is necessary that area councils pursue participatory budgeting processes in order to bring citizens into the budget making process. The truth is there is so much corruption in the local councils and this is precisely why they are largely unable to address the basic needs of residents. This must stop.

Talking about laws, it is important to highlight the passing of the Access to Information Bill 2021 on the first day of this month. I hope the President will assent to it by July 30, marking the 30-day limit as required by the Constitution for him to do so. This is one of the best laws to create radical and greater transparency hence bring about accountability. This is why such laws are also called sunshine laws because sunshine is the best disinfectant.

While we commend the Mayor for this remarkable and necessary action, one wonders why Pres. Adama Barrow has never prosecuted any senior public official in his Government for corruption for almost five years in office. It is an open secret that his Government is notorious for corruption which has been exposed countless times by his own Government and by the media and citizens. In fact, some of these cases are now before the National Assembly Petitions Committee. Yet Pres. Barrow has never found it necessary to bring anyone to book. Why? Clearly the President is protecting corruption and its perpetrators for which the National Assembly also has a duty to act against that.

For The Gambia Our Homeland

By Madi Jobarteh

Today, APRC staged a so-called protest against the Gambia as they sought to unsuccessfully ridicule and block national efforts to heal and reconcile the country due to their 22-year misrule and mayhem. In their so-called petition which they were scared to issue out publicly even at the protest grounds, APRC’s Fabakary Tombong Jatta sought to damage the integrity and credibility of the TRRC with misleading interpretation of the Constitution.

Contrary to his false attempt to mislead, the TRRC is not a commission of inquiry as contemplated in Section 200 of the Constitution. TRRC was created by an act of the National Assembly under Section 101, hence not subject to Section 200. The structures and processes of the TRRC and the appointments and qualification of its Commissioners are spelt out in its Act.  APRC National Assembly Members were present and voted for the passing of the TRRC Bill in 2017 without objection.

Just because the noose is now tightening around the neck of perpetrators who are members and supporters of APRC and Yaya Jammeh, Fabakary therefore intends to derail this country once again as he and his APRC had done for 22 years. The testimonies of victims and perpetrators are a clear indictment and condemnation of Yaya Jammeh and his AFPRC and APRC regimes. TRRC Commissioners, lawyers, investigators and administrators did not commit the heinous crimes caused by AFPRC/APRC perpetrators. These crimes and their victims are largely public knowledge over the years well before the idea of a truth commission was born.

Therefore, much as the Government has protected the right of APRC to scramble, the reasonable thing for the Government to do next is to make a public statement to inform the general public that there is a legal and legitimate transitional justice process launched by the Government itself. It is important that the Government re-emphasize that TRRC is not a witch-hunt or a circus. Rather TRRC is a legal entity tasked with a noble mandate to unearth the truth about the AFPRC/APRC misrule which was characterised by the personalisation of the State and public wealth by Yaya Jammeh alone, gross human rights violations on his behalf, disregard of the rule of law and blatant abuse of office with impunity for his singular selfish interest. This is why TRRC is here.

Failure to do so means the Gambia Government is complicit in the blatant distortion perpetrated by APRC. In fact, the fact that APRC would have the audacity to deny the atrocities committed by and for Yaya Jammeh, and then have the temerity to caricature the entire national transitional justice process is simply because Pres. Barrow has provided them courage to do so. Thus, none is most responsible for the denial of dictatorship and the celebration of perpetrators over victims than the President himself. He is the one squarely responsible for giving fertile grounds to Yaya Jammeh and his Enablers to attack the soul and dignity of the Gambia with impunity. Thanks to Pres. Barrow, those who harmed this country yesterday and then created and imposed their narrative to silence everyone have today been given the loudhailer to once again seek to control the narrative. This is indeed a betrayal of the highest order perpetrator by Adama Barrow.

