There’s Only One False News Offender, Baa: The Government
By Lamin Njie
I think Ba Tambadou was bluffing when he said people found wanting of spreading false news will be prosecuted. He said ‘people’ of which my gut tells me he meant ‘journalists’. He was speaking at a press conference he held on Tuesday. What an incredibly pathetic threat.
Baa is a very smart, very humble and very meticulous man. He was appointed the Gambia’s attorney general and justice minister in February last year, having worked at the office of UN Prosecutor for the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia. His arrival was a major achievement for a government that was just freshly coming in.
False news has been a contentious issue in The Gambia. It’s always been the Gambia government versus the Gambia media. The government has always seen the media as the biggest peddlers of false news and the media has always refused to accept that perception.
And this is why things got more spellbinding in May this year when the Supreme Court upheld that false publication and broadcasting is still a criminal offence. This followed a lawsuit that was filed at the apex court in 2017 by the Gambia Press Union challenging the constitutionality of the law.
Let’s be honest here, this government since coming to power has done pretty well on freedom of the press. Journalists, in the past 19 months, have been given ample wriggling room to do their thing. There hasn’t been a single time when a journalist has been arrested. That’s something to applaud. That’s something to appreciate.
But then I have to say Ba’s remarks on Tuesday have left much to be desired. His words are borderline preposterous – a threat to the freedom and independence of the media. They are meant to frighten journalists and to make them stop being critical of the government. Appalling really.
Anyway, it’s important that media people stand up to the government’s naked attempt to restrict them and their work. Freedom of the press is an absolutely essential tool of any true democracy. Even these government officials say that from both sides of their mouths every day. Just that I don’t believe they believe in it.
Still, when one talk about false news one should talk about governments since they live on it every day. Believe it or not, governments survive on misinformation and disinformation. And this includes President Adama Barrow’s government. In one instance we’ve seen GRTS announce that President Barrow gave over 11 million dalasis to 1,700 Gambian pilgrims. The Office of the President was happy it was reported that way.
It was only when the development elicited widespread public condemnation that the government spokesperson swept in to straighten who was behind the gesture. And I mind has just gone to Kanilai. When security forces used force to disperse a crowd of protesters there in June 2017, the information minister at the time told journalists live bullets were not used and that no one was killed. That turned out to be false news.
Ba will agree with me that a cardinal principle of justice is equality before the law. In law, there is should be no sacred cows. In law, there should be no cherry-picking. And in law, there should be no discrimination. If you start prosecuting journalists for publishing false news, then you better start prosecuting those government officials who almost on a daily basis give false news to journalists.
Lamin Njie is a former press secretary at the ministry of the interior. He has also worked as an editor for The Standard, The Voice and Paradise TV. You can reach him via email at [email protected]
Gambia Establishes Diplomatic Relations With Armenia
Press Release
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, International Cooperation and Gambians Abroad wishes to inform the general public that the Republic of The Gambia on Tuesday, October 9, 2018 established diplomatic relations with Armenia.
The relations were established during a meeting between Honorable Mamadou Tangara, Minister of Foreign Affairs, International Cooperation and Gambians Abroad and H.E Mr Zohrab Mnatsakanyan, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Armenia on the sidelines of the 35thMinisterial conference of Francophonie.
The two Ministers of Foreign Affairs expressed confidence that the new relations will foster bilateral cooperation.
Councillor claims he rejected Barrow’s money
Alieu Darboe, the UDP Brikama Kembujeh Ward councilor, has confirmed to The Standard that he received a call from Bolong Sanneh, the regional secretary of UDP in West Coast to go to one Lamin Cham at State House to be given money.
“I told him I don’t need that salary, because I have no clue where it comes from or for what work,” the former newspaper reporter said.
Asked if he knew any other councillor who may have been called to receive money given by the president, Darboe replied, “I can only talk about myself. I just want to clarify to all UDP members that whether personally, or in my capacity as the deputy campaign manager of the UDP in the West Coast Region, I did not receive any money from Lamin Cham.”
According to Darboe, “it is disappointing that bribery and corruption which Gambians fought against and condemned under Jammeh is rearing its ugly head under the Barrow administration too”.
