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| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| Momodou |
Posted - 04 Dec 2016 : 22:32:57
Building A New Gambia
Refrain from Rumours and Reprisals and Unruly Behaviour
No. 1
This election is unique in the world. This is the first time an oppressed people under a brutal tyranny of 22 and a half years standing have bulldozed a dictator out of power not through a mass uprising or armed rebellion or coup d’état but through peaceful elections. Therefore Gambians must cherish this incredible achievement and protect it with all our lives and soul.
No. 2
No soldier has the capacity to stage a coup in the Gambia today. Gambians will stand up and crush any coup like cracking eggs for omelet. So let us stop spreading or believing any such hogwash about a coup. It is impossible. If any soldiers try, we the people are ready for them.
One thing is clear:
The Gallant Soldiers of the Gambia stand with this wave of freedom for the New Gambia. They have equally suffered. They have been humiliated. They have been made forced labourers and cattle herders and butchers against their will. So the rank and file of the army are with us the people. Always remember that. So be nice to our soldiers as our sons and daughters, fathers and mothers, aunts and uncles and our dear friends. Our soldiers are not thinking of a coup.
No. 3
The security of the nation still lies in the hands of Yaya Jammeh. He is the Commander in Chief and therefore let us demand that he takes control of the men and women of the Armed Forces. Let him order them back into the barracks and reduce the tension. The presence of heavily armed soldiers with sand bags mounted in strategic positions threatens security and fuels rumours. We did not have such military presence few days ago, why should we have it today. Let him tell us what he knows if there is any such plot.
No. 4
The problem of the Gambia over these 22 years is not a Mandinka or Wolof problem, Jola or Fula problem, Aku or Serer problem, Sarahuleh or Manjago problem, Karoninka or Mankange problem. It is also not a Muslim or Christian problem. It is not a Banjul or Basse problem or LRR or NBR problem.
Our problem has been Dictatorship. Period. And we have come together to solve the problem in the most amazing way the world has never seen before. So any Gambian who insults, attacks, mocks, rebukes or spit on any other Gambian on the basis of his or her ethnicity or religion or region, then you are no different from the Dictator. You are an unpatriotic, dishonest and criminal Gambian and you must be taken before a court of law to face justice. Reprisals, just like violations are cowardly. We do not need any reprisal.
Our people love each other and have lived with each other harmoniously as Aku, Serer, Fula, Mandinka, Jola, Wolof, Mankange, Manjago, Karoninka, and Sarahuleh. Let us not tolerate anyone to damage our cherished and harmonious cohabitation.
Remember: Yaya Jammeh is not the representative of the Jola or Fula or Mandinka or Wolof. His support cuts across all ethnic groups and his strongest supporters are Mandinka, Fula and Wolof, and not the Jola. So let us stop the nonsense. Sorry for my language in the interest of the Gambia!
No. 5
Do not destroy properties, public or private for political reasons. Let us be civil and contribute to peace building and respect for human rights. We have lot of work ahead and therefore all we need are cool heads and caring hearts.
Forward Ever. Backward Never. |
| 15 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| Momodou |
Posted - 08 Apr 2017 : 11:34:57
Building The New Gambia
By Madi Jobarteh
We need a Post Election Statement from Pres. Adama Barrow
April 6 is without doubt a major historic milestone in the life of the Gambia for both for the conduct of the election and its outcome. This election is directly connected with the decision Gambians made on December 1 when they voted out the APRC Tyranny led by Yaya Jammeh. April 6 is further linked with December 9 when Yaya Jammeh attempted to trample upon our verdict only to have Gambians stand firm and resolute to ensure that we install our new president on January 19. Hence what we have gone through on April 6 should be perceived within the wider context of transforming the Gambia from a dictatorship into a democracy.
In view of that, once again I urge Pres. Barrow to address Gambians after having experienced the most successful, free and fair elections in the country. This is the first time when we did not have Yaya Jammeh and APRC dominate GRTS, and illegally mobilize the entire state machinery for their election purposes. We did not have the Coalition also take advantage of their incumbency to flout the election rules either. Rather all players acted according to the rules of the game. For this reason and going into the future Barrow needs to speak to us immediately after this parliamentary election. As the head of state, his voice and opinion is necessary to validate the process.
We need to hear Barrow speak to us about the significance of this moment and further strengthen our resolve for a new democratic Gambia. We need him to call on our people to reconcile and unite as one nation. In the run-up to the elections, there was some physical and verbal rancour among our people and now that we went through the elections peacefully, it is important that the Chief Servant speak to us to bury the hatchet. Barrow needs to speak to all stakeholders in the political process to see each other as compatriots who are dedicated to the development of the Gambia.
Pres. Barrow should also address the nation to congratulate Gambians for this achievement once more and urge our citizens to unite and work together for the betterment of the country. As the chief executive, he needs to call on our people to rise up and actively participate in national affairs in order to ensure a democratic Gambia. We need Barrow to give us his vision and his expectations and how the people can support him achieve his objectives.
To our communities, Barrow needs to speak the language of patriotism, honesty and unity. He needs to offer consolation and encouragement to those who suffered in one way or the other during these campaigns and promise us that his government will not tolerate lawlessness but will hold anyone to account for breaching the peace and stability of the Gambia. There are several insidious rumours flying around to which Barrow needs to dispel and provide assurances. He needs to reiterate the positive remarks he made during his tour and among them further condemn tribalism.
Barrow needs to understand and appreciate the power of communication and utilize it to the maximum. A well-prepared national address on GRTS is necessary to put our people at ease yet energize and inspire them towards unity and hard work for our country. His advisors must urge him to seize the moment and engage the people.
Let the president realize that this election is, first and foremost in his own best interest more than anyone else in the Gambia. For the first time we have 7 sides in the parliament which can only ensure better governance for the country. Majority of the seats in the parliament were won by the parties that originally formed the Coalition. Hence the parliament as currently constituted is definitely in the best interest of Adama Barrow. He now has the necessary majority to pass through the reforms he needed. And for that matter alone Barrow needs to speak to Gambians to prepare us for the new dispensation unfolding right now.
Finally as a show of great leadership, let Barrow demonstrate the rare gesture of calling each of the party leaders individually to thank and congratulate them for their participation and success in the elections. This is even more than necessary given that he is a transitional leader who needs to heal a nation that has been traumatized and divided for decades. This will augur well for national cohesion and reconciliation.
I would advise that such a call take place on national television so that the entire nation can see that our leaders are talking with each other. Such gesture also commits the leaders and their parties to remain faithful and pursue a democratic, peaceful, non-tribalistic Gambia. It also makes the people remain calm thereby further strengthening national security. Let the president call the political leaders as a means of healing the nation.
God Bless The Gambia. |
| Momodou |
Posted - 07 Apr 2017 : 12:51:25
Building The New Gambia
By Madi Jobarteh
Democracy Has Now Started in the Gambia!
April 6 shall go down in our history as the beginning of democracy even with the sadness that only two women have been elected. For the first time we have 7 separate parties including an independent represented in our parliament. A diverse parliament is good for democracy and good governance. The base of a constitutional democracy is the parliament. This is because while the president represents the whole country as one constituency, at the same time the parliament is equally representative of the whole country and also representative of the various constituents of the country. Hence it is in the parliament that public interest can be best promoted and secured because of the debates, engagements, negotiations, agreements and disagreements of the various members of the parliament.
The role of the parliament is not merely to make laws. But more importantly when parliament makes the laws, it now comes to monitor the Executive to ensure that it is effectively implementing those laws. These laws are not just about provisions of our constitution or the criminal code, but these laws also include our budget and taxes. The role of the Executive is merely to enforce the law. Enforcing the law means only two things: to protect human rights and to satisfy needs of citizens. Hence the function of the Executive is merely to collect taxes, provide goods and services and protect our rights. This is what constitutes law enforcement.
But for the Executive to do any of these actions, it requires the approval of the parliament first. Hence the Executive is at the mercy of the Parliament. This is why therefore the parliament is the most important and most powerful national institution. The Gambia is a republic under a constitutional democracy, which means we are an independent people within a nation-state and governed by our own ideas codified into a body of laws. Politically we are not governed by the Holy Quran or the Holy Bible. We are not governing ourselves based on the culture of the Aku or Manjago, Fula or Serer, Mandinka or Wolof, Sarahuleh or Jola. We are governing ourselves on the basis of the Gambia Constitution and other laws that have been enacted by the parliament and assented to by the president.
The crux of our constitution sets up three arms of the state as the Executive, Legislature and Judiciary with separate functions within a system of checks and balances. These checks and balances are guided by the rule of law as spelt out in the constitution intended to make sure no one arm has too much power. This is to restrain public institutions and officials and ensure that they deliver effectively in protecting our rights and satisfying our needs. This means the Gambia is not run on the opinion of the President or Speaker or Chief Justice and indeed not on the opinion of any one citizen so long as that opinion is not in line with the constitution. It is only the Judiciary that has the power to determine if that opinion is in line with the constitution or not.
Now that we have a new parliament, the process of remaking the Gambia has begun. Mr. Adama Barrow came on the ticket of a Coalition of parties, which has a manifesto with a three-year mandate. The new dispensation also comes against the backdrop of a 22-year brutal regime that butchered the constitution severely just to entrench itself in power forever. The task therefore before our parliament is to enable the Gambia transition from dictatorship to democracy. How will they do this?
We therefore expect each and every parliamentarian to uphold the supreme interest of the Gambia. By this, we expect that parliamentarians, individually and collectively to realize that the life and death of the Gambia is in their hands. We expect each and every one of them to have a vision of a Gambia they wish to create. We expect the parliamentarians to work together in unison with the Executive in ensuring that they carve a solid statecraft that will usher in a new democratic dispensation in which the sovereignty of the Gambia shall prevail supreme at all times.
We will remind the parliament that heinous crimes and atrocities were committed in the Gambia over the past 22 years under the APRC Tyranny, which needs investigation to expose the truth and ensure justice. Those responsible for human rights violations must be identified and brought to book. In the same vein, our parliament must make a clean break from the APRC-dominated parliament of yesteryears. We do not need a rubberstamp parliament that aids and abets tyranny. The country faces major challenges in terms of development such as poverty, unemployment, high cost of living and inadequate provision of social services. We face major challenges in the public service, which is grossly weakened over the years. Above all, the country urgently needs major constitutional, legal and institutional reforms in order to usher in a modern statecraft. Thus the task before this parliament is already cut out for them.
