72 ministers in 15 years

As the years goes by, it is becoming increasingly difficult to remember the names of Gambians who have served the AFPRC/APRC regime of Yahya Jammeh in various ministerial positions since he came power in a bloodless coup.

by PK Jarju

A year hardly goes by without a secretary of state losing his/her job. Since July 22, 1994 a total number of 72 ministers/secretaries of state have served President Jammeh in various portfolios.

Out of the 72, 66 ministers/secretaries of state were sacked from their respective positions by President Jammeh. Four secretaries of state, Momodou Lamin Jobe, Joseph Henry Joof, Ann Therese Ndong-Jatta and Edward Singhatey resigned their posts.
Satang Jaw retired from her position as secretary of state for Education on health grounds.

Sanna Sabally, vice President of the AFPRC and Sadibu Haidara, minister for the Interior were arrested in January 1995 and jailed for allegedly trying to overthrow Jammeh. Sabally was released after completing his prison term while Haidara never made it out. He died in prison from 'high blood pressure' according to the state media.

Finance minister, Bakary Bunja Darbo fled the country after being implicated in the November 11,1994 alleged coup plot. His successor, Ousman Koro Ceesay died in 1995 a few days before the budget speech in a freak car accident. Many have accused the regime of having a hand in his murder.

Find below the full list.

1. Badjie, Ousman
2. Badjie, Fatim
3. Bah, Samba
4. Bajo, Lamin Kaba
5. Bensouda, Amie
6. Bensouda, Fatou
7. Bitaye, Musa
8. Bojang, John P.
9. Bojang, Momodou
10. Ceesay, Ebrima
11.Ceesay, Momodou Nai
12.Ceesay, Ousman Koro (killed)
13.Ceesay, Sulayman Massaneh
14.Cesay-Marenah, Kumba
15.Cham, Mamat
16.Colley, Angela
17.Dabo, BB
18.Dumbuya, Fasainey
19.Faal, Samba
20.Faal-Sonko, Amina
21.Faye, Sheikh Omar
22.Gai, Mass Axi
23.Garba-Jahumpa, Balla (Re-instated, sacked, re-instated)
24. Musa Bala Gaye
25.Grey-Johnson, Crispin (Re-instated, sacked)
26.Haidara, Sadibou
27.Hydara, Sheikh Tijan (Re-instated, sacked)
28.Jagne, Baboucarr Blaise
29.Jallow, Momodou Sarjo
30.Janneh, Amadou Scattred
31.Jarju, Manlafi
32.Jatta, Baboucarr
33.Jatta, Famara
34.Jobe, Maba
35.Jobe, M. L. Sedat (resigned)
36.Joof, Joseph Henry (resigned
37.Jow, Satang (retired on health grounds)
38.Kassama, Yankuba
39.Keita, Margaret
40.Macdouall-Gaye, Neneh
41.Marong, Mustapha
42.Mbai, Fafa
43.Mbenga, Musa
44.Mboob, Sulayman Sait
45.Mbowe, Tamsir
46.Mendy, Dominic
47.Ndong-Jatta, Anne Therese (resigned)
48.Omar Ndow (sacked less than a week)
49.Ngum, Alieu
50.Njie, Bakary
51.Njie, Malick
52.Njie, Omar
53.Sabally, Sana
54.Sallah, Abdoulaye (Re-instated, sacked)
55.Sallah, Hassan
56.Sallah, Momodou (Silabai)
57.Sanneh, Kanja
58.Sanneh, Sidy Morro
59.Sanneh-Bojang, Nyimasata
60.Sanyang, Kebba
61.Sarr, Samsudeen
62.Secka, Pap Cheyassin
63.Sillah, Musa
64.Singhatey, Edward (resigned)
65.Sisay-Sabally, Hawa
66.Sock, Raymond
67.Sonko, Bolong
68.Taal, Bai Mass
69.Tambajang, Fatoumatta
70.Tambedou, Bemba
71.Touray, Yankuba (Re-instated, sacked again)
72.Waffa-Ogoo, Susan