By standard Newspaper
Minister of Justice Must Protect Civil Liberties and not Damage Them
The Minister of Justice is hereby reminded that even though Gambia’s Supreme Court had ruled that the law on false news is constitutional the ECOWAS Community Court to which the Gambia is a party had however ruled that those laws in the Gambia violate citizens right to freedom of expression. Furthermore, I totally disagree with the Supreme Court that false news is constitutional. It is not!
The Gambia Constitution under Section 25 does not in any way anticipate any restriction to freedom of expression as it relates to false news. While the Constitution provides for limitation to this right it is clear in the Constitution that such restriction has to be backed by a just law, and to serve a legitimate purpose and to be necessary in a democratic society.
Hence the false news provision in the Criminal Code is utterly undemocratic and does not serve any legitimate purpose. This is because this law itself was created in 1939 by the colonialists purposely to deny Gambians to freely express themselves especially against colonialism. This is why the law describes false news as any information published that is ‘likely to cause fear and alarm to the public or to disturb the public peace’.
This provision is, first of all vague and misleading, because it makes no distinction between opinion and fact. For example, I can say that the Barrow Government is useless or that the Barrow Government is efficient. This simple statement, looked at either way, may cause discomfort to someone who supports or dislikes the government respectively. But this state is my opinion and does not in anyway lead to fear or alarm or undermine peace.
But what makes this law dangerous is that it gives power to Government to determine if my opinion indeed causes fear or alarm or disturbs the peace. In that case if the Government does not like my opinion they can claim it to be false news. Hence this law is unfair and unjust because it places a citizen and her opinion at the mercy of a public officer to decide. What this means is that Government has now become the determinant of what opinion can be expressed and what opinion cannot be expressed. This means criminalizing opinion.
From the perspective of democracy this law is therefore the foundation of dictatorship. In democracy, especially in a republic, the Government is the product of the opinion of citizens. This is why we vote. Everyone votes based on your opinion that Party A or B or Candidate A or B appeals to you. Hence when we criminalize opinion then it means we will have a Government that is not based on our opinion. Then the question is, where is that Government from?
The colonialists never wanted Gambians to create their own government because that would mean independence where the sovereignty of our citizens lies in our people. Consequently, the colonialists created the ‘offense of false news’ in 1939 so that they can impose their government on us. They never cared what opinion Gambians had and certainly they never tolerated any opinion that opposed colonialism.
When we gained Independence, we had a constitution that recognises that the sovereignty of the Gambia resides in the people of the Gambia and that the Government derives its authority and legitimacy from the people. It went further to state that the Government functions in our name and for our welfare. This means therefore that the Gambia Government is the opinion of Gambian citizens. How therefore can the Supreme Court and the Minister of Justice, both of who derive their authority from the people, now claim that the opinion of those people is unlawful and criminal?
What is more disappointing about the Supreme Court and the Minister of Justice is that both of them very well know that this was the very law that the Despot Yaya Jammeh and his regime had used to deny Gambians to express themselves. It was precisely because of the criminalization of opinion that Gambians were not able to scrutinize Yaya Jammeh and hold his regime to account. This was because if a citizen had said that Yaya Jammeh was corrupt publicly immediately that citizen would be arrested and subjected to torture or enforced disappearance or execution.
How therefore can Minister Tambadou have the temerity to face Gambians to proudly declare that this Government, which is the product of our opinion, will enforce false news provisions in the Criminal Code? Who determines what opinion causes fear or alarm or disturb the peace? If citizens cannot speak their opinion, true or false, how can we hold the Government to account? Have we not seen uncountable incidents of corruption, patronage, inefficiency and indiscipline permeating the length and breadth of the Government of Adama Barrow? Has the Minister of Justice sought any ways to address these direct threats to peace and stability of the Gambia?
False news is unconstitutional, undemocratic and tyrannical. It is a shame that any government, more so a government that is coming after a dictatorship such as the Barrow Government would contemplate even in the slightest way of enforcing this obnoxious law. Our expectation was that this law should have been removed out of books since one year ago. This is because it was Barrow himself who said in his Manifesto that within his first six months in office, he would remove all laws that infringe on democracy, human rights and popular participation. It is now 18 months, and nothing has happened only for that Government to now threaten citizens with those very draconian laws it promised to abolish!
Gambians have a right to express their opinion about the Barrow Government and this opinion can be true or false. If the Government feels an opinion expressed by a citizen is wrong let the Government issue a counter statement and set the records straight. If two citizens defame each other let them go to court which is not government’s business. But citizens have right to express their opinion about the government as they see fit.