Therefore, as citizens, if we have conscience and faith in ourselves and love for our country, we must stand up to ensure that this transitional justice process runs its natural course. APRC and Yaya Jammeh have no power whatsoever to derail this process. They can rant and fret, but even their protest was so lonely and sombre, if not for the presence of the journalists. That shows that APRC is a dying horse and this mockery of a protest is nothing but a mere final huffing of a dying horse. Yaya Jammeh, Edward Singhateh and Sanna Sabally, just like Yankuba Touray, will also face justice sooner than later.

Thus, it is necessary for all our political parties, CSOs and indeed all Gambians to speak up to re-express our faith and commitment to the TRRC and the entire transitional justice process. We must speak out to defend the national healing process which includes reparations to victims, reconciliation between our communities, bringing perpetrators to justice and carrying out legal and institutional reforms. This is the transitional justice process that will restore the rights and dignity of citizens, and transform this country into a democracy, thriving on the principles of good governance, and finally prevent the recurrence of tyranny on our soil ever again.

Let us tell the APRC the truth that their protest is unpatriotic, cowardly and immoral. The fact that they could stage a protest against an agenda of a sitting government yet face no arrests, torture and death as they had done to others when they were in power shows that APRC is suffering from deliberate amnesia. Their so-called protest is a vindication of the transitional justice process that indeed this country underwent a brutal tyranny and needs healing. APRC has proven today that the Gambia under Yaya Jammeh and the Gambia of today are like night and day otherwise Fabakary Tombong Jatta and Dodou Jah would have faced what schoolchildren faced on April 10/11 and what Solo Sandeng and Compatriots faced on April 14 and what Ousainou Darboe and Compatriots faced on April 16 and many more. Arrest, torture and death.

For The Gambia Our Homeland

On this day 27 years ago, former president Jammeh and Edward Singhateh marched from Yundum Barracks to Banjul and seized State House. As they were marching with their loyal soldiers, former President Jawara managed to get on an American military ship in the sea behind State House. Jawara’s time as president after 30 years was definitely up. Jammeh, 29 years at the time, then ascended as Gambia’s new leader.

Jammeh oversaw a two-year transition as a military head of state and in 1996, elections were held where he ran as a civilian after retiring from the army. He won that election and then went on to win three other elections, in 2001, 2006 and 2011. While Jammeh had done well in terms of infrastructural and other developments such as the University of The Gambia and GRTS TV, the man had also committed some terrible things. He doesn’t have the best human rights record and the TRRC has confirmed he over 200 murders occurred during his 22 years rule. Soldiers from his so-called death squad have explained to the TRRC how they took orders from him and executed both citizens and non-citizens.

In 2016 Jammeh decided to seek re-election. It was going to be the fifth time. And while casting his vote, Jammeh looked confident, smiling all the time. But Jammeh dramatically lost election to Adama Barrow, his main challenger.  And silence fell on State House as the electoral commission chairman Alieu Momar Njai said Mr Barrow was Gambia’s new president.

Jammeh initially called President-elect Barrow and congrajuluted him. A week later, he went on State TV GRTS and said he was annulling the election because he was cheated. A bitter political impasse erupted but it ended in January 2017 with Jammeh leaving the country as ECOWAS troops entered the country seeking to remove him from power.

Jammeh’s rule will be remembered for him wanting to rule for one billion years only for that to end prematurely in 2016. Jammeh would have been in power today if fate had treated him kindly. He is now living in exile in Equatorial Guinea.

The concept of “Free Speech” does not exist, like the oxygen we breathe, because it has a value in and for itself. There are many societies, and many social situations, in which “Free Speech” has been considered to be a bad thing explicitly – or implicitly through social and cultural norms.

“Free Speech” In The Political Space Of A Democratic State

“Free Speech” is considered vital in a democratic state because it allows the citizens, the ultimate sovereigns in a democratic state, to make informed decisions about their government; informed decisions about those to whom the citizens will entrust state power between elections.

Reputation Of Others & Limitations On “Free Speech”

In Lombardo, the European Court of Human Rights held that it was “only in exceptional circumstances” can limits on free speech be justified to protect “the rights or reputations of others”.