The unprecedented presence of multiple parties in the parliament means we expect quality discussions over bills and policies. We expect an enhanced scrutiny of the Executive and all sectors of our society to ensure the full protection of human rights, efficient delivery of pubic goods and services and uncompromising adherence to the rule of law. The parties represented in the parliament have no excuse to fail the Gambia because they have lived the experiences of our people. They cannot claim to not know the urgency of our moment and the needs of our society.
The parliament is our defender. The parliament is our leader. The parliament is our guide. The parliament is our manager. The quality of development and democracy in the Gambia rests with our parliament. If there is a high incidence of corruption and poverty in the Gambia, none is responsible other than the parliament. It means the parliament would have failed in its monitoring and accountability role. If our public institutions and public officers fail to deliver to respond to our needs, the responsibility lies with our parliament. The constitution has given the parliament all necessary powers to ensure that good governance and the rule of law prevails in the Gambia at all times.
Democracy has now started. Democracy is a noisy game. Democracy is participatory. Democracy flourishes when citizens get interested in national issues and the way and manner the government and politicians address them. It requires that citizens are vigilant to speak out and to protest. Democracy flourishes when citizens form themselves into groups to campaign together to hold the government to account. The time has therefore come for the Gambian citizen to actively participate in the governance of the country.
Congratulations to Gambians! God Bless The Gambia.
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| Momodou |
Posted - 16 Jan 2017 : 13:11:32
Building The New Gambia
by Madi Jobarteh
Clarifying The Illegal APRC Injunction
There is lot of anxiety in many people about the outcome of the illegal injunction submitted by Edu Gomez on behalf od the APRC to stop the inauguration of Adama Barrow on Thursday January 19. Once more let me inform all Gambians that this injunction is faulty and illegal in all respects. More importantly this injunction approved or not cannot reverse the course of change anyway. It is a non-issue.
1. The title of the injunction is illogical because it is constituted as a matter between the APRC on one hand, and the IEC and Attorney General jointly on other hand. It is obvious that the inauguration of the president-elect is not the task of the IEC or the Attorney General or both. So even with a single judge who is the Mercenary Emmanuel Fagbele, he has no choice but to throw it out because of its illogical formulation.
2. The injunction also raises a conflict of interest issue because Part 1 of the injunction is asking the Chief Justice not to swear in Adama Barrow. Now, the person who should decide the matter is the single Judge available who is Mercenary Fagbele as the Chief Justice. Hence the injunction raises a conflict where Fagbele is receiving a request that is asking him not to do an action when it is at the same time he to decide whether he should be the one to decide on what he should or should not do. Thus natural justice and the ethics of law require that Fagbele recuse himself in this case for someone else to decide the case.
3. The injunction says in Part 2 that the Illegal Pres. Yaya Jammeh should not allow the inauguration of Adama Barrow. But the drafters of the injunction failed to realize that they are therefore raising a fundamental question yet they have not provided that answer. If you request that Yaya Jammeh should not allow Adama Barrow to be installed as president, have you asked yourself then by that action you are also automatically prolonging the term of office of Yaya Jammeh? If that is the case, how do you justify that constitutionally when the supreme law of the land says the term of office of the president is five years? Yaya Jammeh’s term ends on January 18. What justification would anyone have to extend it for one more day? Thus this injunction is not only trying to create a security and political crisis in our country but it is also raising a constitutional crisis for which they did not consider.
4. There is also no law that says that an election petition can stop the inauguration of the certified winner of a public election. Hence where a petition cannot do that, how therefore can an injunction be able to stop an inauguration when an injunction is just a temporary order in anticipation of the hearing of the real petition? Thus this injunction is utterly contradictory. I am certain that despite his dishonesty and criminality, Mercenary Emmanuel Fagbele certainly knows the forces behind the Gambia right now and he will not give up his life for Yaya Jammeh. He will create an excuse to derail this injunction.
5. Apart from all of the above, it is clear to all and sundry that Yaya Jammeh lost the election. His problem is not the IEC or the votes. His problem is that he does not want to step down as president because he has always tuned himself to be the Life President and King of the Gambia. Hence this petition and the injunction are not just unconstitutional and illegitimate, but they are also criminal and unpatriotic.
6. For that matter, all Gambians as well as ECOWAS and the international community must not give any regard or acceptance to this petition and the injunction but to reject them as illegal. They bear no basis in law and common sense.
7. By now it is clear that ECOWAS and the international community have absolutely reached their final decision which is to recognize Adama Barrow as the elected President of the Gambia and are determined to install him on January 19. So whether this petition and its illegal injunction goes ahead or not, the position of ECOWAS is irreversible and Yaya Jammeh’s days are finished on January 18 midnight.
Finally, let us get this picture right. Have you ever seen a president in the history of the world against whom there has been a complete global unanimity that he or she is illegal? Yaya Jammeh has that world record now. Even Bashar as-Assad of Syria has some countries that believe and support him. But here is a man who has no such support from anywhere in the world. This is what Yaya Jammeh has to notice so that he helps himself. But even if he does not wish to help himself, it is utterly unbelievable that folks like Edu Gomez, with their age and experience would fail to see the pariah status of Yaya Jammeh but continue to hobnob with him against their own motherland and people. Right now Yaya Jammeh is like a leper. The whole world has never abandoned such a leader. Even Hitler had some foreign governments and leaders who supported him until the last minute.
What is even more ridiculous is the fact that Yaya Jammeh has now become a servant to foreigners than to Gambians. When he called Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, the lady advised him to make a statement and within five minutes he complied. In that call, he capitulated before ECOWAS as he frantically begged the lady to help him with judges. You can hear his voice trembling. You can feel the loneliness and helplessness in the way he sat and talked and his entire gesture. Why torment yourself like that? Yet here is man who said the Gambia is a Super Power and he will wipe out any country off the map of the world. Where is the power now?
Indeed Yaya Jammeh is unique in the world!
#GambiaHasDecided |
| Momodou |
Posted - 14 Jan 2017 : 22:20:34
Building The New Gambia
By Madi Jobarteh
Why Yaya Jammeh Must Take the Nigeria Asylum Offer?
Let me go straight to the point. At this stage of his life, which is intertwined with the life of the Gambia, I wish to strongly advise that Yaya Jammeh to take the offer of asylum from Nigeria. I strongly believe that taking this offer is a unique opportunity to preserve the most precious gift he has; that is his life. Of course such a course of action also saves the Gambia from either a civil war or a foreign military intervention or both. Saving the Gambia is in fact the reason for this piece of advice to Yaya.
To understand the context, it is clear that the only reason why Yaya Jammeh is unwilling to step down is entirely because of his fear of facing justice because of his atrocious rule. Secondly he has been involved in numerous illicit activities such as arms and drugs trafficking with dangerous actors in South America, Eastern Europe as well as in Africa. For example the discovery of a one billion dollar cocaine factory in Bonto in 2010 operated by South Americans could not have taken place without the involvement and knowledge of the highest office holder. Jammeh also engaged with the notorious Ukrainian arms dealer Victor Bout and there are reports that at least one of his aircraft came from that part of the world. Thirdly, we would recall that the late Baba Jobe was actually in the UN list for travel ban for involvement in the blood diamond saga and the conflict in Liberia and Sierra Leone. Of course Baba Jobe was into that business as a front man for Yaya Jammeh. Thus given all these engagements, locally and internationally one can understand how Jammeh has entangled himself to the point that life without the presidency means imprisonment or death.
But I think Jammeh can at least preserve his own life even if he will have to go to jail at one point. But I do not see him go to jail soon enough because it is always tedious, cumbersome and with huge effort to bring a former president to justice. In any case, I wish to share some scenarios here, which can serve as lessons for Yaya Jammeh so that he can see that the asylum offer from Nigeria and Morocco is his saviour. What is clear is that he cannot ever serve as president of the Gambia as he used to do after January 19.
At this moment, there are a number of former dictators like him who are hiding in various countries, peacefully and quietly. Some have been sentenced in their home countries in absentia, but many are yet to face any trial. They still have their lives. I think Yaya Jammeh should look at those scenarios so that he saves himself.
Lessons from Former Dictators
One of those former dictators is Mengistu Haile Mariam who led a Red Terror in Ethiopia from 1977 to 1991 killing between half a million to two million people. Since his overthrow he fled to Zimbabwe. Even though he was convicted of genocide by an Ethiopian court, yet the tyrant lives peacefully in safety in Harare. We also have the case of Blaise Campoare who was ousted in a mass uprising in 2014 in Burkina Faso. He fled to Ivory Coast where he has been quiet so far. There is no doubt that he will face justice but this is no time soon. One of his crimes is the assassination of the Great African Patriot Thomas Sankara in 1987. We also have the case of Ben Ali of Tunisia who was kicked out by the masses marking the beginning of the Arab Spring in 2011. He fled to Saudi Arabia with his family. Meantime a Tunisian court has sentenced him to 20 years for inciting violence and murder. But he is safe for the moment. Another case is that of Hissene Habre, the Butcher of Ndjamena who was toppled by rebels in 1990. He fled to Senegal and lived quietly and peacefully there until 2016 when he was sentenced to life imprisonment for human rights abuses and the killing of 40, 000 people!
Other dictators who ran before rebels or foreign intervention reached them include Idi Amin of Uganda, and Mobutu of Zaire. Idi Amin was chased out by Tanzanian forces in 1979 and fled to Saudi Arabia where he lived until his death in 2003 without facing trial. For Mobutu, he ran away before rebels led by Laurent Kabila reached his palace in 1997. He eventually died in Morocco three months later.
Hence these are all scenarios, which provide lessons for Yaya Jammeh to learn from. If he grabs an asylum offer, he can save his own life and that of his family as well as save the lives of Gambians among whom are his associates, family and friends. How much he cares about them will determine what choices he will make.
Failure To Take Asylum
In the event that Yaya Jammeh refuses to take the Nigeria and Morocco asylum offers, then he risks losing his life or face arrest and imprisonment. Again there are several former dictators whose fall should have been a lesson for Yaya Jammeh.
At the top of the list is Moammar Gadhafi of Libya. After 42 years of tyranny, the masses of Libya rose up against him in 2011. He responded with massive violence which also triggered foreign intervention by the US, France and UK mainly. Within 100 days he was chased out of his bunkers only to be shot to death by young Libyan boys. Since then Libya has known no peace.
We also have the case of Laurent Bagbo of Ivory Coast. In the 2010 presidential election, Bagbo lost to Allasane Ouattara yet rejected and annulled the results by accusing the electoral commission of fraud. He also took the matter to the constitutional court, which in fact ruled in his favour, but then it was clear that he only manipulated them as Yaya Jammeh manipulates the Gambian judiciary. In the end a civil war ensued which led to foreign intervention by France. He was arrested with his wife along with his party youth leader Ble Goude, and they were bundled to The Hague where he is now facing trial at the ICC.