Let me remind the Minster of Justice that if there is anyone perpetuating false news in the country it is the Barrow Government itself. Consistently the Barrow Government has been lying and misleading Gambians on fundamental issues without shame. Therefore, let the Minster of Justice address the false news coming out of the Barrow Government than to seek to silence citizens. This is my opinion and it cannot cause fear or alarm or damage the peace.
Enough of Dictatorship!
For the Gambia Our Homeland!
What is Left When Honor Is Lost?
Alagi Yorro Jallow
Mamudu: One of the tragedies of life is that men seldom bridge the gulf between practice and profession, between doing and saying. A persistent schizophrenia leaves so many of us tragically divided against ourselves. On the one hand, we proudly profess certain sublime and noble principles, but on the other hand, we sadly practice the very antithesis of these principles. How often are our lives characterized by a high blood pressure of creeds and an anemia of deeds! We talk eloquently about our commitment to the principles of patriotism, and yet our lives are saturated with the practices of treasonable acts. We proclaim our devotion to democracy, but we sadly practice the very opposite of the democratic creed. We talk passionately about peace, and at the same time we assiduously prepare for war. We make our fervent pleas for the high road of justice, and then we tread unflinchingly the low road of injustice. This strange dichotomy, this agonizing gulf between the ought and the is, represents the tragic theme of man’s earthly pilgrimage.
Mamudu: President Barrow and his political operatives in government and alike have managed to break down the people’s individuality. An individual can’t think for himself or herself. The only thing that is possible is “group think”. If our leader says run, you run. If he takes cover, we take cover. If he says about turn, we turn. We can’t say the word “dictator”. We are afraid. ‘You need to be ignorant to accept lies the State offers.
Mamudu: In one of my class lectures to my students, entitled “Our dignity is priceless,” I told those young undergraduate students this: your innocence, integrity, dreams, potential and dignity are things that what older political folks admire, because the older people lost them a long time ago. When our older people (politicians) buy your vote, or do worse to you, it’s because they realize you have character, which the power and money they the older politicians’ ones cannot buy. Mamudu: Our National Assembly members have stolen this precious commodity – reputation, and the possibility of legacy – from political prostitution. Our National Assembly members accepted gift of cash and cars from corrupt political operatives. Now their reputation has taken a hit by accepting a gift. But in politics, sincerity isn’t enough. In politics, the road to hell is even more paved with good intentions.
And this is a life and death issue. It is truly tragic when young Gambian men who make a mark by being selfless, serving justice, and working hard against the odds, go on to receive handouts from, corrupt political hacks of the political class. And these older politicians are nothing compared to the young men; the older men have been selfish, they have wallowed in impunity, and stolen public resources, rather than sweated and toiled like real men. And when these great young men hang around these old dogs, they surely get fleas. Their innocence is selfishly absorbed by the old guard, and their potential to be even greater men than they already are is stunted before it completely matures. It is truly, truly sad. It is a great tragedy.
Mamudu: We want a Gambia of upright men in all ways, as Thomas Sankara wanted for his country when he renamed his country, Burkina Faso. We want a different breed of Gambian men, but every time they start to rise, they get burdened with the sins of the elders. For now, until our hearts get broken again by the next young Gambian man who gives away so much of what he accomplished for so hopelessly little, I will remember the words of Ossie Davis about the great Malcolm X: “Malcolm X, even when he was wrong, was the rarest thing in the world among us Negroes: a true man.” The Gambia needs true men in leadership, and this goal is proving harder to reach than we thought.
The Promise that Never Was!
Just few days ago, I had a roundtable discussion with some of my colleagues from our political economy class. They all came from different backgrounds — representing different countries which encompasses of: Kenya, Ivory Coast, Ghana, and Sierra Leone. The nascent question that was been raised, but worthwhile to explore was the failure of African leadership. And what is the way forward for the continent? How a continent so vast with resources, yet, the most under-developed. Why our leaders in Africa are not rational, or perhaps, value instrumental to deliver the public goods?
To conceptualize this as in the context of Gambian experience — under the leadership of president Barrow. Quite dissapointenly, the standard of our expectation since Barrow’s reign is subpar. To learned that he inherited a fragile system, to learned that the state of our economy was deplorable according to his numerous revealations, to learned that it will take a fiscal discipline to revatalize the structural imabalancies of the country’s lingering debt, were all, indeed, insightful details to learn. But it is a promise that never was, however.