In other words, Free Speech is a sacred cow in democratic societies and the courts will bend over backwards to protect it. The 2013 Defamation Act here in UK has extended that Free Speech protection, more so to journalists where public figures are involved. It is virtually impossible for a public figure in Lawyer Darboe’s position to win a libel/defamation case in UK: because reporting on Lawyer Darboe would be considered a matter of important public interest – because he is a politician and aims to obtain the publics’ trust to run the country.

Baba Jah’s Justification For His Actions

Baba Jah’s argument is that Lawyer Darboe is vying for public office. Baba says that he has known Lawyer Darboe for some twenty-six years and it is his, Baba’s, opinion that “Lawyer Darboe is not fit to be President”. Thus far Baba Jah’s opinion, with which the thousands of UDP supporters would disagree, is protected Free Speech. But …

Did Baba Jah Go Too Far?

Both in the interview with The Fatu Network and later with Freedomnewspaper, Baba Jah was careful NOT to divulge any information about the child who he referred to as “Lawyer Darboe’s Child”. Neither did Baba Jah divulge who the child’s mother is. To that extent, Baba Jah seems to have complied with privacy laws as they are in UK and USA. Of course, the same privacy laws cannot be invoked to protect a public figure – as both Boris and Trump found out when caught in the beds of women who are not their wives!

Prevention Of Disorder & Free Speech

The European Court of Human Rights has held, also in Lombardo, that “prevention of public disorder” is a “legitimate aim” allowing authorities’ interference with Free Speech. In Africa, we can think of “Radio Rwanda” broadcasts that led to the 1994 Genocide, and in South Africa last week Zuma Jnr’s tweet urging Zuma supporters to “Loot Responsibly”! The European Court of Human Rights has also denied the Prophet Muhammad Cartoons the protection of Free Speech – because the cartoons could lead to “public disorder”.

Would Baba Jah’s “Insult” of Lawyer Darboe Lead To “Public Disorder”?

From the reaction of Lawyer Darboe’s followers on-line, it is clear that such utterances could have led to “public disturbance” in The Gambia if Lawyer Darboe were President. But then if Lawyer Darboe is Head of State, there will be other laws to deal with “insults” to the Office of The President.

The Vital Importance Of Free Speech Generally

Clearly all governments will try to stifle Free Speech (Julius Assange is still rotting in a British jail without trial). Those in power, and the criminals and the corrupt, would want to stifle Free Speech and Press Freedom because “their business” thrives best in the dark. Publicity and day-light is bad for corruption and abuse of office … and that is why in The Gambia people like Deyda Hydara and Chief Manneh had to die and the Independent Newspaper has to be burnt down. Free Speech and Press Freedom is a continuum. and thus it has to protect even the likes of Baba Jah, however distasteful some may find his opinions and mode of delivery. Thus it is important for those in public office and for aspirants in public office to develop “thick skins” to withstands the slings and arrows that come with having Free Speech and a Free Press.

Dida Jallow-Halake,

Notting Hill, UK.

By Sulayman Gagigo

As things stand, UDP has the highest chance to win an election under a single party contest. The past local government and parliamentary election results served as enough evidence to prove this claimed. Both APRC and NPP have recognized this political reality and the danger of watching that to happen.

Because UDP constitutes hate, aggression and arrogance. And as highly predicted, allowing the party to win the election on December 4th will mean endorsing revenge, minority oppression, Barrow’s and Jammeh’s prosecution. Not only that, the worst also awaits Foni, APRC and the NPP heavyweights.

To avert these fears, many more threats pose by a UDP government, APRC and NPP showed the need to settle all past differences, strike a compromise, unite efforts and defeat the UDP to save the nation from division, suppression, ethnic tension, aggression and hate. This is the basis for inItiating the NPP – APRC talks.