Before all of this, we can recall the case of Samuel Doe of Liberia. Following his reign of terror much like Yaya Jammeh, he was confronted with a rebellion led by Charles Taylor in 1989. Refusing to escape even when the rebels where just a street across the Executive Mansion in Monrovia, Samuel Doe was captured by the rebel forces of Prince Johnson in 1990. He was badly tortured and mutilated to death. These scenarios provide instructive lessons for Jammeh and failure to seize the asylum offer will spell doom for him sooner than later.
What Is Going To Happen
The fact that ECOWAS leaders have invited Adama Barrow to the France-Africa Summit in Mali on January 14 is a huge message. Not only have ECOWAS, AU and the international community embraced the verdict of the Gambian people. But they are also sending a clear and an unequivocal message that they are determined to kick out Yaya Jammeh. Again, let us recall the case of Ahmad Tejan Kabbah of Sierra Leone to link the two scenarios. In 1997 some rogue soldiers led by Johnny Paul Koroma overthrew Kabbah’s regime and the man fled to Guinea. Within nine months, Kabbah was brought back to Freetown by ECOMOG forces led by Nigeria. Thus what I see happening is ECOWAS forces coming back with Adama Barrow on or before January 19 with full force. In that instance, I can see Yaya Jammeh physically captured or killed.
By virtue of its geographic make-up inside Senegal, and the limited strength of the Gambia Armed forces most of who do not support Jammeh, as well as the sophisticated stature of the Senegalese and Nigerian forces with longstanding experience in these kinds of activities, it is obvious that ECOMOG can contain the Gambia within one hour. Yaya Jammeh must bear in mind that the Senegalese already had military experience in the Gambia in 1981, and the Nigerians have the longest expertise and experience in foreign intervention all over the region. Hence these countries have by now gathered the most up-to-date data and analysis on the Gambia’s security situation that I am of the view that their intervention will be surgical with maximum impact and limited cost.
In light of the foregoing, one needs to advice Jammeh to see reason and seek the best option. He needs to be realistic that he can no longer be president of the Gambia. Even if there is no foreign intervention, it is clear that a civil war or a rebel incursion will erupt in the Gambia if Jammeh insists on staying. The 1996 Farafeni attack or the 1997 Kartong attack as well as the 2014 Banjul attack are indicators of what can happen if Jammeh stays. He cannot survive a civil war or a rebellion or a foreign military intervention. Secondly he cannot also survive a mass uprising of determined citizens. Yaya must also know that it is totally impractical that he can obtain amnesty from anyone because the crimes he has committed cannot be forgiven by anyone. Thus sooner or later, he will have to face justice. The issue is, how to manage that part of history such that he will still own his life even if he has to live in a prison somewhere.
Therefore failure to go for the asylum offered by Nigeria, and standing up against the Gambia and the international community, I think reality will catch up with Yaya Jammeh in which he might end up in his own ‘Five Star Hotel’ at Mile 2. Given that he has not refurbished his hotel for a long time and has not paid his staffs well, it means he will find the rooms there extremely infested with cockroaches and mosquitoes with very bad food and extremely unkind guards and fellow inmates. He needs to think about that.
Time is running out for him, and the sooner he makes a decision the better. Yaya Jammeh has to accept the fact that he has fallen like all tyrants do at one point. His next move should be how to make that fall lighter and less painful. But he cannot stop it. Yaya does not have the kind of opportunity that Bashar al-Assad has in Syria with support from powerful countries and a strong, well-equipped army behind him with a divided people. Thus I conclude that Yaya should seek asylum in that case and save his life even if he does not care about saving the Gambia. To refuse asylum is to face death or torturous imprisonment at Mile 2. Let his advisors and loved ones wake him up.
Waato Tijay! Wahtu Amatut! #GambiaHasDecided. |
| Momodou |
Posted - 13 Jan 2017 : 15:53:22
Building The New Gambia
By Madi Jobarteh
Edu Gomez and Seedy Njie Want to Burn Down The Gambia!
First of all we have to thank God the Almighty that all schemes being employed by Yaya Jammeh and his self-appointed slaves to burn down their own motherland always falls flat on their faces. When he rejected the election on December 9, Yaya Jammeh thought he could do so because the Gambians he knew will allow him. He failed to realize that there is a new fearless and free Gambian who will not tolerate him anymore. Since then he has faced such resistance and determination from ordinary Gambians that he has never seen before. Then he thought he will play smart by exploiting the right to petition, but God reminded him that in fact there are no judges for the Supreme Court. Then he thought that through his mercenary Emmanuel Fagbele, he could appoint judges through the back door. But the justice loving Nigerians wrote back to say they were sorry but no judges are coming until May.
When all else failed for him, we now have two self-appointed slaves, Edu Gomez and Seedy Njie, without fear or shame decided to go to the Supreme Court to ask the highest court of the land to stop the inauguration of President-elect Adama Barrow. Since it is an interlocutory matter, only one judge is enough to hear the case. But God being so good to Gambia made it such that the injunction Edu is seeking and supported by Seedy Njie, is actually asking that one available judge to restrain himself from doing what is legal and constitutional. Natural justice requires that one cannot decide a matter in which one is the subject of that matter. Hence Mercenary Fagbele cannot therefore decide this application because the request is directed at himself, to swear-in or not to swear-in. This is what is called legal absurdity.
This absurdity became even more absurd when the application went further to ask Outgoing Pres. Yaya Jammeh and all his government agencies to refrain from taking part in anyway to inaugurate Incoming Pres. Adama Barrow. But then the application is coming from the APRC itself, which has lost the election. Thus to now have that same APRC apply to the court demanding that the elected leader be stopped from being sworn-in is indeed an extremely laughable absurdity!
The third absurdity of this illegal, unpatriotic and dishonest application is when it went further still to ask the National Assembly not to entertain or take part or allow the inauguration of Adama Barrow. How can Edu Gomez and Seedy Njie in their right minds even conceive of such criminality when they knew that we had a legal and legitimate election according to the laws of the Gambia, yet they set themselves on the dangerous path of stopping the actualization of the verdict of the people? The National Assembly has no powers to stop the inauguration. Instead they have an obligation to make sure that there is an inauguration. How therefore can Edu Gomez and the APRC, which forms the majority of the parliament, make an application asking their majority-dominated parliament to stop the inauguration? What an Absurdity!
The mother of all absurdities came in paragraphs 4 and 5 of their application when they had the audacity to even ask the entire Gambian population, the international community as well as Mr. Adama Barrow himself not to inaugurate the President-Elect. Honestly, one needs to review the academic qualifications of Edu Gomez to ascertain if indeed he went to law school? If yes, then we need to subject him to psychiatric test to determine if indeed he is okay in the brain. This is because his application has beaten the world record of the most absurd legal applications.
But let us understand in detail what is actually the meaning of this application if it had gone through. Let us imagine Mercenary Fagbele did go ahead to hear this application and grant it as requested as per Section 125(1), which gives power for a single judge to hear an interlocutory matter. That would mean therefore that Yaya Jammeh should continue to be president until at least May 2017 when the other judges would arrive.
Hence when this illegal injunction is upheld, it means anyone who defies it and goes ahead to inaugurate Adama Barrow, then such a person is violating a court order. But of course Gambians and the international community will not sit by to watch a bunch of criminals hijack the verdict of the people. It is clear that the Coalition and Gambians will definitely go ahead to inaugurate Adama Barrow on January 19. Thus when they do that, in the eyes of Yaya Jammeh that would constitute a violation of a court order. What he will therefore do is to deploy soldiers to clampdown on citizens and based on the ensuing protests, he would therefore declare a state of emergency under Section 34 of our constitution. If he does that, there is no doubt that his self-imposed slaves in the National Assembly led by Abdoulie Bojang and Fabakary Tombong Jatta would invoke Section 99, Sub-section 2 which states that in times of war or emergency National Assembly can extend its life and consequently the term of the president, in view of Section 63 Sub-section 6. Hence Yaya Jammeh thought that in this way he would be able to prevent the inauguration, hopefully arrest Adama Barrow and Coalition leaders to lock them up in Mile 2 for treason, kill many more Gambians and then continue to oppress the rest of the Gambia as usual. But God is not sleeping Yaya Jammeh.
This is the game plan of Yaya Jammeh. And this is why we have to also understand the context in which Yaya Jammeh delivered his January 10 statement when he talked about a so-called illegal Mediator-General and forgiveness and amnesty. His expectation was to get this application pass through and based on the chaotic events that will follow, he would now use his newly founded slave Pa Musa Jallow to do the set-settal after his atrocities through a bogus forgiveness and amnesty program.
This is why I have also been crying all along that we must not entertain the idea of a petition. This is because Yaya Jammeh has noticed that given the way and manner Gambians, as well as the international community are determined, the only way he can escape is through a judicial process. But that judicial process has always been flawed as the Gambia Bar Association has taught us since they issued their statement in condemnation of the treasonable action of Yaya Jammeh on December 9.
Thus when we get to this stage when God has flouted all the schemes of Yaya Jammeh in his face, it is indeed disgracefully pathetic that we could have two Gambian sons, Edu Gomez and a little uneducated brat like Seedy Njie come around with the intention to burn down their own motherland for the interest of one criminal. I have already talked about Seedy Njie that he is a very annoying little victim who was whisked off from school as a child and thrust onto the national stage when he has no maturity to understand his bearings. I will not speak any further on that.
But let me speak about Edu Gomez. It is indeed with deep sadness and pain to have a senior Gambian citizen like Edu Gomez, without regard to is own legacy and in disregard of his duty to God and Country to support a project intended to destroy his society. It is sad that Edu Gomez would consider only worldly gains and be prepared to sell his soul to a dictator that has inflicted untold misery on his people for 22 years. We cannot even excuse or understand Mercenary Emmanuel Fagbele as a non-Gambian for supporting this regime. But to imagine that a well-educated adult Gambian like Edu Gomez would conceive and prepare and submit this application and seek all efforts to kill the voice of the people is utterly beyond imagination. How can Edu Gomez ignore the Gambia Bar Association in their demand for the resignation of Mercenary Emmanuel Fagbele as Chief Justice, yet he goes ahead to associate with that man for the purpose of destroying his own country? Which Bible does Edu Gomez believe? Which Lord does Edu Gomez worship? Which family does Edu Gomez come from that he would blatantly ignore the good teachings of the Holy Bible and the Pure Word of Jesus Christ and ignore the good values of his family and culture to make himself a tool for the destruction of his own society? Edu Gomez, how could you?
