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kobo
United Kingdom
7765 Posts |
 Posted - 04 Apr 2013 : 03:21:33
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1 Foroyaa News Editorial: Published on Wednesday, 03 April 2013;
BEGGARS BEWARE OF THE BILL CLASSIFYING YOU AS ROGUE AND VAGABOND
Written by:Ousman Njie
"The crime in the statute books entitled ‘rogue and vagabond’ has been repealed by many modern states that have established a welfare system to minimise the degradation caused by poverty.
In the Gambia, there are no provisions for the unemployed to receive unemployment benefits. People depend largely on charity and the extended family for support.
Section 167 of the Criminal Code which deals with Rogue and Vagabond is to incorporate the following if the National Assembly members allow the bill to pass: Amendment of Section 167 (1).
Section 167 of the Principal Act is amended by inserting immediately after paragraph (d) the following new paragraphs-
(e) any person who being able wholly or in part to maintain himself or his family wilfully neglects or refuses to do so;
(f) any person who wanders abroad or places himself in any street or public place to get or gather alms or encourages children to do so;
(g) any person who has no settled home and has no ostensible means of subsistence and cannot give a satisfactory account of himself;
(h) any person who in any street or public place or within sight or hearing of any person therein disturbs the peace by quarrelling or attempting to quarrel or by using any insolent, scurrilous or abusive term of reproach;
(i) any person who in any street or public place or within sight or hearing of any person therein with intention of annoying or irritating any person sings any scurrilous or abusive songs or words whether any person be particularly addressed therein or not;
are deemed to be idle and disorderly persons, and are liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding D25,000.00 or imprisonment for a term of five years or both."
2. RELATED BANTABA TOPIC HIGH COST OF LIVING IN GAMBIA NOW
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Edited by - kobo on 04 Apr 2013 03:25:02 |
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toubab1020
12306 Posts |
Posted - 04 Apr 2013 : 20:37:41
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Kobo,I am really shocked that such a law is being considered,everyone who visits Bantaba has I assume gained some in depth knowledge of The Gambia and seen for themselves the problems that the physically disabled in particular are subjected to,the situation is far from ideal with no welfare benefits available,what are these people to do other than to gather alms ? D25,000 fine or 5 years in prison,"deemed to be idle and disorderly persons, and are liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding D25,000.00 or imprisonment for a term of five years or both." I very much doubt if there is a beggar in Gambia who has access to D25,000 to pay a fine,it is true there is a problem in Gambia regarding begging but this proposal is taking a very big hammer to crack a nut,I hope common sense will prevail and some other way will be found to deal with this problem.
The same penalty for arguing, annoying,quarreling or worse still ATTEMPTING to quarrel.
Be circumspect members of the National assembly,would any good Muslim want such a Bill to become law?
This proposed bill appears to be in direct conflict with the information contained in the report by The point,in which The Gambian Government entered into a four agreement with the UNs agencies:
Have a read,this new law appears to be in direct conflict with the newly signed agreement of which I am sure all the Members of the National Assembly are fully aware:
http://thepoint.gm/africa/gambia/article/gambia-signs-mou-with-un-agencies-on-social-protection |
"Simple is good" & I strongly dislike politics. You cannot defend the indefensible.
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Edited by - toubab1020 on 04 Apr 2013 20:56:25 |
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toubab1020
12306 Posts |
Posted - 17 Apr 2013 : 23:07:45
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I suppose that there is certain amount of modification in this revision:#
"The Act also provides under Section 167 that any person who being able wholly or in part to maintain himself or his family willfully neglects or refuse to do so; any person who in any street or public place or within sight or hearing of any person therein with intention of annoying or irritating any person sings any scurrilous or abusive songs or words whether any person be particularly addressed therein or not, are deemed to be idle and disorderly persons, and are liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding D25, 000 or imprisonment for a term of five years or both."
http://thepoint.gm/africa/gambia/article/criminal-code-act-amended-to-reflect-political-realities |
"Simple is good" & I strongly dislike politics. You cannot defend the indefensible.
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kobo
United Kingdom
7765 Posts |
Posted - 23 Apr 2013 : 04:05:06
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1. MAAFANTA.COM WITH D.A. JAWO;
2. FOROYAA NEWS: EDITORIAL;
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Edited by - kobo on 23 Apr 2013 04:24:56 |
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kobo
United Kingdom
7765 Posts |
Posted - 24 Apr 2013 : 04:17:03
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Foroyaa Burning Issues News: Published on Tuesday, 23 April 2013;
HALIFA WRITES TO THE ATTORNEY GENERAL
Written by:Halifa Sallah
"Attorney General and Minister of Justice
AG Chambers
Ministry of Justice Marina Parade
AMENDMENT CRIMINALISING DRESS AND OTHERS NEGATES THE DIVIDING LINE BETWEEN MINOR CRIME (MISDEMEANOR) AND MAJOR CRIME (FELONY) AND VIOLATES SECTION 33 OF THE CONSTITUTION
Having been a parliamentarian you may understand why I have taken interest in the debate of the members of parliament on the motion you submitted to the National Assembly relating to the amendment of the Criminal Code.
The Constitution holds that every Bill has policy implication and must be introduced for a purpose. Section 101 has made it abundantly clear that a Bill to be introduced into the National Assembly must be accompanied by an explanatory memorandum setting out in detail the policy and principles of the bill, the defects which it is intended to remedy and the necessity for its introduction.