The whole rationale is to bar UDP from forming the next government so that revenge, tribalism and oppression will be averted. While averting this national tragedy on December 4th, new space will be opened to foster reconciliation and social cohesion under a climate of humility, peaceful environment.

APRC recognized the challenge she, her based and supporters continue to face under Barrow, most of which are the results of UDP early yrs in government. Fonis militarization and the selective removal of her natives from the civil and public service were the making of UDP and GMC.

Similarly, the experienced of coalition 2016 has been noted. The party is also aware of the lack of enforceable legislative provisions in the 1997 constitution to obligate the executive to respect gentleman arrangements over national constitution.

That is why, to commence this process, the party has smartly put forward unnegotiable demands to NPP as preconditions for coalition talk. In addition, other accountability, control mechanisms like a 50-50 parliamentary seats are being studied too.

These demands are being reviewed and how Barrow handles them will, to a greater extend, decide the coalition. In fact, safe to say that its these demands that are being discussed, not coalition.

A major beneficiary of this coalition, if succeed, will be president Jammeh and Foni whose faith are strongly anchored on the December 4th election. How?

The prosecution of Jammeh, a section of Foni citizens, and the continuous militarization of Foni rest in the decision of December 4th. We APRC supporters must realize this fact, learn very fast to catch up with the prevailing realities. Sentiments and emotions can’t never be solutions.

God forbids, this coalition fails, UDP ascends to power, APRC and Jammeh should prepare for prosecution, suppression and even lifetime opposition. Because once UDP ascends to power, expect that all apparatus of government will be changed to suit their rigging system so as to enable them cling onto power forever.

Hence, those claiming that this coalition isn’t in the interest of Jammeh and APRC should visit the coalition formula  properly.

As an adversely mentioned perpetrator in the 1995 gruesome murder of Ousman Koro Ceesay; the then Finance Minister, Yankuba Touray was availed of the opportunity to give his side of the story to prove his innocence or accept culpability. The former Local Government Minister was ill-advised and continued to be under the illusion that the so-called constitutional immunity was enough to barricade him from testifying at the TRRC and any subsequent prosecution for the wanton act that snuffed the life out of Koro. He resorted to a contemptuous behavior that left the Chairman of the TRRC with no choice but to order for his arrest. This contemptuous behavior ignited a chain of events that emanated from the TRRC, rippled around the metropolitan area, and ultimately changed his life.

Two years from his arrest, Yankuba Touray would be convicted of murder and sentenced to death. The strong reactions from his family, friends, and loved ones clearly show that they are struggling to come to terms with a conviction they see as unfair and outrageous. That kind of reaction from the groups of people mentioned above is to be expected and understandable. However, it is important for all and sundry to exercise restraint and allow the justice system to address such issues that have legal ramifications. There is another option at Yankuba’s disposal, and his lawyer did say that they are going to file an appeal. That is an alternate legal route they can take, the outcome of which again will be determined by the courts. The truth be told, Yankuba did not get engulfed in this sticky situation by accident. Therefore, he cannot be absolved of responsibility because his disobedience or disrespect towards the Commission in the form of behavior that opposes or defies the authority of the TRRC expedited his prosecution even before other adversely mentioned perpetrators would learn their fate nested in the TRRC recommendations which are in the offing.

Many people argued that the conviction of Yankuba is unfair to him because he is not the only adversely mentioned perpetrator in that gruesome murder, or that he did not act alone. Well, an opportunity was given to most if not all of them to prove their innocence or accept culpability, but he is the only one that chose the constitutional immunity route, even when offered unsolicited legal advice from the lead counsel as to how his contemptuous behavior could boomerang on him. He was determined to stand his grounds, again under the illusion that the constitutional immunity barricade was enough fortification against all possible legal actions. It is often said that a house built on a weak foundation will always crumble.