After all these failed attempts, what we must learn as Gambians is that Yaya Jammeh is not relenting but is seeking every opportunity to subvert our will. He is seeking to control the narrative so as to calm us down as he pursues the judicial channel knowing that this is where he can save himself.
Therefore I demand that the Coalition and all Gambians to continue to take urgent, direct and strong steps to prevent Yaya Jammeh from changing the narrative and turning the tide in his favour, illegally. We must not allow Yaya Jammeh to dishonestly and unconstitutionally reject the verdict of the people yet come around through the back door to manipulate our constitution and courts to justify his illegal rejection and annulment of the vote. Gambians have decided and we must not allow Yaya Jammeh to kill that decision in front of our own eyes by toying with our intelligence and laws. That would be a national tragedy of unimaginable proportions.
Shame on Edu Gomez. Shame on Seedy Njie. Shame on Pa Musa Jallow. Shame on APRC National Assembly Members. Shame on Isatou Njie Saidy and the Cabinet. Traitors Par Excellence!
#GambiaHasDecided. |
| Momodou |
Posted - 09 Jan 2017 : 16:10:42
Building The New Gambia
By Madi Jobarteh
ECOWAS Is On Track! No Change.
First of all, it is important for all Gambians to realize that the aim of ECOWAS is not to wage war on the Gambia. That is, and has never been their aim. ECOWAS is engaged with the Gambia issue primarily in fulfillment of its legal and political obligations for which the Gambia is also an integral part in those decisions and instruments. ECOWAS is interested only in defending the constitution and sovereignty of the people of the Gambia.
The Context
ECOWAS is the organization comprising the peoples and governments of West Africa set up in 1975 to promote the political integration and economic development of our sub-region. For that purpose it has created various protocols in addition to its treaty as well as established institutions to promote its objectives. In the wake of the First Liberia Civil War from 1989 to 1997, ECOWAS entered into the business of military intervention for the first time to protect and keep peace in that country. This was during the Chairmanship of Sir Dawda Jawara at the time when ECOMOG was created to help Liberia to stabilize. Indeed ECOWAS did a good job there to support Liberia transition from conflict to democracy . But then the Second Liberia Civil War broke out in 1999 to 2003 in which ECOWAS again became heavily involved leading to the resignation of Charles Taylor in 2003 and the establishment of democracy with the election of current Pres. Ellen Johnson Sirleaf in 2005.
We have also seen how ECOWAS became a key player in the Sierra Leone civil war between 1991 and 2002, leading to the end of that conflict and ushering in peace and democracy. In all these situations, ECOWAS employs peace building and diplomatic measures. This is what had also happened in Burkina Faso in 2014 when rogue generals of the presidential guards of the ousted Dictator Blaise Campaore interrupted the revolution of the people by seizing power briefly. ECOWAS engaged with the situation as well leading to the surrender of Gen. Djenjere and his rebel soldiers.
ECOWAS always takes the path of diplomacy first because this is its primary means of conflict resolution as espoused in its ‘Mechanism For Conflict Prevention, Management, Resolution, Peacekeeping and Security’ adopted in 1999. In 2001 a supplementary protocol was added to the Mechanism called the Protocol on Good Governance and Democracy. The aims of these instruments are to prevent, manage and resolve internal and inter-State conflicts, and to promote democracy and good governance in the sub-region. It was as a result of these conflicts in Liberia and then Sierra Leone and other countries that ECOWAS had to develop its capacity fully to address peace and security issues. It is under the Mechanism that it has set up the Mediation and Security Council as well as the ECOWAS Standby Force, which are already engaged with the Gambia issue.
Hence what the ECOWAS Chairperson, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf said today in Accra does not reflect any change in position of the sub-regional body. Rather she is still treading on the same path that the organization has always used to address threats to peace and democracy in the sub-region. Diplomacy is the first tool of employment. ECOWAS has to be seen to exhaust the full length of diplomacy before they kick off with the second option, which is military intervention.
The APRC Petition and Supreme Court
Many are worried about her reference to the ongoing illegal petition of the APRC, and rightly so. I want to say that all Gambians including the Coalition and GDC must begin to discount this petition by standing behind the position of the Gambia Bar Association. Yes, the right to petition is in the constitution, but the Gambia Bar Association, as the most authority body on law and justice in the country has told us that it would be unconstitutional and a violation of natural justice for Yaya Jammeh to empanel judges for the Supreme Court only to sit to hear a case in which he is the lead beneficiary. Hence Gambians must stop singing about this petition as a right of Yaya Jammeh when the facts are that the requirements for him to enjoy this right do not exist legally and constitutionally. Let us not help Yaya Jammeh perpetuate illegality by acknowledging that he has a right to petition. The right does not exist. Period.
This petition is not only dead and illegal, but it is the most ridiculous petition in the history of election petitions. In this petition, filed by Bala Garba Jahumpa on behalf of the APRC is asking for two things on a very contradictory premise. In the first place it is asking for the Supreme Court to declare the December 1 presidential election void and invalid because they claim it did not comply with the Elections Act. They further said that the election was not fairly conducted in good faith and therefore not credible. Yet at the same time, APRC went further to ask the same Supreme Court to declare Yaya Jammeh as duly elected based on what it calls actual votes of the same election that they have condemned as void, invalid and fraudulent! Am confused!
The question therefore is this: How can the APRC ask that the election of Adama Barrow be declared null and void because of a fraudulent election, yet they still ask the same Supreme Court to declare Yaya Jammeh the winner on the basis of that same election? It is like a father who denies his daughter a present because he claims the present is bad, yet calls his son to give him that same present as a good gift. What an unjust father? Therefore even if the Supreme Court sits on this matter, it is clear that no judge in his or her right mind would entertain such a clumsy petition. It will be thrown out!
In any case, the petition cannot in any way stop the inauguration of Pres. Adama Barrow on January 19.
What To Do?
What we need to do, as Gambians is to continue to work hard to defend the vote. Let Adama Barrow and his team continue to demonstrate more proactive and strategic leadership. Let the people continue to intensify civil disobedience. Let us join the Gambia Bar Association to demand the resignation of the Mercenary Chief Justice Emmanuel Fagbele because of his professional misconduct. Let Yaya Jammeh realize that, either way, diplomacy or military intervention, the peace and stability of the Gambia lies in his hands. Will he burn the Gambia or will he save the country he claims to love. History is recording. Time will tell.
#GambiaHasDecided. |
| Momodou |
Posted - 09 Jan 2017 : 16:09:18
Building The New Gambia
By Madi Jobarteh
GRTS! GRTS! GRTS!
What is your point about broadcasting the interview between the IEC Chairman and Fatou Camara?
The interview was on the media, publicly and none of them said anything false or criminal. The Chairman has a right and authority to grant interviews on behalf of the IEC. Fatou Camara has the right and authority to conduct interviews on behalf of her network.
So, what do you want to prove?
Secondly, have you obtained permission from FatuNetwork to air this material because if you did not then you are committing the crime of stealing private and intellectual property. Basic media practice and intellectual property rights demand that before one uses someone else's product or material, one has to seek and obtain permission from the producer. Furthermore, one must also credit the source. GRTS has not done any of that in this case, thus in violation of the law.
By this action intended to tarnish the name of Alieu Momarr Njai and Fatou Camara, let the Director General GRTS Malick Jones understand that he is engaged in libel and slander which is a criminal offence in our laws. GRTS is seeking to impugn the reputation and integrity of bonafide citizens, and certainly both Mr. Njai and Ms. Camara reserve the right to sue the Director General of GRTS for defamation.
The Chair and members of GRTS Board and the Minister of Information Sheriff Bojang must reprimand the Director General of GRTS Malick Jones for gross professional misconduct.
Finally, APRC press release is not worthy of national news. APRC press release must be read only as a public notice which has to be paid for. It must not be read as a news item on GRTS because GRTS is not the property of APRC and all private announcements are paid to be announced. There is a segment called public notices or advertisements where it must go.
Once again, the Director General GRTS Malick Jones is blatantly flouting the General Orders and the GRTS Act as well as the Constitution of the Gambia. Reading APRC press release on national media as a news item is a waste of public resources, abuse of office, negligence of duties and causing economic loss to the country. These are severe crimes in the Criminal Code and other laws for which the Director General and all members of staff of GRTS must bear in mind.
We are recording!
#GambiaHasDecided |
| Momodou |
Posted - 09 Jan 2017 : 16:05:53
Building The New Gambia
By Madi Jobarteh
ECOWAS and AU are Defending Our Constitution and Sovereignty
As we continue to face the unconstitutional and unpatriotic onslaught of Yaya Jammeh, we have also seen how some of his surrogates within his party perpetuating this idea that military intervention is a violation of our constitution and sovereignty. We have seen how typical dishonest African intellectuals in the persons of Elhadj Diouf and Ouza Jallow of Senegal launch a campaign for Yaya Jammeh, which they call the coalition against war in the Gambia. We have also seen even within the opposition and the generality of Gambians how some individuals speak against or doubt ECOWAS and the AU.
Hence it is important to clarify to citizens that the decisions by ECOWAS and the African Union are perfectly in line with our constitution and the treaties and subsequent instruments of these organizations. The Gambia is a bonafide member of these organizations and has been an integral part of the decisions and instruments upon which these sub-regional and regional organizations act. We have signed up to them, and therefore any action ECOWAS and AU take to solve our crisis is in tune with our consent.
ECOWAS
In 2001, ECOWAS adopted the Protocol on Good Governance and Democracy. This is an additional protocol to the ECOWAS Mechanism For Conflict Prevention, Management, Resolution, Peacekeeping and Security adopted in 1999. The objective of the Mechanism is to prevent, manage and resolve internal and inter-State conflicts. The Mechanism has set up the Mediation and Security Council under Article 7, and it is empowered under Article 10 to take decisions on issues of peace and security in the sub-region on behalf of the Authority, and implement all the provisions of the Protocol. The Vice President Isatou Njie Saidy signed this Mechanism on behalf of the Gambia.
On the Protocol on Good Governance and Democracy, adopted in 2001 and signed on behalf of the Gambia by Yaya Jammeh, it sets out the principles that should underpin elections, governance and democracy in each and every member state. Among these include the respect and adherence to the principle of separation of powers, the empowerment and strengthening of parliaments and guarantee parliamentary immunity, respect and guarantee the independence of the Judiciary as well as guarantee the freedom of the members of the Bar association.