War on the Press

The recent arrest and prosecution of Pap Saine, Ebrima Sawaneh, Sarata Jabbie, Abba Gibba, Pa Modou Faal, Emil Touray, Halifa Sallah and Sam Sarr by the dictatorial regime of Yahya Jammeh is indeed very worrying.

by PK Jarju

The prosecution of these journalists can best be described as a war against the press and freedom of thought in the country. It exposes the harsh and atrocious climate in which Gamban journalists are operating and we must all therefore join hands with the Gambia Press Union (GPU) in putting pressure on Dictator Jammeh to drop all bogus charges against these journalists.

Since coming to power, the Jammeh regime has been launching a sustained assault on the journalism community. Even though Freedom of Expression is guaranteed by Section 25 of the 1997 Constitution and further protected by Article 9 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples Right (ACHPR) and Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), the regime of Yahya Jammeh does not recognise Freedom of Expression as a fundamental human right.

It sees journalists as opponents and enemies of Gambia's progress. And as a result, Gambian journalists are being persecuted left right and centre which include arrest and long detention, torture and murder. Journalism is today the riskiest profession in the country.

In its determination to to keep the Gambian people in a perpetual state of darkness and passive subjugation, the Jammeh regime have repeatedly used its rubber stamp National Assembly to enact repressive legislation. The amendments to the Criminal Code, which broadened the definition of libel and imposed mandatory prison sentences of six months to three years for offenders without the option of a fine is an example.

These legislation are seriously inhibiting work of the private media and journalists. Today in the Gambia, it is almost impossible for a newspaper to publish an article that is critical Yahya Jammeh and his administration. All private media houses and journalists in the country are practicing self-censorship due to fear of persecution.

The Gambian media has suffered for far too long and we have to say enough is enough. We have to let Yahya Jammeh know that he does not love the Gambia more than anyone of us. We all love our country and we all have a right to speak our minds on the state of our country.

Jammeh needs to realise that Gambian journalists are not his enemy. We don't hate him in person and we don't criticise him because of his tribe. We criticise him because of the disgraceful way and manner in which he is governing the country. Also, our criticisms of his regime are not in anyway geared towards causing instability, but to save the Gambia from sliding into a conflict situation.

The Gambian media is one big family and we see the prosecution of Pap Saine, Ebrima Sawaneh, Sarata Jabbie, Abba Gibba, Pa Mdou Faal, Emil Touray, Halifa Sallah and Sam Sarr as an attack on all of us.

We are aware of our responsibilities as the eyes and mouth pieces of the Gambian people and the persecution we are going through will not in anyway make us abdicate those noble duties to the people. The Jammeh regime may be able to inflict its conditions on us, but it cannot prevent us from exposing its ills to the public.

As I have always stated, our desire, our instinct to oppose brutality and repress freedom of thought in the Gambian will never be quenched. Of course it can be forced to keep quiet at times, when the repression gets worse. But instinct remains, and will always remain and when the circumstances becomes a little bit favourable, it will raise its head again. The desire to be free is one of the fundamental human desires.

Long live the Gambian media, long live the Gambia Press Union.
For comments, write to papak196@yahoo.co.uk or info@allgambian.net.

Not worth celebrating

On July 22, the Gambia will be commemorating the 15th anniversary of the military coup which brought President Yahya Jammeh and his AFPRC/APRC regime to power.
by PK Jarju

The ceremony which will be held at Arch 22 in Banjul will cost the poor Gambian tax payers millions of Dalasis which could be better spent in improving their poor living conditions and services.

The anniversary is not worth celebrating because Jammeh and his cronies committed treason by overthrowing the democratically elected government of Sir Dawda Kairaba Jawara. The revolution we were told, was conducted by the soldiers to eradicate rampant corruption, nepotism, favouritism and retrogression. We were also told that the coup was justifiable because the 30 year old regime of Sir Dawda was rotten and not fit for purpose.