What the families, friends, and loved ones of adversely mentioned perpetrators ought to understand though is that those they are trying to defend are alleged to have participated in wanton acts that snuffed the lives out of others or ravaged them beyond repairs. So, there have been irretrievable losses and irreparable damages and the sad reality is that many grieving families still do not get closure. Pronouncements or actions that are uncompassionate and inconsiderate are not recipes for reconciliation and will not heal the wounds either. A lot of heinous crimes and gross human rights violations have occurred in The Gambia between 1994 and 2016, and the perpetrators are our very own people. While your family member, friend, colleague or loved one may be your hero, they are some other family’s worst nightmare because their ferocious predatory actions irreversibly changed that family’s life. We cannot change the past unfortunately, but we can certainly right the wrongs of the past and most importantly, learn from it. Getting closure for grieving family and serving justice are pivotal in this arduous journey. No judgement or ruling will be seen by all and sundry as justice served because our expectations and preferences are different.

By Dibba Chaku, United States

By Madi Jobarteh

The public holiday announcement by the State House is unconstitutional. The State House must realise that there is a Public Holidays Act which specifies who can declare a public holiday and which days are to be declared a public holiday.

In the Act, the President can only declare a public holiday for days marking Eid-il-Fitr, Eid-ul-Adha and Maulud Nabi. Period.

The other statutory days are New Year’s Day (Jan 1), Good Friday, Easter Monday, Independence Day (Feb 18), Feast of Assumption Day (Aug 15), and Christmas Day (Dec 25). For these days, it is the Minister who declares them as public holidays. For any changes to these days, whether to drop an existing day or include a new day as a public holiday, it needs to be gazetted.

Therefore, even though Section 76 of the Constitution confers Executive Power on the President, this section cannot however be relied upon to declare a public holiday since there is already a distinct and definite act for that purpose. So, let us tell the President and his technocrats to follow the law.

Hence the latest press release from the State House that the President has allocated two days for the observance of Tabaski and Koriteh is unconstitutional and illegal. Similarly, the Public Holidays Act has not provided any public holiday for Boxing Day.

Therefore, let the President be advised to review the Public Holidays Act so that it is amended in line with current realities. Until then, the several declarations of public holidays in the country by both former Tinpot Dictator Yaya Jammeh and current Pres. Adama Barrow are unconstitutional and illegal.

That aside, the Public Holidays Act in itself needs urgent review. It was created in 1904 and last amended in 1965! It is utterly outdated. We are in 2021 today.

For The Gambia Our Homeland

By Madi Jobarteh

After spending few days in prison so far for the murder of Ousman Koro Ceesay, Yankuba Touray will now have realised that impunity does not last. Never. If he were a thinking being, he would have realised that no one single person has power but the people. The power that Yankuba and his AFPRC Criminals were brandishing in those days was nothing but the power of the people entrusted to him and his co-criminals. Today, Yankuba will learn that when the people entrust you with their power, do not usurp it and then transform it into a weapon against the people. It will not last.

Therefore, to Yankuba Touray, I wish him a reflective stay in Mile 2 so that he will think all over again about his life as a human being, a citizen, a State officer and now a convict. Yankuba, just like his co-perpetrators, especially those who constituted the Junta, had the unique opportunity to lead their people to the promised land. The masses of Gambians welcomed the coup hoping that they will see a transformation of their lives for the better.

Instead, Yankuba and his co-Junta Criminals sought to hoodwink the masses with meaningless statements like ‘soldiers with a difference’ and hypocritical slogans like ‘transparency, accountability and probity’ when, in fact they were the most corrupt and immoral souls on earth! People wholeheartedly gave them support and willingly followed them, not realising that these ‘soldiers with a difference’ were indeed greedy traitors; the scum of the scumbags of the earth.

So, let Yankuba blame no one but himself!  Even though he cannot now face Koro Ceesay to repent. But he has the family of Koro here. He has Gambians here. Instead of continuing to wallow in the arrogance that landed him in Mile 2, he needs to have some self-esteem and begin the process of repentance and apology to his victims and the generality of Gambians. That might not pull him out of Mile 2, but it can reduce the heavy load of self-inflicted arrogance, hatred and vain anger that now engulf him.