Given the historical narrative, Gambia is suppose to be that poster Child, as a relevant case study. In context where Gambia will be seen as a success story from authoritarian medieval to a self-imposing democracy. Insofar, almost 2 years in office, the president of The Gambia has thus far betrayed that Promise. In my capacity as a public citizen, the president is inept to lead, for, he doesn’t have the tenacity and the political curiosity to enhance change.
A vivid illustration of this can be seen when the president launched his own foundation for what is portrayed to be an inclusive development for change. The public outcry calls for its abeyance — understanding that it is not the direction the country needs to go. Barrow is doing exactly what his predecessor has done against the will of the country. We all became victims of Jammeh’s financial mismanagement. With grave dismay to some extent, we learned how funds from a dollar bank account in the name of Jammeh’s foundation for peace, flowned to Jammeh himself. Coinciding what transpired, it has been revealed just recently, a transfer of almost 33 million Dalasis been funnelled to the president wife’s account from one Chinese firm. Very alarming, daunting, and shameful, indeed.
Essentially, the most recent revealation of the president giving handouts, for what is alleged to be 10 thousand dalasis to lawmakers, — a term widely referred to “Clientelism” in political domain. Given money to lawmakers is a voter influence. Not only Barrow is corrupt, but all indications attest to self-empowerment, and cementing himself to power.
For all the subsequent decades under the totalitarian rule, it occurs to me Barrow doesn’t have the leadership aspiration to correct all the wrong doings for the betterment of the country. While I might not go as far as expressing that the president is no different from his predecessor; but in the words of Halifa Sallah, ” there is no system change.” There is a tendency in African leadership to view corruption as a normal phenomena.
After all, the power belongs to us. Our fighting spirit that uprooted Jammeh’s authoritarian rule, hopefully, will not be nullify by president Barrow. For what I learned, president Barrow doesn’t have the political tenacity to carry on reforms, that will cement and restore our hopes, toward — the more progressive society.
– Ebrima/Sailou
Ohio University
“All Parties Must Go To Congress By December” IEC Chairman
Gambia’s Electoral Commission has ordered all registered political parties in the country to hold a biannual congress before December 31.
The country’s electoral body has compulsory laws for political parties to hold congress every two years, to determine which of them is active.
“We have given deadlines to all political parties to hold biannual congress before 31 December 2018,” IEC chairman, Alieu Momarr Njai said.
Chairman Njai told The Fatu Network that the electoral laws have it that all political parties must hold biannual Congress.
“We want to know who the executives are, whether they are active. We want to know when and where they are holding the Congress so that we can observe it,” he said.
He added, “We want to observe because we don’t want it to be a handful of people just for the sake of having Congress.”
There are measures to be taken against those who fail to comply as stipulated in the country’s electoral laws.
FEW LINES TO THE JUSTICE MINISTER
Amie’s been in it all
First, let me say this: I think Amie Bojang-Sissoho is doing a fine job as President Barrow’s press secretary. Here is a woman whose job it is to present the president’s positions in a way that helps him move his agenda. And that’s just what she’s doing.
The work of a press secretary has always been either assertive or reactive depending on the circumstance. Her work is assertive when she puts out a press release on the goings on. The press release could be an announcement on a development, a program or simply an activity that’s up for media coverage. It’s reactive when she’s responding to questions from journalists. It’s a balancing act all together.
I have to indicate that a press secretary isn’t a magician. Just as she can’t do anything about a bad decision so also she can’t turn black into white. A press secretary can’t turn a lie into a truth. A press secretary can’t create an image of honesty if there isn’t any honesty. And a press secretary can’t portray transparency when there’s no transparency.
Amie Bojang isn’t my friend. In fact we haven’t been seeing eye-to-eye. But I don’t need to do much to know that the job she does is sometimes stressful. It’s stressful because it isn’t just about disseminating information. Amie is the link between the president and the people. She is the translator of information from the president to the people. As such, it’s in Amie’s place to know what’s coming her way. She also should hear what is on the street and translate it back to the president.
I wouldn’t be wrong in saying that it’s been a very bad week for President Barrow. He’s been stripped naked for bribing some National Assembly members. At least that’s what one National Assembly Member claimed. And we’ve since seen the act boomerang in flames of hellish vitriol and scorn.
