For the past few weeks The Gambia and Gambians have been preoccupied with the strange story of unknown and unidentified people engaged in hunting witches and cleansing them of their devilish disposition. Banjul, the Kombos, the Fonis and Niumis have so far been the areas in which the witch hunters have operated or been operating.
The average Gambian believes that witches and witchcraft do exist. Labelling any person a witch attaches to such person stigma that he/she will live with for the rest of his/her life and this stigma continues to stick to all members of that person's family particularly his children.
Those involved in the ritual of administering whatever stuff it takes to expose a person as a witch and those aiding and abetting them by giving them full protection against resistance are not only committing the crime of abduction and/or kidnapping but they are also defaming the character of so-called witches.
It behoves the Government of The Gambia through the law enforcement agencies to arrest this horrible and un-heard of situation which is causing extreme uneasiness in every part of the country. Any responsible Government would on the first time that the issue of witch hunting came into the public domain mount the necessary investigation and apprehend those involved in these criminal activities. The inaction of the Government is incomprehensible in the face of revelations that unmarked vehicles under the control of security agents have provided escorts for the so-called witch hunters.
It is regrettable that those who are expected to investigate the veracity of this saga of witch hunting are now obstacles and hurdles for the unearthing of the truth.
The arrest of Mr. HALIFA SALLAH the spokesperson for the National Alliance for Democracy and Development and a member of the Editorial Board of Foroyaa and his subsequent arraignment before the Banjul Magistrates Court are a naked misuse of the power to arrest and the criminal justice process.
The United Democratic Party condemns in no uncertain terms Mr. Sallah's arrest for the reasons revealed to us in the media. His arrest is nothing but an affront to democracy and the right of every Gambian to receive information on what ordeal if any the victims of the witchcraft hunters went through.
The United Democratic Party is concerned that Mr. Sallah has been indirectly denied bail because the conditions of bail imposed by the court are so onerous as to amount to a denial of bail. It is regrettable that the administration of criminal justice in The Gambia is being exposed to ridicule and suspicion by the imposition of bail conditions such as the surety being the rank of a retired Inspector General or Brigadier General.
The United Democratic Party with other individuals and organizations that firmly believe in the free and unimpeded flow of information stand in SOLIDARITY with Mr. Sallah in this trying times for justice and rule of law. The United Democratic Party does not only call for Mr. Sallah's bail conditions to be reviewed and replaced with conditions that will augur well for his fair trial.
The United Democratic Party
Secretariat
11 March 2009
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