The Protocol sets out quite clearly that elections must be conducted in a free and fair manner and all stakeholders must respect the outcome of the vote. This has been captured explicitly under Article 9 of the Protocol.
“The party and/or candidate who loses the elections shall concede defeat to the political party and/or candidate finally declared the winner, following the guidelines and within the deadline stipulated by the law.”
Under Article 10, it states that all holders of power at all levels shall refrain from acts of intimidation or harassment against defeated candidates or their supporters. Further, it spoke of the role of the armed and security services under Article 19(1) that,
“The armed forces and police shall be non-partisan and shall remain loyal to the nation. The role of the armed forces shall be to defend the independence and the territorial integrity of the State and its democratic institutions.”
Hence one can see that based on these instruments, which were signed and ratified by the Gambia, the actions of ECOWAS so far, are legal both in terms of Gambian constitution and the objectives of ECOWAS. When Yaya Jammeh and Isatou Njie signed these documents respectively, each of the protocols was then ratified by our National Assembly as required by our constitution thus making the Gaia party to them.
African Union
When it comes to the African Union, again there is the African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance adopted in 2007 and signed on behalf of the Gambia by Yaya Jammeh. The aim of the Charter as spelt out under Article 2 is to promote adherence to the universal values and principles of democracy and respect for human rights by each State Party. It seeks to also promote and enhance adherence to the principle of the rule of law premised upon the respect for, and the supremacy of the constitution and constitutional order in the political arrangements of the State Parties. It also aims to promote the holding of regular free and fair elections to institutionalize legitimate authority of representative government as well as democratic change of governments. Finally it aims to prohibit, reject and condemn unconstitutional change of government in any Member State as a serious threat to stability, peace, security and development. These are among its key objectives.
Because the AU is aware of the fact that there will be unconstitutional change of governments anyway, it has therefore dedicated Chapter 8 of the Charter to the issue of ’Sanctions in Cases of Unconstitutional Changes of Government’. The first article under this chapter is Article 23 and it states that,
“State Parties agree that the use of, inter alia, the following illegal means of accessing or maintaining power constitute an unconstitutional change of government and shall draw appropriate sanctions by the Union:
1. Any putsch or coup d’état against a democratically elected government.
2. Any intervention by mercenaries to replace a democratically elected government.
3. Any replacement of a democratically elected government by armed dissidents or rebels.
4. Any refusal by an incumbent government to relinquish power to the winning party or candidate after free, fair and regular elections; or
5. Any amendment or revision of the constitution or legal instruments, which is an infringement on the principles of democratic change of government.
One can see that sub-section 4 of Article 23 directly and squarely relates to the Gambia situation right now. We have a situation where the incumbent has lost the election fair and square yet refused to hand over power.
Thus to deal with this situation, the Charter empowers the Peace and Security Council of the AU under Article 24 to,
‘Exercise its responsibilities in order to maintain the constitutional order in accordance with relevant provisions of the Protocol Relating to the Establishment of the Peace and Security Council of the African Union’.
That protocol setting up the AU Peace an Security Council (this is the UN Security Council equivalent in Africa), gives it the power, under Article 7 to,
‘Approve the modalities for intervention by the AU in a Member State, following a decision by the Assembly, pursuant to article 4(j) of the Constitutive Act’.
Under this protocol there is an AU Standby Force created under Article 13 for the purpose of deployment of peace support missions and intervention. Again this protocol was adopted in 2002 and signed by Yaya Jammeh on behalf of the Gambia. Yaya Jammeh, on behalf of the Gambia also signed the Constitutive Act, which is the AU’s bible.
Going back to the African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance, Article 25 Subsection 1 has specified the sanctions necessary in the event of an unconstitutional change of Government. In the first place such an illegal government will be suspended. Furthermore, subsection 4 states that,
‘Perpetrators of unconstitutional change of government shall not be allowed to participate in elections held to restore the democratic order or hold any position of responsibility in political institutions of their State.’
To make sure that perpetrators face justice anyway subsection 5 stipulates that ‘perpetrators of unconstitutional change of government may also be tried before the competent court of the Union.’ Subsection 7 of this article further states that ‘The Assembly may decide to apply other forms of sanctions on perpetrators of unconstitutional change of government including punitive economic measures.’ Still subsection 8 provides that where such perpetrators flee from their country, ‘State Parties shall not harbour or give sanctuary to perpetrators of unconstitutional changes of government.’ To ensure no way of escape and impunity at all, subsection 9 clearly states that ‘State Parties shall bring to justice the perpetrators of unconstitutional changes of government or take necessary steps to effect their extradition.’
From the foregoing, it is clear that both ECOWAS and the AU are fully and firmly standing on sound legal and political ground for the position they have taken on the Gambia. It is clear that the Gambia is a legal signatory to these instruments hence the Gambia is in fact a part of the decision that is being taken right now. Thus those who claim ECOWAS is seeking to violate Gambian sovereignty are merely engaged in empty rhetoric for the purpose of supporting an unconstitutional change of government.
According to the concept of subsidiarity in regional and international organizations, AU performs its functions through its sub-regional blocs like ECOWAS. Hence if there is an issue in a country, before AU takes direct action it allows the sub-regional organization to lead. This is because that sub-regional organization is the closest actor to the situation hence it should understand the situation better. This is why AU is standing behind ECOWAS. And at the international level, the same concept applies which is why the UN also is standing behind the AU. Thus ECOWAS is the critical player here unless something fundamentally goes wrong, otherwise both the AU and UN will act based on the advice and direction of ECOWAS.
Conclusion
Therefore let us conclude clearly that what Yaya Jammeh did on December 9 is an act of unconstitutional change of government because he refused to accept the results of an election that was certified as free and transparent and conducted through legal means. Hence it is important for the members of Cabinet and the members of the National Assembly and the security chiefs and heads of public institutions to bear in mind that according to the Africa Union Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance that they are potential perpetrators of unconstitutional change of government if they continue to stand with Yaya Jammeh. For that mater the sanctions listed under Article 25 directly applies to them. According to these provisions, they potentially risk being banned from politics ever again in the Gambia, and having their assets frozen and other economic sanctions imposed on them as well as risk be denied asylum in any country or extradited to face justice either at home or in any ECOWAS or AU courts. These are the consequences facing all those who support Yaya Jammeh, which they must bear in mind. By supporting Yaya Jammeh, one is not only violating the constitution of the Gambia, but you are also violating the ECOWAS and AU instruments. By extension, you are also violating the UN Charter and all international instruments relating to human rights, good governance, democracy, elections and peace and security.
I wish to therefore call on the members of the Cabinet, the APRC National Assembly members, the CDS Ousman Badgie, the Director General of GRTS, the Managing Director of GAMTEL and any other public servant who continues to support Yaya Jammeh and obstructing the verdict of the people, that you are directly engaged in an unconstitutional change of government at your own peril. Failure to quit and disassociate oneself from Yaya Jammeh until ECOWAS acts on its instruments then one would be considered a perpetrator of an unconstitutional change of government. Time is running out.
I rest my case. |
| Momodou |
Posted - 30 Dec 2016 : 12:15:06
By Madi Jobarteh
Building The New Gambia
Salute to the Gallant Gambian Civil Servants and Security Officers
The unconstitutional about-turn of Yaya Jammeh on December 9 has posed a clear and direct challenge to each and every Gambian citizen. More than any other situation in the history of our country, December 9 was the day when the sense of patriotism and sovereignty of Gambian citizens have been tested. Like any people who face such a historic and national question, it is clear that only those with conscience and love of country stand in defense of the motherland. For that matter, multitudes of our people have stood up to declare their opposition to Yaya Jammeh, loud and clear in defense of our constitution and sovereignty. Thousands of Gambia’s sons and daughters, at home and abroad have come out individually and collectively in various groups to state in no uncertain terms that Yaya Jammeh must step down because he has lost the election fair and square. The verdict of the people must stand.
Yet until now the vast majority of the public service and the security agencies have remained silent and going about their official functions as usual. I wish to however state that in their silence, the majority of the members of the Gambia’s civil service are totally and completely opposed to Yaya Jammeh and they are ready to stand with the Gambia to ensure that the verdict of the people stands. I would therefore call on Gambians to recognize these gallant sons and daughters of the Gambia who are working in our various public institutions such as in the central government, local government institutions, parastatals, the University of the Gambia and its affiliated institutes as well as in other public agencies and public schools.
Similarly there are vast numbers of our gallant men and women in the Gambia National Army, the National Intelligence Agency, the Gambia Police Force, the Gambia Immigration Department and the Gambia Prisons Services who are steadfast and determined that they will stand with the Gambian people. They deserve our recognition and appreciation.
Yet we are also aware of only a few heads of public institutions who continue to owe allegiance to Yaya Jammeh against the people of the Gambia and torment their staffs who stand for and with the people. I have information that there are a few Ministers, Permanent Secretaries, Managing Directors and Director Generals who, lacking conscience, patriotism and honesty are denying their members of staffs to show their support for the verdict of the people. Some of these heads of institutions have harassed some individual staff members for their stance in defending our constitution. Some of these heads of public institutions have abused their authority by placing obstacles before any efforts in defense of the constitution.
Let these heads of public institutions realize that Gambians have decided. Let them realize that change has come to the Gambia. Let them realize that they have a choice to be part of that change or to stand outside that change, but they cannot stop and reverse the change. We have taken back our humanity and our sovereignty from a despicable tyrant. No more shall we allow tyranny to return to our motherland. Hence these heads of public institutions must abandon their tyrannical attitudes and fulfill their mission to their country as legitimate and patriotic sons and daughters.
I wish to inform such members of staffs who have been harassed to document such intimidation in order to ensure justice at the right time. Those heads of public institutions that are obstructing public servants from defending our constitution must realize that they are violating the constitution by supporting the unconstitutional stand of Yaya Jammeh. These heads of pubic institutions must realize that their allegiance must be to the people of the Gambia as per Section 1 Subsection 2 of our constitution. The situation in our country requires that all citizens, regardless of one’s place of work be seen to stand with the constitution and the people of the Gambia.
I therefore call on our gallant and glorious public servants and security personnel to continue to stand with the people of the Gambia in defiance of the unconstitutional action of Yaya Jammeh. We shall stand together with those members of staff who have been dismissed for such a patriotic and legal stance to regain their jobs back in three weeks time when the tyrant is kicked out and the new administration of Adama Barrow takes over. We shall continue to expose those heads of public institutions who have sold their soul to the dictator and betraying their motherland. We shall name and shame them.
