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Momodou
Denmark
11851 Posts |
 Posted - 22 Dec 2016 : 12:17:03
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Chief Justice presides over APRC petition
By: Bruce Asemota
The Point: Thursday, December 22, 2016
 The Chief Justice, Justice Emmanuel O. Fagbenle, yesterday presided over the civil case involving the Alliance for Patriotic Re-Orientation and Construction (APRC) against the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) and the Attorney General and Minister of Justice.
The petition, filed by Bala Garba Jahumpa, the APRC Secretary General, at the Supreme Court of The Gambia calls on the country’s apex court to declare the 1st December election null and void.
The petition also urged the court to declare “Yahya Jammeh the duly elected president of The Gambia, instead of Adama Barrow”, adding that Yahya Jammeh had “more votes than Adama Barrow” in the 1st December 2016 election.
The petition stated that the 1st December election was “invalid as [there was] non-compliance with the Elections Act”, that “it was not conducted fairly and in good faith”, and that the non-compliance seriously affected the credibility of the result of the election and thereby rendering the result invalid.
The petition further stated that the IEC, which is the statutory body responsible for the proper conduct of elections in The Gambia failed to properly collate the results of the election.
On 2 December 2016, the IEC declared the results and then, on 5 December, it declared a different result having noticed some errors.
It said no APRC representative was present when the said revision was made, neither was it signed by the APRC representative, Hon. Seedy S.K. Njie.
It further stated that on the polling day, the of 1 December 2016 in the Upper River Region; “25,000 APRC supporters who were on the queue to cast their vote for Yahya Jammeh were intimidated by the IEC presiding officers, and were not allowed to cast their vote and were sent home by these officers”.
The petition further stated that the non-compliance also includes complaints of some irregularities in the conduct of voting in the Lower Fulladu West constituency.
During the court sitting yesterday, the Chief Justice Fagbenle disclosed that the Supreme Court was not properly constituted as it did not have the quorum of five Judges, but that the Judiciary was expecting judges from the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the Republic of Sierra Leone.
He said some Supreme Court judges were appointed since July 2016, and would be coming to attend the next court sitting.
The Chief Justice further said the IEC were not served with the notice of yesterday’s proceeding, but would endearvour to serve the IEC before the next sitting.
The matter was then adjourned until 10 January 2017, for hearing.
The APRC was represented by veteran lawyer Edward Gomez and the Attorney General and Minister of Justice was represented by the Solicitor General and Legal Secretary, Saffie Sankareh.
Meanwhile, Mayor Yankuba Colley of the Kanifing Municipal Council led the APRC delegation.
It would be recalled that the Supreme Court of The Gambia had its last sitting in May 2015 under the stewardship of the Pakistani Judge, Nawaz Chowhan.
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A clear conscience fears no accusation - proverb from Sierra Leone |
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Momodou
Denmark
11851 Posts |
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Momodou
Denmark
11851 Posts |
Posted - 23 Dec 2016 : 12:39:00
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Chief Justice Presides Over APRC Election Petition
By Mamadou Dem
Foroyaa: December 22, 2016
http://www.foroyaa.gm/archives/13491
 The Chief Justice of The Gambia, Emmanuel O Fagbenle, on Wednesday, 21 December, 2016 in his chambers presided over a chief-justicepetition filed by the ruling party, Alliance for Patriotic Re-Orientation and Construction (APRC) against the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC).
The petition is challenging the outcome of the December 2 Presidential Elections which declared the opposition coalition as the winner.
When the case was called for mention, Barrister Edward Gomez announced his representation for the petitioner Alliance for Patriotic Re-orientation and Construction (APRC) while Saffie Sankareh, Solicitor General and Legal Secretary and K- Tah Kimbeng appeared for the 2nd respondent (Attorney General). However, the 1st respondent, Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) weren’t in court.
The clerk of the court confirmed to the Chief Justice that the IEC weren’t served with the petition. Consequently, the Chief Justice ordered for the IEC to be served without objection from both parties and subsequently, the matter was adjourned till 10 January, 2016 for further mention and hearing respectively.
The remarks of the President of the Gambia Bar Association that there are only two supreme court judges while the court requires five judges to preside over the petition generated much discussion on the matter by the public. The Chief Justice had something to say about it.
According to Justice Fagbenle, the Judiciary had appointed judges from Nigeria and Sierra Leone respectively since July 2016 and they are now waiting for the Judicial Service Commissions (JSC) of the said countries to release them to The Gambian Judiciary; adding that it was already time for Presidential elections in The Gambia that’s why they couldn’t bring the judges but they’ve already notified them to come. As a single judge, “I can sit over interlocutory matters,” said Justice Fagbenle.
Justice Fagbenle further said that the judicial system of The Gambia has a structure and for the past years they’ve been securing judges from the sub-region, namely Ghana, Nigeria, Pakistan amongst others. He said Ghana one time intimated to the Gambian judiciary that they can’t release judges to The Gambia due to “shortage of personnel.”
Regarding subsequent proceedings he said that after all parties have filed their briefs of argument the matter would be further mentioned again.
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A clear conscience fears no accusation - proverb from Sierra Leone |
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Sister Omega
United Kingdom
2085 Posts |
Posted - 23 Dec 2016 : 21:39:34
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Games over Jammeh!