The act is disgraceful so to speak. It doesn’t just sound right for a president to be calling people who are supposed to check his excesses and be giving them money. There is nothing that can justify such a thing no matter how much you try to make it look well-meant. And so the President deserves all the criticism that has since rained down on his head.
Amie has been found in it all. First it was her press release. In it she admitted the President gave out money to some National Assembly Members but rejected any claim that it was an act of corruption. If I think the press release was good enough? No.
And then her subsequent interviews. First it was Kebba Camara. And then Sarjo Barrow and then Kerr Fatu. I can’t say anything about her Kebba Camara and Sarjo Barrow interviews as I didn’t listen to them. How about Kerr Fatou one? Yes. There, she launched a full-force defence of the act – just as in the press release. The interviewer Fatou Touray, I must say did a good job by not fawning over her as most journalists would nowadays do.
Of course I know Amie likes to remind us she’s an activist. Not a time has passed when she didn’t flex her verbal now press secretary muscles to reinforce that view of hers. She reminded us that during the Kerr Fatou interview. She even cried, all well and good.
Meanwhile, in this era of increasingly hysterical Barrow-bashing fervor, Amie has a lot on her plate than she might have originally thought. I’m saying this because just every time you think you’ve seen it all when it comes to State House, something happens to snap your eyelids back with stunned bemusement. There appears no end in sight.
Lamin Njie is a former press secretary at the ministry of the interior. He has also worked as an editor for The Standard, The Voice and Paradise TV. You can reach him via email at [email protected]
Gambia To Use Paper Ballots By Next Elections
The Chairman of the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC), Alieu Momarr Njai has said that the country would move from marbles to paper ballots by next elections.
Chairman Njai who was speaking to The Fatu Network at the Elections House, said the cost of one ballot drum is far more expensive than the nomination fees for ward councillors.
“Can you imagine, the amount of money spent on ballot drums, paints, seals and counting trays every elections”? IEC Chairman Njai asked
He added, “It is very expensive and it’s a nightmare.”
When asked about the readiness to move to paper ballots considering the country’s illiteracy rate, he said the literacy rate was far lower in the 1950s than now.
“We are not developed or underdeveloped to use the paper system,” he said.
The IEC Chairman further stated that the countries using paper ballots sometimes conduct five elections in the same day, which he said should be emulated in the Gambia by combining Mayoral, Chairpersons and Councillors elections all on the same day.
“The paper ballot is more transparent than the ballot drum”
As part of the electoral reforms, plans are underway to reconcile the Electoral Act, Local Government Act and the Constitutional Provisions.
“We disenfranchised the diaspora even though they have the constitutional rights but could not exercise because the former president knew most of them would not vote for him,” he added.
Chairman Njai also spoke about the challenges of voter apathy which they would need resources for to embark on sensitization campaigns.
“We want to make sure there is supplementary registration as well as transfers and deletions every year”
Njai called on the IPC to convince female candidates to contest on winnable positions because they formed the majority but very few of them are placed at decision making positions.
Meanwhile, he reiterated the mantra of free, fair and transparent elections. He called for peace to prevail in the country.
‘The Publication Of False News Is Still A Criminal Offence In This Country’-Justice Minister
Justice Minister, Abubacarr Tambadou has told journalists on Tuesday at his office that the publication of false news is still a criminal offence in The Gambia. Tambadou was speaking at a press conference where he shared with the media developments taking palce at his ministry..Here is the full statement on the publication of false news..
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Finally, allow me to say a few words in closing. Recently, we have noticed a worrisome trend in the country and this must be addressed. While we want to encourage a culture of tolerance and the freedom of expression like in any democracy, this must not be equated with chaos or be used as an opportunity to tarnish the reputation of or smear innocent people.
The tendency is that once an allegation is made against someone, many people rush to judgment and condemn them even when there is no evidence to support the allegation. We cannot accuse, try, and condemn people all in one scoop. It amounts to mob justice. Everyone is entitled to the presumption of innocence until they are found otherwise by law.
Let me also take this opportunity to remind everyone that the publication of false news is still a criminal offence in this country as upheld recently by the Supreme Court and we will not hesitate to apply the law. I therefore encourage everyone to exercise and enjoy their right to freedom of expression without committing a crime because if they do, they will be held accountable. We must not push the boundaries of our new found freedoms to irresponsible or unacceptable limits, because when we do, we hurt others and their families in the process. The law is here to protect everyone including the accuser and the accused.