Salute the Gallant and Patriotic Sons and Daughters of the Civil Service and Security Services of the Gambia!
|
| Momodou |
Posted - 29 Dec 2016 : 19:41:40
By Madi Jobarteh
Building The New Gambia
Who Threatened to Burn Down the IEC Building?
The so-called Government press release about the alleged burning down of the IEC building has raised more questions than answers, which once again confirms that the regime of Yaya Jammeh is untrustworthy, lacking in transparency and accountability. The IEC building was occupied by armed soldiers following the December 9 unconstitutional statement by Yaya Jammeh that he had annulled the elections. He accused and rebuked the electoral commission for conducting a dubious election and that he will re-constitute the body with ‘God-fearing’ officials to conduct another election. At the time, no public statement was given to Gambians as to why soldiers went to occupy the IEC premises and sent the staff away. The Chairman of the IEC was not informed of the reason for the military action in his office. Mr. Alieu Momarr Njai is on record saying that he was merely denied access to his office.
Many days later, the same government now says the staffs can return to their office and that the military occupation of the premises was because there was a security threat. In the first place, which agency of the Government issued this press release? Is it from the Office of the President or the Ministry of Interior or the Ministry of Justice? Or is it from the Inspector General of Police or the Chief of Defense Staff or the Director General of the NIA? Hence the fact that the press release did not specify which particular agency is responsible for the information means the APRC regime does not wish to be transparent and accountable. This is a violation of the rule of law and norms of our constitution.
Who was planning to burn down the IEC building? The press release did not identify any suspects and did not say if the suspects were arrested and charged. For the purpose of transparency and accountability, the regime should tell Gambians who the suspects were, and the nature of the threat. We know that in any case the Coalition under Adama Barrow will not have any interest to burn down the IEC building because they have won the election. The GDC under Mama Kandeh will not burn down the IEC building because they have accepted the results and congratulated both the IEC and Adama Barrow. What about the APRC? Yaya Jammeh rejected the results on December 9 and then rebuked the IEC as dubious. On December 13, soldiers occupied the building. Could he and the APRC have any motive to burn down the IEC? Yes indeed. Let his government speak the truth.
Why was the army and armed paramilitary forces under the Office of the President deployed to the IEC building and not the general duty police which is the legal security agency responsible for internal security? In the case where the army had to be deployed within the country, then it must be the case that the threat posed must be of an external or severe internal nature for which the police cannot contain. But the press release did not say how powerful the threat was and why it would justify the deployment of the Gambian military.
The press release went further to speak about ‘fake news’ and to give assurance of the peace and stability of the Gambia under the ‘leadership’ of Yaya Jammeh. What the government must realize is that we do not have an issue of fake news in the Gambia. Secondly there are no threats to peace and security of the Gambia. The only fake news is coming from Yaya Jammeh and his government as evidenced by this unclear and ambiguous press release.
Furthermore, the only person and institution that pose threat to the peace and security of the Gambia are Yaya Jammeh and his APRC Government. Since December 9, it is Yaya Jammeh who is issuing unconstitutional and violent statements and deploying armed soldiers into civilian populations and settlements around the country. These actions were not conducted by the opposition parties or the civil society organizations or the private sector companies or individuals. The only person and institution engaged in acts and threats of violence are Yaya Jammeh and the APRC Government.
In light of the foregoing, I wish to demand that Yaya Jammeh withdraws this press statement with immediate effect. Secondly, I demand that Yaya Jammeh addresses the nation to give full and clear information of the threats posed to the IEC and the reasons for the deployment of the military at the headquarters of the IEC. I call on all Gambians to join me to further call on Yaya Jammeh to identify what fake news he is referring to in his government’s press release so that Gambians can know what is fake and factual news in our country. Finally, I call on all Gambians to demand that in the interest of the peace and security of the Gambia that the press release mentioned that Yaya Jammeh withdraws his unconstitutional statement of December 9 and return to the position of his December 2 statement. This is the only way Yaya Jammeh and his APRC Government can convince Gambians that he is indeed committed to the peace and security of the Gambia.
Let me add that the Chairman and staffs of the IEC must refuse to enter the office premises until they obtain a clear debriefing from the government as to the circumstances of the military occupation of the office. Then the Chairman should convene a press conference to inform Gambians of the situation. This is important to protect himself and his staffs from any compromise or incrimination intended by Yaya Jammeh and the APRC Government. During the occupation of the premises no one knows what materials could have been removed or installed inside the building. Hence the IEC Chairman must take all necessary precaution to ensure his safety and integrity. No one should underrate a desperate and defeated dictator.
Finally, let all Gambians wake up and henceforth begin to listen well and read well to whatever statements coming from the outgoing Pres. Yaya Jammeh. Let us not allow smart propaganda to be imposed on us to believe what is not true and threatens national unity and security. This press release is nothing but fake propaganda intended for ulterior motives that are not told to Gambians. Therefore I call on all Gambians to totally and wholly and completely reject and condemn the contents of this press release as mere misinformation. Let us demand that Yaya Jammeh tells Gambians the true story.
Feignal. Kontiboo. Gonga. Transparency. Accountability. Probity. |
| Momodou |
Posted - 28 Dec 2016 : 13:20:23
By Madi Jobarteh
Building The New Gambia
Harnessing the Potentials of the Gambia Diaspora
As we move towards building the New Gambia with the installation of the new administration of the President-elect Adama Barrow on January 19, there is need for the new leadership to conceive of ways and means of rebuilding the Gambia after 22 years of mismanagement. One of the immense resources at the disposal of the Barrow Administration is the Gambia Diaspora. By World Bank and UN figures, a sizeable number of Gambian professionals, and skilled and non-skilled workers are residing outside of the country. The country needs this community in terms of their physical presence (permanent or temporal), skills, knowledge, resources and networks. The Barrow Administration must recognize and appreciate this and seek ways and means of tapping into the Gambia Diaspora to the fullest.
At the same time, the Gambia Diaspora must also conceive of themselves as an indispensable tool and resource for the rebuilding of the Gambia. This must be their fundamental objective. In other words, our Diaspora must be a source of skills, knowledge as well as material and financial resources for the development of the Gambian economy and society. Already the evidence of this is glaring as the Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs notes that remittances from the Diaspora alone account for up to 15% of our GDP. If such was the case under Dictatorship laden with bad or neglected polices and constrained institutions, what about in an environment of good governance and people-centred policies and efficient institutions. The future is bright!
A large number of Gambia’s sons and daughters are in the Diaspora with huge and necessary capacity in all aspects of policy and development. This capacities are required by the Gambia to reactivate the economy and generate employment, raise incomes and contribute to public coffers. In this way, the Diaspora would also be instrumental in improving lives and ensuring a sustainable and decent standard of living. It will enable the government to obtain the necessary resources to better chart the forward advancement of the Gambia. This would help to address the ills facing our society such as illegal migration, brain drain, weak governance and deep-seated harmful traditional ideas and practices.
Fundamentally both the Barrow Administration and the Diaspora should begin thinking in terms of the following areas, issues and tools.
1. The Diaspora must come together to identify and determine the resources and potentials that exist within them and how best these could be provided to the country.
2. The Diaspora must engage with the Barrow government and other stakeholders in the civil society and private sector on the ground to devise ways and means of collaboration for the revitalization of the economy and strengthening of civil society activism for good governance and human rights.
3. Many in the Diaspora have knowledge and skills that are necessary in the government, in our secondary and tertiary educational institutions, in the civil society and the private sector. We need to begin thinking how do we facilitate the transfer of these resources? Both the Diaspora and the government must work out cost effective means to do this.
4. There are individuals and groups in the Diaspora with the necessary governmental, academia and business contacts within the countries in which they reside which bear opportunities for the country. The areas where these opportunities are needed are in health, education, agriculture, community development, and capacity building as well as in the public and private sectors including the civil society, media and academia. How do we facilitate the transfer of these resources back home?
5. The Barrow government needs to consider the creation of necessary, relevant and smart policies, laws and institutions purposely for the transfer of technology, business, knowledge, skills and personnel within the Gambia Diaspora to bring back home.
6. The Gambia Diaspora has a longstanding presence in the various countries of the world as leaders and managers in various governments, international organizations, think tanks, universities, companies, academia, media, and various other industries as well as the development sectors. There is need for the Barrow government to consider ways and means of tapping into these opportunities for the benefit of the Gambia. These opportunities have the potential to generate employment, raise incomes and stem the tide of illegal migration. These are also opportunities that could reverse the wave of brain gain as the country’s professionals and experts outside would begin the process of relocation, permanently or temporally. This is brain gain.
7. The Gambia Diaspora is a constituency that can immensely add value to the governance of the country. With their diversity and experience in the various governance climates of the world, the Gambia Diaspora has therefore obtained huge experience and expertise in how best to govern and develop a society. Their longstanding experience of foreign governance systems and ways of life gives them unique opportunity to share and impact on the Gambian society in order to rebuild our motherland.
8. The Gambia Diaspora is a huge voice and a massive force to reckon with in the development process of the Gambia. The community has a direct stake and interest in the peace and stability of the Gambia. Hence engaging the Gambia Diaspora in a dedicated and principled manner will add value to our governance and development process as a whole.
9. The Gambia Diaspora is also a major source of tourism and cultural development. Many Diasporans have acquired foreign nationalities, have married non-Gambians and have children in foreign countries. Some Gambians are elected public officials in national, local, municipal and city governments in the various countries they reside. These Gambian families and officials should be able to visit their homeland which brings along with it revenue and enriched diversity for business, society and government.
10. Many Gambians have also set up their own private initiatives in business, media, academia and other industries. The Gambia therefore serves as an opportunity for expansion for their initiatives and businesses. Student exchanges and partnerships with Gambian educational institutions as well as twining of cities and towns are among areas to flourish in this environment.
The Diaspora of any country has been a potential for that country. Whether it is Israel or UK or the United States or Germany or Turkey or China as well as Senegal among others, the Diaspora has been an instrumental tool for all those countries that have indeed strengthened and secured their national development. Hence the Gambia Diaspora must also be seen and engaged on the same basis like those other countries. There must be well thought-out and dedicated mechanisms created by Pres. Barrow for the sole purpose of harnessing the immense potentials that lie within our industrious sons and daughters in foreign lands.
These mechanisms must not be politicized and self-centered or based on nepotism or favoritism. Rather these mechanisms must be driven by honest, objective and well-designed plans and institutions and managed by competent professionals for the purpose of serving only the national interest.
For the Gambia, Our Homeland! #GambiaHasDecided
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| Momodou |
Posted - 28 Dec 2016 : 10:36:05
By Mai Jobarteh
Building The New Gambia
Keeping them Honest and Accountable!