To those Dictator Lovers who seek to distort, rationalise, deny and mislead about this case, one can only pity them and hope they will have the courage of their convictions to recognize Yaya Jammeh and his Regime as evil to be rejected for good. Yankuba had the unique opportunity to come before the TRRC to narrate his story even if it would be a mere cock and bull lies like that of Edward Singhateh. But he would have the benefit of going home for a while to wait for the TRRC to conclude and see what the recommendations would be for him. But sheer arrogance and ignorance can make a person destroy his life and this is what Yankuba did to himself.

No one should engage in such analogies that claim that this ruling is not fair simply because Yakubu’s co-perpetrators are walking free. Some even refer to the ‘freed’ Junglers to claim that what happened to Yankuba is a farce. Far from it. What happened to Yankuba is bound to happen simply because he failed to face any form of accountability. And so, if he refuses to testify before the truth commission surely, he must face accountability elsewhere because Yankuba was adversely mentioned for this murder. He is not a sacred cow!

Of course, one of the most ludicrous stories comes from the usual suspect Ebou Jallow who dishonestly claimed that Yankuba did not kill Koro and in fact Yankuba was fooled into taking part in the crime. It is not that Ebou is ignorant of the law that aiding in any way in a crime makes you a principal actor. But this unconscionable Champion Lover of the Dictator knew that that heinous crime was committed in Yankuba’s house who never attempted to stop it as soon as he knew about it. Since then he also never did anything to ensure that there is accountability for that crime. Yet Ebou Jallow thinks Yankuba is innocent. What a warped mindset!

Let the Lovers of the Dictator rant and fret. Let them continue to ridicule TRRC, but justice and accountability shall run their natural course. Those who concocted and imposed that warped narrative on society yesterday because they were in power, cannot and will not continue to determine that same warped narrative today. For 22 odd years, they abused and misruled this society at unimaginable cost to life and dignity. Today, 26 years after the killing of Koro, the day of reckoning has begun and will never stop until Yaya Jammeh is captured, tried, convicted sooner than later and dumped in Cell Number 1 in the Maximum Security Wing at Mile 2 for life! This is the verdict of history.

For the Gambia Our Homeland.

In my canon of  political science, a lot is placed in the supremacy, centrality and, to a certain extent, the idealization of political debates and logical conclusions. For example, a good many political scientists, analysts, and observers tend to idealize that, somehow, the best arguments in political debates will appear right to everyone. Thus, voters would choose the best candidate based on the winning argument. This is, arguably, the biggest fallacy in politics. This is not how people function. This is not how people react to politics. This is not how people view and digest politics. People are attuned to the drama, fear, and, in a hyper-polarized environment–put on steroids by FaceBook and WhatsApp–the divisions become more sensationalized and ominous.

A functioning political system requires several things including, but not limited to, organization, grouping of people, and interest groups to push agendas, interests and persons to administer the affairs of the state, localities, and municipalities. In this process, especially in the West, these groupings take place in the form of ideological politics–the Left and the Right. In the West, specifically the United States, these organizations, groupings, and interests have morphed into identity politics. Put simply, they have become “tribal” in their orientations. In “tribal” politics, “othering” and winning become supreme and central. Politics becomes a sport–a pep rally–victory for the home team becomes the rallying cry–identity being the organizing creed. The winners see themselves as such and the losers would have to fight back–because they need to win or else face annihilation from their enemies–the other “tribe”.

In the case of The Gambia, political organizing and interests have also become “tribal”–ethno-linguistic groupings. Many would argue that this has always been the case, while others would argue that Jammeh started it. Notwithstanding, in a political system that has been erected on the cult of the person and patronage –mostly bereft of ideas and policies–how, exactly, do we expect people to organize and marshall their interests and vote?  The question, in my view, is not whether people are proponents or opponents of candidates mostly based on ethnolinguistic affiliations. The question is, if they do not organize and vote for, or against, candidates based on ethnolinguistic affiliations–how do you expect them to vote in a political space that is bereft of ideas and policy debates–rife with mudslinging and diatribes? Is it “tribalist” for someone to vote for, or against, a candidate mostly based on ethnolinguistic affiliations? If so, how? We need to be specific. Seems like everyone throws around the “tribalist” word like a piece of candy nowadays.