Now I know that when I make this comment, your minds are running at a thousand miles an hour towards the most recent events so allow me to also clarify that my comments are not intended to address any specific events as there has been too many such events in the country recently.
The Council of Elders and the Bags of Cowries
In the village of Nenemaaje, in the hinterland of Moofingduu, there was a problem of Alkalooship. For decades, they struggled with the difficulty of finding one among them honest and scrupulous enough to head the village in a manner that will change the lives of its people. First, they had an Alkaaloo, Keejang Meeta, who ruled over the village for a long time. In fact, it is said that he was there for almost thirty years; yet, the villagers were not satisfied. Admittedly, during his reign, the village was peaceful, and people went about their business, hard as it was.
It was because of the longevity and the difficulties the people were facing that one disgruntled palace guard forcefully removed him from the village throne. This disgruntled palace guard was called Keejaw Warata. He came with a lot of promises to change the way and manner in which the village was being run. He promised that form henceforth, everything will be done in the open. There won’t be any secrets and the villager will know exactly what was going on. To add to all those promises, he displayed the longevity with which Keejang ruled as a sign of greed. Thus, he proposed that there should be a rule that no Alkaaloo will overstay on the throne. This was welcomed by the villagers and so they all supported him in every possible way.
However, it didn’t take long for Keejaw to also begin to show signs of greed and thus used his Council of Elders to change the law that purported to shorten his reign. He made it that he could rule for as long as he pleased. He had some people who were so betaken by his charms that they started proposing that he change the village into a kingdom and become the founding and abiding king. For them, he would rule over the village until his son came of age and take over.
Keejaw thus felt the praises and his head became swollen with pride. He began silencing anyone who wished to oppose him and started jailing and even killing opponents, real or perceived. A time came when no one in the village dared say anything about or against Keejaw. Many of the villagers ran away to other villagers to either escape persecution or avoid the economic strangulation that had overtaken them. The village became isolated as other villages saw it as a backward village which was under the control of a madman.
The villagers mustered the courage to oppose Keejaw with the intention of choosing another Alkaaloo who will take them to the Promised Land. They came together, threw away their differences and saw the village as being more important than all of them. In fact, many saw it as the last attempt to salvage a village which was on the verge of destruction. Some villagers even lost their lives while trying to ensure that Keejaw was ousted.
Finally, the villagers cast stones (that was how leaders were chosen in the village), each villager would cast a stone in the name of the person he wished to be the Alkaaloo. They cast more stones for Suntukung Koyoo than they did for Keejaw. Thus, it was the turn of Suntukung to rule as Alkaaloo of the village. There was great joy on the day of the casting of stones. Poems were written, songs sang and there was all night dancing.
Initially, Keejaw refused to leave the throne and hand over to Suntukung. But then the neighboring villages sent delegations to come and talk to him to leave. When those delegations failed, they had to send all their guards together to force Keejaw to leave the village palace. The struggle was bitter but, in the end, Keejaw was compelled to leave and go and live in another village as a fugitive.
The reign of Suntunkung began in high note. He was liked by all and even the other villages in the region were ready and willing to support him. He traveled from village to village meeting other Alkaaloos and seeking help from them in order to develop his village. They helped and promised more help. Meanwhile; the villagers were now free to air their ideas and even express opposing views to the rule of Suntukung.
Then, there was trouble in paradise as the villagers watched Suntukung make blunder after blunder as he was a novice in leadership. But that was not the problem, the problem was that he was becoming arrogant and didn’t seem to care what the villagers were saying. He ignored most of the calls to do better and improve the lives of his people. His Council of Elders were initially doing a good job. They checked many of the quarters in the village to ensure that they were doing what they were supposed to do. Many observers praised them for that.
It was therefore unfortunate when it was heard that Suntukung was calling the members of the Council of Elders and giving them ten bags of cowries each. This, it was surmised, was to seek their support for certain things he was doing or going to do. When that scandal broke, it was actually revealed by one of the members of the council, the courtiers in Suntukung’s palace denied it flat even though some of the members of the council of elders had already admitted in public that they had received the bags of cowries.
