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Momodou
Denmark
11634 Posts |
 Posted - 23 Dec 2022 : 22:40:30
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Like a yesteryear Gambia…
By Mustapha-Swandi K. Darboe
In 2013, a guy called Bai Mass Kah— at the time a staff of Foroyaa newspaper— was arrested. His crime was that he told an NIA informant to “paste the photo of the President (Yahya Jammeh) on the sky…)”
Clearly Bai made Jammeh angry. His supporters too, for what was seen as his apparent assault on the ‘Nasirudeen’ and ‘Babili Mansa’. Well, as you guessed it, making Jammeh angry is not an offence under the laws. Thankfully, he had Gambia’s security architecture who serves—at least by their reputation—at the will of the President.
They found a charge for Mass. They made a mess of his life for what was a total expression of vengeance with zero connection to upholding of the law.
Momodou Sabally faces a similar fate today. For anyone with a simple understanding of Mandinka, it is preposterous to ascribe the audio he published to showing an expressed intent to overthrow a government. “Overthrow” is not in that audio!
In what I am made to understand was a meeting with bunch of UDP TikToks, Sabally was simply talking about how his party is going to take grounds, politically, from Adama Barrow. First, he started with a charge that they claim UDP is a party whose supporters are insulting people on social media. I made the following rough transcription:
“… They are accusing UDP of insulting people. But those who are insulting people on TikTok are known. You know them and we know them... It is now your responsibility to show the people what UDP really is. It is a party of respect, truth and peace. And that is what we will continue to show.
“We will no longer sit and watch anyone sell an agenda likening the UDP with an agenda that is not the behavior of the UDP supporters… WE WILL DO A MASSIVE AGGRESSIVE CAMPAIGN… Massive, aggressive, recruitment drive. That is what we will do. WE WILL TAKE THE COUNTRY FROM ADAMA BARROW EVEN BEFORE THE ELECTIONS. Even before the local government elections.
“What they are doing is disinformation, and misinformation to ruin the reputation of the UDP… ‘We will do this until its smokes at State House’. We will do it POLITELY but it will be intense…”
https://fb.watch/hBKpR-d4x9/
First, Sabally said they will do a massive campaign and take, in a metaphorical sense, the country from Barrow. A coup is an illegal takeover of a government with the use of arms. It is preposterous to even faintly suggest that one could campaign to stage a coup. A country is made of people. When you win their heart, you have taken the people. When you take the people, you take the leadership position...
Any supporter you take from a Barrow-endorsed candidate in the coming local government elections, is a supporter you take from Barrow. A local government election is a total and direct vote of confidence on Barrow’s leadership.
Excuses like it is not time for presidential elections and he is saying they will take the country from Barrow is ridiculous. That is a bias and I must add a deliberate interpretation of the facts in the audio to serve an unjustified end.
Moreover, he was directly campaigning on a party platform. The audience is UDP TikTokers. The platform is UDP. That is CLEAR in the audio. Who will take over? UDP. Any interpretation is a stretch of one’s imagination. Not backed by facts. So, one cannot isolate Sabally and ignore the context and the language. One would be creating your own facts away from reality.
In the subsequent conversation after the quote above, he talked about how they will win the local government elections. I think that is why he was arrested. He used the expression “amang maalu amang silaa”, referring to the President. Do I think that language is appropriate? No. But I am not the law.
But like Mass and Jammeh, Barrow’s anger, as may be the case, is not a violation of the law. It is his business and he will take a sip of water and go and sleep. Sabally’s arrest is a complete manipulation of the law. It has nothing to do with a coup. Except if the police officer who listened to it to reach an opinion that Sabally is talking about a coup is COMPLETELY ignorant of Mandinka…
There is absolutely no ambiguity about the motives of Sabally in that audio, if one listens to the full one. It is not surprising that the police went and published a redacted one which fits this ridiculous narrative. He even said they will do the metaphorical ‘takeover’ of government in ‘kuluwo kono’ (with discipline). How do you overthrow a government in ‘kuluwo kono’? what means does Sabally have to overthrow a government?
Clearly, this is an abuse of rights by a bunch of people who have shown deliberate intent to use the law in complete BAD FAITH. That is not justice. That is vengeance.
Sabally is nothing but a political prisoner! His rights to free speech are being deliberately denied by people paid and fed to protect it.
What kind of ***** goes to announce a coup on TikTok? Is that the level of intelligence at the Gambia Police Force?
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A clear conscience fears no accusation - proverb from Sierra Leone |
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Momodou
Denmark
11634 Posts |
Posted - 23 Dec 2022 : 23:26:21
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STATEMENT CONDEMNING THE CONTINOUS DETENTION OF SABALLY
I am deeply concerned with today’s developments regarding Momodou Sabally. Mr. Sabally was arrested on Wednesday 21st December 2022 and detained in police custody.