It is scary, I know, but any political system–absent one-party states–requires diverse interest groups to organize and participate in the political process. In our case, the interest groups are not divided among Left or Right, or Pro-Life or Pro-Choice, or Pro-Brexit or Anti-Brexit. Today, our interest groups are divided among ethnolinguistic lines. Lest we forget that in a democratic society,  people can vote for anyone of their choosing and no matter how we detest their choices, their choices are their choices and, in 2021, a plethora of Gambians are going to vote for, or against, a candidate because of their ethnolinguistic affiliations.

I just hope that Gambians of all ethnolinguistic groups can soon admit our common humanity, but also our shared frailty and begin the hard work of addressing our diversity–especially in politics–in healthy ways in our own households, platforms, and communities. Because, folks, the notion that we are all one and that we all intermarry, and that we are all Gambians is not going to save us from a potential post-election macabre. I have said this before, but remember that generations of Gambians to come will one day, ask of us living, what have we done with our time? Hopefully, we will answer that we have mastered our destiny–that we have contributed to the peaceful advancement of The Gambia. That, in essence, should be our summons to “The Gambia ever true”. May we, the citizenry, appeal to each other’s better angels, and may peace be.

A better Gambia is ours for the asking–

Sulayman Njie, PhD

Dallas, Texas, U.S.

BARROW MUST PARDON YANKUBA TOURAY – IF TRRC LETS THE SINGHATEH BROTHERS GO SCOT FREE!

Justice Jaiteh @ 1hr 54mins 42secs of his judgment says this:-

“I believe the testimonies of Alhagie Kanyi, Essa Mendy, Hamat Changam, Lamin Ndure, Pa Habibu Mbaye, Mohamed LK Bojang, depicting the true picture of how Osman Koro Ceesay was murdered in cold blood”.

Edward & Peter Singhateh:

If Jaiteh’s conclusion on the truthfulness of these witnesses is not overturned on appeal, the judgment remains a record of fact for eternity … and damns the Singhateh brothers as being guilty of killing Koro Ceesay. TRRC cannot come to any conclusion other than that Edward and Peter must be tried for Koro’s murder; afterall, Yankuba Touray has been sentenced to hang on the same facts as found by Justice jaiteh … and those facts apply to Edward and Peter.

Rule of Law:

These are incredible times in The Gambia as the Judiciary bravely sets out to firmly uphold the Rule of Law. But not just in The Gambia: in South Africa too where the Judiciary’s determination to uphold the Rule of Law is being violently resisted as we speak. And in Kenya where at this very moment the courts are challenging Uhuru’s attempt to subvert the Constitution.

I wish the judges all the very best in their brave attempts to uphold the Rule of Law – and the judges will come under the attack that Justice Jaiteh is subjected to as I write.

Nevertheless, the strongly held sentiments of Yankuba Touray’s supporters outside court (at the end of this video) cannot be minimised: they say Edward Singhateh is the mastermind of Koro’s murder for which Yankuba Touray is to hang. They want Edward Singhateh and Peter Singhateh tried.

TRRC’s “Bell Of Justice” Must Toll For The Singhateh Brothers! IF the TRRC Commissioners and Lead Counsel Essa Faal, in their infinite wisdom, decide that Edward and Peter should NOT be tried for Koro’s murder, THEN President Barrow must offer Yankuba Touray a full pardon.

The law must not “consume” only Yankuba Touray when the crime was a “joint-enterprise” with the Singhateh Brothers. Kanyi and the lower ranks were forced to partake.

Dida Jallow-Halake

Notting Hill, London.