Th town criers were following up on that scandal and they wished to see that all those who were found to have done something wrong would be brought before the people. The problem was that, according to the tradition of the village, it was the Council of Elders who should call Suntukung and put him right. But now that he had been giving them bags of cowries, would they invite him to their Council?
To be continued…
Sorry Amie Bojang !!!!
President Adama Barrow’s alleged bribery to the United Democratic Party National Assembly members if confirmed to be true, he should either apologize to the Gambian people on Live Television Prime Time or be sent to the political guillotine. I am sorry for Amie Bojang Sissoho and President Barrow’s spin doctors at Statehouse trying to spray fragrances on the feces and lace the dung with olive oil, it’s absurd.
Amie Bojang: Joseph Goebbels was Adolf Hitler’s chief propagandist. He was brilliant, mercurial and prophetic. He said so many things that turned out ultimately oracular. One of them was that he and his boss would either “go down in history as the greatest statesmen of all time, or as the greatest criminals.” They got the latter because they lost the war. Goebbels also gave a notice of the storm that would blow his team away: “If the day should ever come when we must go, if some day we are compelled to leave the scene of history, we will slam the door so hard that the universe will shake, and mankind will stand back in stupefaction.”
Amie Bojang Sissoho is not the only one with this prophetic warning. Several others give similar warning – with facts and fiction; truth and untruth. The combo works and will continue to work. “Make the lie big,” counseled Hitler; “make it simple, keep saying it, and eventually they will believe it.” True. The small rivers of lies of just a few years ago have become oceans. Everything is believed. The ‘they’ who believe (and will continue to believe) the mendacious bits are embedded everywhere. It does not matter if you call them T.S. Eliot’s ‘Hollow Men’ – the ones who worship “shape without form;” the beings who gape at “shade without color.” When Journalists becoming communications advisors, or spin doctors to politicians, often they say goodbye to good journalism for good; ultimately, political propaganda results from corrupt thinking, and often attempts to make palatable corrupt acts: ‘Political speech and writing are largely the defense of the indefensible.’ Using language or words ‘favorable to political conformity’ to soften terrible things that obscure meaning and lead to whole paragraphs of bombastic, empty prose: one can find creative ways to break without being obscure or justifying ‘corrupt thinking’: Sorry Amie!!!
Attorney General Tambadou Announces Launching Of The TRRC
The Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Abubacarr Tambadou has said that the much talked about Truth, Reconciliation and Reparation Commission (TRRC) will be launched on Monday, 15th October.
Justice Minister Tambadou on Tuesday afternoon told journalists that 11 selected TRRC Commissioners will be sworn in during the launching of the Commission.
“We have not received any public complaints against the selected Commissioners,” Justice Minister Tambadou said.
The Minister added that commissioners were selected from the different regions, ethnicities, religions, gender and the diaspora to be represented in the Truth Commission.
He announced the appointment of Mr Essa Faal as the Commission’s Lead Counsel deputised by Ms Horja Bala Gaye who will be assisted by a group of lawyers.
“We have few witnesses who are lining up to testify,” he added.
The Justice Minister also spoke about the selection of individuals from non governmental organisation to setup a Human Rights Commission before the year ends. So far, nine names were gazetted for public scrutiny before the final five will be submitted to the President for appointment.
The Attorney General further spoke about the drafted Anti Corruption Bill that is presently under review. He added that the bill would be taken to Cabinet and later to be enacted by the National Assembly.
Meanwhile, the Ministry has plans to undertake three key projects such as Prisons, Electoral and Legislative Reforms in 2019.
UDP Should Betray the God of Gambian Politics
Being a cautious optimist, I have, in many conversations, contended that hope is an overrated force in human history — but I do also realize that hope is necessary, it is a buffer and a form of resilience. In his section of “Profiles of Gambian Political Leaders in the Decolonization Era” — Gambian historian — Hassoum Ceesay — ended the chapter where he profiled Pierre Sarr Njie, by discussing his optimism, hope, and an outlook on the body politics of The Gambia and its people that’s almost philosophical in its rendering:
P.S. remained sanguine about the future of the country despite what he observed as the failures of the PPP government. In what was perhaps his last interview in 1990, when asked how he saw the future of The Gambia, his words were sanguine and statesmanlike: “Hope. Hope. This country will never be destroyed. We just have to raise fewer thieves
and more patriots. There is hope for our country. It is a blessed country.” (P218)
Pierre Njie’s line about raising fewer thieves is cutting. It is cutting because it seems like since he made this statement, the perch of the presidency has been occupied by thieves, not patriots. President Jammeh and his heirloom — President Barrow — have not only been involved in thievery but they’ve been painfully mediocre presidents; hence, also betraying the hopes of many Gambians.