I learn with utter shock, concern and disappointment that the Attorney General’s Chambers today filed an ex-parte application seeking the detention of Mr. Sabally beyond the mandatory 72 hours expressly prescribed by the Constitution of The Gambia 1997.
Shortly after Mr. Sabally’s arrest on Wednesday, he was interrogated by the police serious crime/major crime unit in which he cooperated and even wrote a statement. That was the last time he was questioned by the police even though he continues to be under their custody. He was neither questioned yesterday nor today. This begs the question, what is the purpose and rationale for keeping Sabally in detention when the police do not seem to have any further questions for him? It is my opinion that if the police had a substantive and compelling case against Mr. Sabally, they would have either charged him or continue to interrogate him. He is not charged with any offence. Therefore, what is so profoundly exceptional and cogent to justify seeking a court order for his continuous detention? In this instance, Mr. Sabally continues to be detained, yet, he is not interrogated apart from the first few hours of his arrest.
Section 19(3)(b) of the constitution, on the protection of right to personal liberty, expressly provides that any person who is arrested or detained, on reasonable suspicion of having committed an offence or about to commit an offence under the laws of The Gambia, SHALL be brought before a court without undue delay, in any event, within 72 hours.
The constitution is the supreme law of the land. It is also the embodiment of the ideals and social, political and legal contract between the state and the citizens, from whom the state derives its sovereignty. That social contract is articulated in Chapter IV, on the protection of fundamental rights and freedoms. Section 17 of the constitution states that fundamental rights and freedoms enshrined in it MUST be respected and upheld by all organs of the Executive and its agencies, and shall be enforced by the courts in accordance with the constitution. The Police and Attorney General’s Chambers are both members of the Executive.
In January 2022, General Saul Badjie and others were arrested and detained without any criminal charge(s) preferred against them. The AG’s Chambers relied on an existing Practice Directive to seek their continuous detention, just like the instant case of Mr. Sabally, however, the High Court in February 2022, held that it was illegal to do so in the absence of a formal charge. The Practice Directive the State relies on clearly states that such an application shall only be brought where a person is held on a charge.
In Mr. Sabally’s case, it is my opinion that there is no legal and or justifiable basis for his continuous detention. The authorities are aware that the 72 hours will expire at 17:00 tomorrow. Even though Mr. Sabally is not charged, an ex-parte application is made to court by the AG’s Chambers to circumvent and usurp a mandatory provision of the constitution that is enshrined to protect fundamental rights and freedoms. It is my opinion that this is a deliberate and well-calculated exercise and it is an abuse of the law and the court process to achieve objectives that are not consistent with the letter and spirit of the constitution.
The Gambia Police Force, both in the Police Act and the constitution, are the primary custodians of preserving law and order and the enforcement of all laws and regulations with which they are charged. The Attorney General’s Chambers/Ministry of Justice is the principal legal adviser to government. The responsibility on both institutions is quite onerous and should be exercised with utmost good faith, sound judgment and impartiality, in the interest of all citizens, regardless of political affiliation.
The TRRC’s key mantra is Never Again. Never Again in terms of genuine institutional and transformative pursuits. State institutions capitulated under Jammeh and justice sector institutions acquiesced. The lessons from the TRRC are all too fresh and haunting to forget even before the ink is dry on the final report. We must be guided by justice and fairness. Fundamental rights and freedoms are sacrosanct in any democracy. The state is the primary duty bearer of these rights and freedoms. We cannot and we will not allow state institutions to be used to unfairly victimise and subjugate citizens just because we may have differing political opinions.
Mr. Sabally’s arrest and unreasonably prolonged detention is abhorrent. Today’s application is purposely designed to restrict his civil liberties and bypass a compulsory constitutional provision. Today it is Sabally. Tomorrow it could you. Collectively, we have a moral and political duty to challenge any semblance of abuse of power, especially by institutions assigned the primary responsibility of enforcing and upholding the law. We kept quiet for far too long and it resulted in entrenching and emboldening Jammeh. This time, I will use my wig and gown to defend the integrity of the constitution and the laws of the country and progressive democratic ideals that we legitimately expected following the removal of Jammeh through the ballot-box.
In conclusion, I state that the continuous detention of Mr. Sabally is an affront to democracy and respect for constitutional supremacy. I urge the authorities to do the right thing. In terms of today’s decision to legalise Mr. Sabally’s detention beyond 72 hours, I will challenge this decision and seek appropriate legal remedy in a court of competent jurisdiction.
Abdoulie Fatty
Counsel for Momodou Sabally |
A clear conscience fears no accusation - proverb from Sierra Leone |
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