However, 15 years on, there are no meaningful changes in the Gambian society. Corruption, bribery, nepotism and favouritism are still very alive if not more well rooted in the Gambian civil service. Jammeh and his associates are unaccountable and are living a flamboyant lifestyle at the detriment of the people. Whatever was bad during the Jawara era is at its worst state.

The revolution we were again told, was conducted to give power back to the people as well as to restore public confidence in government. Instead, the Gambian people are governed by a dictatorial regime that does not give a monkey to the rights of the people and the rule of law. The regime have eroded the civil liberties of the citizenry including the right to freedom of speech and assemble.

Its does not believe in democracy which is a government by the people through elected representatives, political, social or legal equality. Power in the Gambia is vested in the hands of the head of state who sees himself as a master of the people.

The head of state is controlling every facet of the Gambian society and the fate of Gambians are no longer in their own hands. Gambians cannot start a business or find work without paying bribes. Opposition sympathisers cannot find work in any government department or public sector without joining the ruling party. Journalists and activists cannot criticise the regime without being killed, arrested, torture or prosecuted for sedition.

The regime have snooped into the lives of the Gambian people and violated their space. Our movements are restricted by numerous military check points. We cannot wear a yellow t-shirt without being accused of being UDP supporters. We can be arrested and tortured by the NIA for whatever reason without having a right to seek redress in court.

We are today living in a Big Brother state and everyone is living in a state of fear. We are all afraid of our ruler because he can do anything to us. The Gambia which was previously known as a land of no problem is now a land of big problems.
Despite being in power for 15 years, Jammeh still wants to remain president despite the deleterious effect his rule is having on the lives of the people. Part of his desire to remain in power is due to greed and fear. He is afraid of losing his wealth and power and being dragged before a court of law for the despicable human rights abuses he has committed.
You can see this when you take a deep look at him. Jammeh is very afraid of the future and it is driving him insane. The fear in him sometimes turns to hate, which often gives him a desire to harm anyone he sees as a threat by using his ever loyal security officers.

The July 22 revolution is not worth celebrating because it have not succeeded in alleviating poverty in the country. The gap between the rich and the poor is wider than ever and many Gambians are continuing to be born in poverty, grow up in poverty and die in abject poverty.

Also, I don't believe that the July 22 revolution have registered significant success to be worth celebrating. Of course, many will disagree with me. The reason being, the Jammeh regime have built schools, airport, roads and health centres. To these people, the mere building of schools and roads is a sign of Gambia's development.

We should not measure development the number of infrastructures built by the regime but how well the average people Gambian is. It is misleading to call the Gambia developed while over 55 per cent of the country's population is living on less than one US Dollar a day.

Secondly we need to remember that the building of basic services is the responsible of government. That is what our taxes are meant for. Therefore, the Jammeh regime is not doing us any favour as it is our money.

Thirdly, we should not only focus our attention on quantity but on quality. Has the building of many junior and senior secondary schools increase the quality of education in the country? The answer is No. Has the building of health centres reduced the number of death from preventable diseases? The answer again is No. Have the Jahally Pacharr project minimised the importation of rice? You answer that question.

I therefore think that the only people who should be celebrating the July 22 anniversary should be Jammeh and his associates. The revolution have made them the most powerful and richest Gambians. Take for instance, Jammeh was a poor guy prior to the coup. Today, he is the richest Gambian owning millions of Dalasis, lands, aircraft, companies, nature reserve among others.

How he attained all this wealth is very questionable because he could never be able to acquire all these assets with his salary and allowances. Let him explain to us in the name of accountability and transparency how he acquired them.

To conclude, I think that it would far far better if the money being set aside to commemorate the revolution is use in creating job opportunity to the thousands of school leavers who are hanging at the beach sides and ghettos.

For comments, write to papak196@yahoo.co.uk.