1. On December 1, the Managing Director of Gamtel severed all Internet and Telephony Services throughout the length and breadth of the Gambia for no justifiable reason. This action led to the creation of unnecessary anxiety and uncertainty in the country. It went to further cause unquantified economic loss to the country. Until now the MD of Gamtel did not tell Gambians why he chose to shut down the country at the most critical period in our history.
2. Since December 2, the Director General of GRTS has denied the elected leader of the Gambia access to the public media without any justifiable reason. Until now, the DG of GRTS have refused to tell Gambians why he continues to deny the president-elect direct and unfettered access to GRTS as the elected leader of the Republic of the Gambia and as a citizen of the Gambia.
3. On December 26, the Inspector General of Police has issued an unconstitutional statement denying Gambians the right to freedom to peaceful assembly, association and movement without any justifiable reason. The IGP must tell us why he has decided to break the law in violation of the rights and freedoms of Gambians.
We the People of the Gambia demand to know why these public officers have decided to abuse their power by infringing on our sovereign rights and freedoms with impunity by violating the constitution as follows:
1. Section 1(2) – Sovereignty of Gambians
2. Section 4 – Supremacy of the Constitution
3. Section 6 – Defense of the constitution
4. Section 17 – Protection of fundamental rights and freedoms of Gambians
5. Section 25(a) – Freedom of speech of President-elect Adama Barrow and all Gambians
6. Section 25(d) – Freedom of assembly and movement of Gambians
7. Section 25(e) – Freedom of association of Gambians
8. Section – 33 – Protection from discrimination
9. Section 208 – Responsibility of the State media to allow expression of divergent and dissenting views on GRTS
10. Section 222 subsections 1 – 8 and subsection 13 – Duties of a public officer
These are all sections of the Constitution that the MD Gamtel, DG GRTS and the IGP have individually and collectively violated.
Gambians beware that Section 6 Subsection 1 and 2 empower you to resist “reasonably justifiably” any person or authority, as a private citizen or public officer who seeks to suspend, overthrow or abrogate any part or the whole of the constitution. Such resistance is not a crime according to Section 6 subsection 3.
Furthermore Section 37 empowers you to go to the High Court to seek redress against the violation of any of the provisions from Section 18 to 33 by any person.
Meanwhile, we call on the MD Gamtel, the DG GRTS and the IGP to provide a truthful and full explanation for their unconstitutional actions that they have committed so far.
I am making this call by the powers vested in me by Section 6 of the Constitution to defend the Constitution. The next step left to me is to go to the High Court to seek redress. No more Dictatorship.
Leral. Kontiboo. Feignal. Warrugal. Accountability. Probity. Honesty. Patriotism.
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| Momodou |
Posted - 26 Dec 2016 : 16:39:54
By Madi Jobarteh
Building The New Gambia #GambiaHasDecided
Speaking Truth to Power
Statement By Bishop Hannah Caroline Faal-Heim of the Methodist Church to the Dictator Yaya Jammeh
"I ask your permission to speak truthfully. I ask your permission to speak truthfully and plainly to you… only you because I see you as a brother and we are all Gambians. I have not come here as the Chair of the Gambian Christian Council. In fact many people told me today not to come here, and all of us not to come because people are so angry with you.
I seek your permission with deep respect because the nation has been going through a very painful time. I don't know whether many people tell but they told me that I shouldn't tell you because I will be in trouble. But I know that you prefer the truth. That you prefer people to pray for you and we've been all praying for you and even if we get in trouble it is because we love you and because the Christian truth that we stand and say "Love God first with all your heart, mind, soul, strength, everything and love your neighbor than yourself". That is what has brought us here today.
I came here today not as the Chair of the Gambia Christian Council but because I am a member of the Christian Council. I came as a servant of the living God I serve and whose heart I want to follow all my life and that is why I have come and the others came too. We have come because you are our President no matter what and we feel that we have to come and hear you. We thank you that you have done that and we hear you.
The reconciliation you've talked about Sir, there are people who are deeply hurt. They said that it is you who is causing the conflict among the people and the country. They said that you are dividing us. They said that you have the guns and you are determined that whatever will come, you will use it against your own people. Well I am telling you Sir, they said if I tell you… if I speak the truth you will lock me up but I don't think you will. As a servant of the living God… I came here with the love of Christ to tell you, that your people, the people you are part of… you are part of us… because it is Gambia; that Gambia must be one, we must be one and we must all work for Gambia…
They said that now the election has taken place, you never had any intention of stepping down. You have conceded but you will not accept the results. You will not help the nation to have a smooth transition and you will be prepared to even fight and put the guns on the streets to stay in power in the Gambia… Sir, these are painful things, for all of us, painful for me to sit here and tell you but the people’s pain must stop. They must believe and trust you again as they used to trust you. They don't feel trust and they said the only place you can hear them is through the ballot box because they are afraid to tell you. They are afraid to tell you plainly what this nation feels. Everybody is feeling it and we don't want outsiders from ECOWAS to come here and tell us how we can be together as Gambians.
Every Gambian must be good for this nation, Gambia, and you as the son of Gambia and all Gambians must show that love together, fearing God and loving one another. They believe that you will not help Gambia to go forward because of the pain you feel, we all feel the pain. They are afraid! Some of the many people said they loved you, you were their friend but you are dividing the people and they no longer want to stand there because they don't understand you… It is a ‘new you’. Sir these are painful words for me to sit here and tell you because I respect you deeply…No matter what anyone will say, I know today they would have names for me but I am a servant of the living God before whom I stand, who called me to serve him in this capacity as the residing Bishop. I am the residing Bishop for every Gambian, no matter what you look like, your colour, who you are… my job is to pray for the nation and all the people, that is my work it is not politics. To bring the love of God to everyone and every day we pray for you, the whole nation and for every person, every farmer, every market woman, everybody including every soldier…
We pray that you will not raise your hands against the people you say you love and that we do not need outsiders to come and give us a smooth transition after the election. You yourself said that "I follow the will of Allah, I follow the will of God". Sir I want to honour you and I appreciate that I can come and dare to speak to you as the servant of the living God not fearing that you might be angry with me and even turn against me. I will rather you get crush with me but I will bring it to you… because the people love you and we love you, you are my brother in the Gambia. That will never change, the Gambia belongs to us, we were all born here and every Gambian must feel that they must be part of Gambia and work for Gambia.
We cannot be divided as a people. We cannot invite outsiders to divide us further but I am saying sir, the people said that it is you who is going to make all the fighting because you don't want to hand over in a smooth transition, allow a democratic process, then stand again for election and come back again when the people's heart healed. You know how many people are crying sir, because they are hurt and everybody is feeling this pain. Yes there are some people who are rejoicing. They said rejoice with those who are rejoicing but mourn with those who mourn. Mourn with those who mourn.
Sir I cannot tell you what to do because you have the fear of God in you and you also allied your relationship with Allah. I know that you've said you don't fear anyone, that is fair. What can mortals do for us…? Our confidence must be in God. So Sir I am coming here today despite every odds or whatever and I don't care what anyone is going to say. I am here and I thank you for giving me the platform for speaking what you might never hear from anybody else, that you need to hear. I realized that it is painful because you have loved this nation. It is painful to hear but it is God who is our healer, it is God who heals a nation. We can go and talk to the people about forgiveness and peace but it is God who changes the minds and hearts of men and women. It is God in his mercy who forgives us everyday and calls us to forgive one another.
Sir i don't have anything to give you… I have only God. I have nothing to give you only God and a brotherly love that you are a Gambian like me. I have nothing to give you but the people; the people are there Sir. They are there, even if they smile to you, they will not show you their heart… they are upset, they are angry and they said the transition is only you who can make it go smoothly. If you choose not to, you will be on the guns in the streets of the Gambia but we pray to Almighty God that it does not happen. Sir with deepest respect I have nothing more to say!" |
| Momodou |
Posted - 26 Dec 2016 : 12:09:13
By Madi Jobarteh
Building the Gambia Gambia
National Assembly: Time To Act!
As we draw closer to the end of term of the tenure of the outgoing president, yet he remains recalcitrant in accepting the verdict of the people, it is now time for the National Assembly to assume its constitutional responsibilities. All categories of the Gambian society have spoken in no uncertain terms and various groups have shown their open and unfettered support for Adama Barrow as the elected president of the republic. The entire Gambian population is now determined and prepared to defend our vote. The international community has similarly shown that they are fully behind the people of the Gambia by calling on outgoing president to step down. Yet the outgoing president continues to make ridiculous statements about the elections while filing an ill-informed petition to a non-existing yet illegally constituted Supreme Court, which intends to start sitting on January 10. Meantime ECOWAS, backed by the African Union and the United Nations and governments of the world, has indicated that come January 19 if Jammeh refuses to step down they will resort to the use of military force to end his misrule. Since December 9 they have been frantically engaged in diplomacy to avert conflict.
Now I ask, does the National Assembly wish to tell us that they are not aware of these developments in our country to the point that they have remained mute like a silencer? Given the fast approaching fateful January 19 day, and the continued refusal of Jammeh to see reason and abide by our constitution, the onus is now on the National Assembly as the only constitutional authority in our republican system with the capacity to bring sanity to the outgoing Pres. Jammeh and save the Gambia. I wish to put it to the members of the National Assembly that they have a duty to prevent a military conflict in our small but beautiful land by prevailing on the outgoing president to humble down with faith and respect the verdict of the people.
Advice The Outgoing President
Section 102 spells out the functions of the National Assembly and in that regard Subsection (a) empowers the National Assembly to ‘advise the President on any matter which lies within his or her responsibility’. The first responsibility of the president is to respect and defend the constitution. But on December 9, it is clear that Yaya Jammeh has reneged on his oath of office by flouting Section 6 of the constitution and intends to further violate Section 63(2). By these actions he has already violated his responsibilities under Section 17, which puts an obligation on the president to protect the fundamental rights and freedoms of citizens.
Hence the National Assembly must now rise up to its obligation to advise the president as per Section 102(a) to withdraw his December 9 infamous statement because it was unconstitutional, politically motivated with bad faith and endangers national security.
Vote of No Confidence
Failure of the president to heed to the advice of the National Assembly, the parliamentarians yet still have other powers given to them by the constitution to pass a vote of no confidence in the president under Section 63 Subsection 3. Hence the National Assembly still holds the key to our salvation and the prevention of armed conflict in our dear country. They must be seen to fulfil these solemn national duties.
