For immediate Release
19th March, 2018.
The Law Students’ Association of the University of The Gambia is dismayed and saddened by the recent denial of visa to four of our students who were supposed to take part in the Jessup Moot Court competition in the US by the US Embassy Banjul.
Haddy Drammeh, Muhammad Lamin Ceesay, Fanta Jawara and Muhammed Jeng were selected through a rigorous process by the moot coordinators at the Faculty of Law to represent the University in this important competition. Since their selection, they have dedicated immeasurable time, energy and resources into preparing for the event, sometimes at the detriment of their academic work.
For years, we have been sending our students to the US to represent us at this prestigious competition. Every year, our students have been doing great in the championship. Our students have made a name for the Faculty for their outstanding performances at the event in recent years.
Understandably, all four were denied visa because the embassy is not convinced that the students will return to The Gambia at the end of the competition. This was principally due to the refusal, in 2017, of two of the Faculty of Law’s participants to return to the Gambia after the competition. Ensa Kinteh and Ousman Suwareh both absconded leaving the image of the Faculty in tatters.
Their infamous decision to abscond has cost the Faculty so much. We wish to express our disappointment with such selfish actions and note with emphasis our opposition to any attempt to put the name of the Faculty of Law in disrepute.
The Law Students’ Association wishes to commend the Jessup Moot Court team for their sacrifice, commitment and resilience towards propelling the name of our faculty beyond limits through advocacy. We hope that all students of the Faculty of Law and the UTG will desist from such irresponsible acts that shatter the dreams and aspirations of many and worse, put the name of the UTG in disrepute. We urge students to be considerate and promote camaraderie.
We wish to reassure all students that the LSA will do everything within it’s powers to ensure this ugly chapter is wiped out of the Faculty of Law books and that we will work on reassuring the embassy that such an incident won’t happen again.
LSA President
Badou Jawara.
Cc: UTGSU
Relation