President Barrow, just like Babili, is in over his head, it seems like he gave up on governance; thus, swinging the pendulum towards the direction of party politics and consolidation of power. It’s quite unfortunate for a country that’s profoundly reliant on handouts — a country where poverty is part of the daily narrative; where the healthcare system is not even equipped to provide basic health services; where the education system is failing its children; where there are few outlets for the majority of its youth — where the spectre of food rationing is no longer an imagination.
President Barrow, for what it’s worth, is incapable of betraying the God of Gambian politics — the God of the do-nothing presidency, of thievery, of fecklessness, of mediocrity, of patronage. Following the very rich tradition of pageantry, the one championed by Jawara, then put on steroids by Jammeh; Barrow is, for all intents and purposes, already perfecting the craft of governance based on patronage and thievery. In The Gambia, it seems like it is one thing to correctly name the government of yesteryear as thieves, but it is a different matter altogether to replace it with an honorable, capable, competent and SERIOUS one. We are, at this point, sadly, on autopilot.
For a good many of us, we expected a break from the past, the past that built mosques, subsidized and appealed to the sentiments and whims of apparatchiks and partisan hacks — the past that built schools sans well trained teachers and resources; the past that built roads, just to watch them crumble right before our eyes; the past that wallowed in silly hagiographies — the past that drove this country on the precipice of a failed state.
Consequently, to break from that mediocre past — the United Democratic Party can and should protect the little hope and honor left in our politics — for I think the UDP has a great opportunity to shape and transform, Gambian politics for a generation. On the other hand, they can also destroy their party, thus, going the way of the PPP and APRC. To maintain their dominance — they can and should nominate a SERIOUS, capable standard-bearer to lead the party and eventually The Gambia. If they decide to stick with the do-nothing presidency — they’re, sooner or later, going to wither just like the Whigs. Gambian society is changing and the politics of patronage, pageantry, and fraternity is not going to cut it for posterity.
For the love of country, please, I plead with the UDP leadership and rank-in-file to nominate someone other than Barrow. We can and should do better. Barrow cannot and should not be the leader of a SERIOUS political organization and most certainly not the UDP. We should not standardize and normalize mediocrity. Therefore, UDP can end this hemorrhage, thievery, school boy errors and nominate a SERIOUS, competent leader, because, I am sure that, within their ranks, they have raised more patriots than thieves.
Far reaching than any partisan politics, this very necessary, patriotic decision to buck the trend of the cult of the individual in Gambian politics — by not nominating an incompetent, do-nothing president as its standard-bearer — would represent Gambia’s maturation out of the childhood myth of its innocence into a wisdom worthy of its political leaders in the decolonization era.
In the end, remember, generations of Gambians to come will one day, ask of us living, what have we done with our time? Hopefully, the UDP will answer that it has mastered its destiny by betraying the God of Gambian politics when it mattered — that, it has contributed to the maturation of Gambian politics. That, in essence, should be our collective summons to The Gambia ever true.
I am, as always, cautiously optimistic!
A better Gambia beckons —
Saul Njie
10.08.2018
Foreign Minister Tangara meets Japanese Foreign Minister
The Minister of Foreign Affairs, International Cooperation and Gambians Abroad of the Republic of The Gambia, Honourable Mamadou Tangara on Sunday 7thOctober 2018 met with H.E Mr Taro Kono, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Japan on the sidelines of the Tokyo International Conference on African Development, a regular convergence meant to promote high-level policy dialogue between African leaders and development partners.
The two Ministers of Foreign Affairs discussed matters bordering on the strengthening of bilateral relations between The Gambia and Japan. Minister Taro Kono expressed the intention of the Government of Japan to provide technical assistance and support relevant to the improvement of the Government of The Gambia’s food security initiatives and other national development programmes.
For his part, Minister Tangara thanked Minister Taro Kono for the warm welcome while emphasising the significance of Japan’s support to The Gambia over the years.
Minister Tangara also met with Gambians studying in various universities in Tokyo on Monday 8thOctober 2018 and assured them of The Gambia Government’s full support at all times.