I must say that I am still scratching my brain to find out how criminalising begging, homelessness, quarrelsomeness, prostitution and other status of the wretched of the earth could put an end to their way life. In fact once society implements such a law without reservation and put all beggars, quarrelsome persons and prostitutes in prison it would dawn upon all policy makers that it is more expensive to society to maintain them in prison than to use rehabilitative and restorative measures to address any social menace that is a derivative of poverty and low level of social awareness thus dis-empowering the person to be able to engage in constructive social discourse.
However, I do understand that my intervention is becoming rather late since the Bill is already passed and is waiting for Presidential assent and publication in the Gazette to become law. My concern is twofold. I would want your office to particularly review, on one hand, the penalties associated with crimes classified as misdemeanor which to me are excessive and on the other hand, the provision that criminalizes males wearing what is referred to as female attire because of its failure to be constitution compliant. In actual fact I would recommend that whole amendment be shelved for further discussion by the National Assembly through refraining from according it presidential assent.
The first observation is that, sentencing a person above two years for a minor crime or Misdemeanor is to eradicate the thin line between minor crimes and the major crimes classified as Felony. According to Section 3 of the Criminal code “felony” means an offence which is declared by law to be a felony or, if not declared to be a misdemeanour, is punishable, without proof of previous conviction, with death, or with imprisonment with hard labour for three years or more; ” Misdemeanor according to the same section “means any offence which is not a felony” Notwithstanding the issue of hard labour, it is my view that any imprisonment for more than three years would certainly be excessive for a misdemeanor. This is further corroborated by Section 34 of the Criminal code which stipulates: “When in this Code no punishment is specifically provided for any misdemeanor, it shall be punishable with a fine or with imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years or with both such fine and imprisonment.”
However the amendments in the penalties for the misdemeanors are as follows:
1. For the offence of impersonating a public officer contrary to section 93, the penalty has been increased from 3 years in prison to a fine of D50,000 or 5 years in prison or both;
2. For the offence of giving false information to a public servant contrary to section 114, the penalty has been increased from 6 months in prison or a fine of D500 to 5 years in prison or a fine of D50,000;
3. For the offence of being “idle and disorderly” contrary to section 167, the penalty has been increased from three months to five years or a fine of D25,000 or both. A male attired in the fashion of a female could serve imprisonment under section 167 for a term which may extend to five years or with a fine of D20,000 or with both.
Five years imprisonment exceeds what I would classify as a misdemeanor. You would agree with me that the law could only be an instrument of justice if it is bereft of vengeance in its effect. Transgression and retribution must be balanced and proportionate if the law is to speak the language of justice. This is the first point.
Secondly, Section 33 of the Constitution states that “all persons shall be equal before the law.” Subsection (2) of this section adds that “Subject to the provisions of Subsection (5), no law shall make any provision which is discriminatory either of itself or in its effect.”
A review of the amendment dealing with male attired in the fashion of a woman reveals that if it becomes law it would be discriminatory of itself and in its effect and would therefore be unconstitutional.
The provision to be added to section 167 reads: “….Any male person who dresses or is attired in the fashion of a woman in a public place or who practices sodomy as a means of livelihood or as a profession shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to five years or with a fine of D20,000 or with both.”
It is very clear that the law is directed at males and what is meant by a male attired in the fashion of a female is rather vague. These are my humble observations and I hope you will take them into consideration. By a copy of this letter I am requesting the President to open up a dialogue with you as his principal legal adviser on these two issues in particular and further look into the general thrust of the Bill to determine whether it merits his assent. I strongly propose that assent be withheld and the Bill be returned to the National Assembly for further review after National debate is opened on its merit.
While anticipating a high grade consideration of the views expressed I remain Yours in the service of the people
Halifa Sallah" |
Edited by - kobo on 24 Apr 2013 04:29:41 |
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kobo
United Kingdom
7765 Posts |
Posted - 02 May 2013 : 20:56:00
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1. FREEDOM NEWSPAPER EDITOR PA NDERRY MBYE MADE ANOTHER SCOOP BY EXPOSING JUSTICE MINISTER LIVE ON RADIO INTERVIEW AS Published on Tuesday, 30 April 2013;
Gambia’s Justice Minister Says He Will Repeal Laws Banning Begging And Caricature In The Gambia If A Posing Australian Investor Funds Legal Aid
"As the conversation proceeds, Jobarteh became too demanding. He also asked if we could help build more court houses for the government and also fund his ministry’s staff overseas educational expenses. Jobarteh said the government’s goal is to help make justice accessible to all and sundry."
"Mr. Jobarteh said one of the main reasons why the law banning begging was passed was as a result of the increasing poverty in the country. He said once the money to eradicate poverty is provided by our organization, through the Ministry of Justice, he will expunge the law from our law books. “I will repeal the law. Yes,” Jobarteh said in response to a question whether he was going to consider repealing the newly passed law."
"Mr. Jobarteh reaffirmed that he is willing to repeal the newly passed laws if our organization is prepared to send him money to pursue his projects for the Justice Ministry. He said he has no problem of meeting our demands. "We need money to build more courthouses. We need money for legal aid," Jobarteh said."
When told that before we could fund some of the projects he mentioned, "we would want him to consider repealing the laws banning begging and artistic caricature in the Gambia, Jobarteh agreed. But he cautioned that repealing the laws right now might not tell well on the government—given the fact it was not long ago that it was passed in Parliament. Jobarteh assured us that he was going to repeal both laws in due course once the funds for the projects has been wired."
"Mr. Jobarteh said he was going to be in Ghana on May 10, and he hopes to return to Banjul around the 15. He agreed to meet the posing Australian investors on May 20. He also said he was going to make arraignments for the investors to meet with Yahya Jammeh." More information
2. KIBAARO NEWS;
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Edited by - kobo on 03 May 2013 06:13:23 |
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