Impeachment of the Outgoing President
Apart from a vote of no confidence and failure of the president to heed parliamentary advice, yet the constitution still gave powers to the National Assembly to impeach the president for misconduct. Section 67 Subsection 2 empowers the National Assembly to undertake impeachment proceedings of the president for misconduct, which are spelt out in Section 67 Subsection 1. The grounds for removal of the president under the first paragraph of this section are where he or she is found to cause ‘abuse of office, wilful violation of the oath of allegiance or the President’s oath of office, or wilful violation of any provision of this Consultation’ or if he or she misconducted himself ‘in a manner which brings or is likely to bring the office of President into contempt or disrepute’. Furthermore the second paragraph of Section 67 Subsection 1 also states that a president can be impeached for having ‘dishonestly done any act which is prejudicial or inimical to the economy of The Gambia or dishonestly omitted to act with similar consequences.’
Here again we can see that outgoing Pres. Yaya Jammeh has abused his powers, wilfully violated the oath of office of the president and flouted many other provisions of this constitution based on his utterances and actions since December 9. The deployment of soldiers into the offices of the IEC and the continued denial of media coverage to Adama Barrow by GRTS are additional actions that severely violate the constitution. Furthermore, by making GAMTEL to close down Internet and telephony services on December 1 coupled with the deployment of soldiers in combat readiness around the country without a state emergency or declaration of war, all constitute actions that damage the economy of the Gambia. These actions and utterances including his statements with the African Bar Association as well as statements by his associates, notably National Assembly Member Seedy Njie are major factors causing anxiety in the Gambia and slowing down the economy. Their statements by Yaya Jammeh and Seedy Njie constitute threats to the peace and security of the country as they peddled tribalism, threatened constitutionality and incitements to violence against certain individuals and communities. These are clear and justifiable grounds for impeachment.
Meet with the Outgoing President
In light of the foregoing, it is therefore utterly urgent and necessary that the Speaker of the National Assembly Abdoulie Bojang together with the Majority Leader Fabakary Tombong Jatta and the Minority Leader Samba Jallow and all the members demand an urgent meeting with the outgoing Pres. Yaya Jammeh to advise him to withdraw his December 9 illegal utterance. They should advise him to go back to his December 2 concession of defeat and promise to support the transition process. They should advise him to therefore reactivate the transition process and abide by the terms of the constitution for the inauguration of Adama Barrow on 19 January 2016.
Failure to heed to the advise of the National Assembly, I would call on the Speaker, the Majority and Minority leaders and all members to therefore invoke Section 63(3) to pass a motion of no confidence in him. They should follow this with invoking as well Section 67(2) to impeach him for gross misconduct.
Abandon Yaya Jammeh and Embrace the Gambia
In addition to the constitutional responsibilities placed on them, members of the National Assembly also owe it to their country as the representatives of their people to abandon Yaya Jammeh in order to prevent a violent conflict from erupting in the Gambia. I therefore call on all National Assembly Members to publicly isolate and disassociate themselves, individually and collectively from the outgoing president in the supreme interest of the Gambia, their motherland. All sectors of Gambian society have spoken, yet the National Assembly as an institution and as individual members have remained mute. Bear in mind that failure to play your part as effectively as you should but letting the country to plunge into conflict, then you should consider yourselves as accomplices in the crime against the Gambia. History will judge you as those sons and daughters who abandoned their motherland at her most painful moment in favour of a dishonest, unpatriotic, greedy and murderous tyrant.
Let us engage our National Assembly Members
I wish to call on all Gambians to impress on their National Assembly Members to realise that they are the direct representatives of the people hence they must be seen to uphold and defend the will of the people. Our will was expressed on December 1, and the National Assembly must realise that it is the most important national institution in the Gambia that cannot be seen to be a bystander in the affairs of the people. They must not aid and abet any attempt, project or individual who wishes to dilute and abrogate the will of the people. This is a solemn responsibility placed on the National Assembly by the constitution under Section 112 paragraph (a),
‘All members shall regard themselves as servants of the people of The Gambia desist from any conduct by which they seek improperly to enrich themselves or alienate themselves from the people, and shall discharge their duties and functions in the interest of the nation as a whole and in doing so, shall be influenced by the dictates of conscience and the national interest.
On the basis of this provision, and in the face of a looming national tragedy and in fulfilment of my constitutional responsibility and because of my love for country, I hereby call on the National Assembly to assume their national and constitutional responsibilities without delay. Failure to fulfil their historic and patriotic duty, they risk plunging the country into a conflict of far reaching consequences for which the people of the Gambia will neither forget nor forgive them forever and ever.
For the Gambia, Our Homeland.
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| Momodou |
Posted - 24 Dec 2016 : 17:17:13
By Madi Jobarteh
Building The New Gambia
Seedy Njie is Threatening National Security.
This is the fifth election since 1996 in which the outgoing president took part and won all the previous four elections amidst gross malpractices in direct contravention of our constitution, the electoral laws and the public order act. These four elections were heavily criticized by all local and international stakeholders because of the unorthodox practices of the APRC. Not only has the APRC won those elections based on abuse of incumbency, but also the regime ensured that it created specific laws for the purpose of ensuring its continued grip on power. The changes to the electoral laws such as removing the second round of voting, and increasing nomination and party registration fees were fundamental changes that gave undue advantage to the APRC.
It is a know fact that the outgoing president has directly and severely interfered with the independence and impartiality of the IEC for the purpose of ensuring his continued winning at the polls. We have seen how in fact the former chairman of the IEC Mustapha Carayol went on his own up to State House to register the outgoing president in 2011 when he was supposed to go to a registration centre like any other citizen. This is not to mention the fact that Mr. Carayol had held that position beyond the legal requirement. The opposition has on numerous occasions filed cases and complaints to both the IEC and the courts for a review of the electoral laws to no avail. This had even led to the opposition boycott of the 2012 parliamentary elections. Yet in all those four past presidential and parliamentary elections the APRC won without a complaint. The opposition did not petition as well.
Now that we have reached this stage, it is utterly disingenuous for the outgoing president to claim irregularities of the election simply because he failed to secure a win. He did not win simply because all of his malpractices failed to succeed. The opposition won because they put up a better strategy to counter the abuse of incumbency. Thus to have someone like Seedy Njie come to defend the unconstitutional action of the president by maliciously claiming that thousands of APRC voters were denied to vote poses a clear and present danger to national security. Seedy Njie must be told to stop fuelling incitements to violence in the country, but rather act like a patriotic and honest son of the land to tell Yaya Jammeh to respect the people’s verdict.
As someone directly involved in election observation in the Gambia since 2006, I can vouch that voting anomalies are quite limited in the Gambia. That is, in all the election observation missions I had led in this country, the incidence of voters denied to vote or forced to vote in any particular manner or ballot drums interfered with by IEC, party officials or security agents do not occur to any significant level. Even when many have claimed that the on-the-spot counting protected the vote, I wish to state that this is not a fact. In the Gambia, the ballot is very secure on voting day even when counting was conducted in selected counting centres. The ballot drums are transported in peace and safety and hardly did any ballot drum get tampered with in the process. In the counting centres, the process goes on quite smoothly and safely. Hence whether counting on the spot or at selected centres, I can confidently claim that this did not make any difference in the election result.
The key success factor of the opposition was the creation of a coalition and a dedicated campaign. The second element, which is the fundamental enabling circumstance, is the unbearable conditions of the misrule of Yaya Jammeh, especially since the April 2016 peaceful protest in which Solo Sandeng was murdered and many others raped and tortured. This was followed by the illegal incarceration of Ousainou Darboe and tens of his associates, and of course the unruly insults of Yaya Jammeh against a major ethnic group in the country, the Mandinka. These crude acts of atrocities and bigotry against a backdrop illegal religious and tribal declarations, corruption and destruction of lives and properties of innocent citizens have made Gambians to reach their limit for this regime. Enough is enough.
Thus for Seedy Njie to ignore these facts but seek to fabricate stories in order to aid and abet a merciless tyrant to continue his misrule in our country is a direct threat to the lives of Gambians and the existence of the Gambia as a nation. Seedy Njie must be urged to withdraw his statements and place himself on the path of saving his motherland for his own people, than to seek to aid and abet a tyrant who has been shunned and condemned by the whole world. If APRC voters did not vote, that is the fault of the APRC. Let Seedy Njie recall that in February 2016 when they held their congress in Kanilai, his party collected more than 265, 000 voters cards from around the country which were presented at the congress. Where are those cards? If the APRC lost those cards for some reason and could not get the owners to vote, then that is for APRC to endure with regret. In the first place it was illegal to collect voters cards from voters even before an election by any person or party. No one should surrender his or her voter’s card to any other person. Yet Seedy Njie and his unfortunate master, having failed to succeed despite their illegal and criminal electoral malpractices are now seeking to endanger the country at this late time of the day.
It was Thomas Sankara who had said that a soldier without political education is a virtual criminal. But I will expand that to say any citizen, who lacks political education is either a victim or a criminal. If such a citizen is a public officer like Yaya Jammeh or Seedy Njie, then such a citizen is a potential criminal. This is what Seedy Njie is exhibiting right now. We have an election, which went normal as every election in the Gambia since 1996. Yet, because they lost, Seedy Njie and the APRC have now become dishonest losers seeking to set our country on fire. APRC Governor Omar Sompo Ceesay and the Chief of Basse Hameh Krubally and the likes of Seedy Njie must stop abusing our communities by making them falsely claim that they were denied to vote. It is obvious to any Gambian that the IEC under no circumstances would ever interfere with APRC voters or officials.
Let those who are friends and families to Seedy Njie remind him that he is a very little uneducated and inexperienced boy in the school of life and therefore let him comport himself like a boy from a decent family. Let him not use his position to set his country ablaze for a man who does not worth it. Has Seedy Njie forgotten when this tyrant nearly jailed him with trumped up charges in 2010 only to be unceremoniously dropped? Yet Seedy Njie continues to act as a criminal for a criminal regime in pursuit of the selfish and illegal interest of a one man.
If Seedy Njie indeed had political consciousness he would have realized that since 1994 the sovereignty of the Gambia has been hijacked, our constitution flouted, and the state personalized by one man for his sole selfish interest. Seedy would have realized that one man had interfered with all state institutions and processes to the point that the independence and the sanctity of the legislature and the judiciary have been blatantly injured beyond repair. Seedy would have realized that the APRC regime has damaged every right and every rule in our constitution as well as directly and physically taken the lives of fellow Gambians with impunity. Only a citizen without political conscious would therefore seek to rationalize such a regime for the purpose of further entrenching it in our country. That is truly shameful and criminal.
Let us tell Seedy Njie to stop sowing the seeds of national disintegration! |
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