From the time someone concedes defeat and swears to abide by the results. Regardless of a few rectifiable mistakes in counting the vote as the IEC admitted to doing.
It is blatantly clear to all Barrow won the first passed the post elections.
The world is not sleeping.The Gambian people have voted Jammeh out. His mandate finishes on 18th January 2017. His self appointed judges need to think about their Careers, as a job belongs to an Employer. However a career belongs to the individual. Career Politicans need to understand the job of President is also a job with a term limit not for life.
Regionally the majority of Heads of State stick to a two term Presidential limit. 22 years is a long shot.
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Peace
Sister Omega |
Edited by - Sister Omega on 23 Dec 2016 22:06:50 |
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Momodou
Denmark
11851 Posts |
Posted - 24 Dec 2016 : 11:16:03
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A.P.R.C Chief Justice
quote:
"The disgraced Chief Justice and head of the Judiciary wearing APRC Cap and T-Shirt. Well, people be your own judges now. Should this man preside over the election petition filed by the APRC??? I think this man has lost all credibility and he should therefore resign or recuse himself from the Jammeh Petition to avoid further damage to his already tarnished image.
This picture must go viral"
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A clear conscience fears no accusation - proverb from Sierra Leone |
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Momodou
Denmark
11851 Posts |
Posted - 29 Dec 2016 : 14:23:33
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By Erima Sillah
Yahya Jammeh offering $250 000 to Highway Judges to thwart the popular will of the Gambian people. And he is aided by his Scam Artist Chief Justice 419 Fagnbele, a Nigerian
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Gambia’s Chief Justice, 419 Scam Artist Fagnbele, is on a frenzied but so far unsuccessful effort in his home country of Nigeria to line up a team of judges to preside over the election petition put forward by outgoing president Yahya Jammeh demanding the annulment of the December 1st presidential election which he Jammeh lost to opposition coalition leader, H.E. Adama Barrow (now President Elect.)
All the four Nigerian law court justices approached so far by Fagnbele have turned down citing a likelihood of long term reputational damage to their career. In fact one of the judges, whom I have the opportunity of knowing while I was working in Nigeria, has taken the unusual step of revealing details of a private conversation and he has no regret over it. He is worried that even before the judges could hear the merit of a case as important and contentious as the current petition case by Gambia’s ruling party, they the judges are being offered $250 000 under the carpet should they return a verdict favorable to iron fist dictator, Yahya Jammeh.
I understand that three other senior judges approached so far by Fagnbele, have turned down the offer because they believe that the Gambian president is covertly hiding behind the law to force judges to carry out an unconstitutional act. The judges who rejected 419 Scam Artist Fagnbele’s offer fear that either way the verdict goes, there is possibility that the Gambia may slide into chaos.
With time running out and with no credible judges wanting to be associated with the illegal attempt of Fagnbele to thwart the will of the people, he is now resort to recruiting fellow scam artists…..most of them lawyers with tainted and questionable reputation to serve as judges to decide the outgoing President Jammeh’s petition. In fact we are made to understand that the lawyers that Fagnbele is courting are those who hardly even get cases before law courts.
It has to be understood that currently Fagnbele is embroiled in a conflict of interest case in the Gambia where while serving as a Chief Justice, he is also operating an expensive private school which is housed in two landed properties in Brusubi, about ten kilimetres from the capital Banjul.
The two landed properties that house 419 Scam Artist Fagnbele’s school have been put in the market for sale and records from two local banks of Nigerian ownership in the Gambia show that the Chief Justice has applied for a loan of six million dalasis (about $150 000) to purchase the properties. A senior official of one of the local banks has raised an ethical concern of the loan application by 419 Scam Artist Fagnbele on the grounds that the two banks from now on could approach the Chief Justice for the bridle use and misuse of the justice delivery system should they the banks have cases in any of the courts.
These are the kind of criminals running our dear country the Gambia. Luckily good Nigerians of reputable standing such as the likes of respected human rights lawyer Femi Falana have sent out a stern warning that serious consequences await any member of the Nigerian bar association who partakes in the illegal attempt by Yahya Jammeh to use the courts to subvert the will of the Gambian people.
We have also contacted our network of activists and campaigners in both Ghana and Sierra Leone to mount pressure on their local bar associations in ensuring that they distance themselves from a lonely dictator’s attempts to further impose himself on the downtrodden people of the Gambia.
Meanwhile, we are urging the staff of the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) not to accept government’s decision for them to return back to their office. When Yahya Jammeh unilaterally sealed off the offices of the IEC, nobody was informed of it.
Yes the armed soldiers who were on guard at the premises of the IEC have disappeared. But it’s a bait. The IEC should not fall for it. Dictator Yahya Jammeh wants to desperately serve the court sermons on the IEC because they are a party to the petition case before the Supreme Court. But since the IEC offices were under lock and key, Jammeh is at his usual form of deceit again by lying that the IEC office was sealed because of reports that the building was to be burned down.
But we know that it’s all part of the game plan that is meant to tie the hands to the commission to this illegal court case at the Supreme Court. The dictator wants to impose himself on Gambians through any means necessary. We will not accept that.
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Chief Justice presides over APRC petition
