Stop making a fool of yourself

Gambia’s Justice Secretary has made a fool of herself when she told members of the National Assembly that the Jammeh regime is not responsible for disappearance of my colleague, Chief Ebrima Manneh.

When Marie Saine-Firdaus was called to the bar some years ago, I felt glad. Her beaming face on that day was full of hunger, hunger to serve a country we all love and call home.

Today, as I punch my computer keyboard, every respect I had for her has gone out of the window.

Forget about Pap Cheyassin Secka and Joseph Joof. Ms Saine is the worst Justice Secretary the country has seen. Since her appointment, Ms Saine as government adviser on legal matters has turned blind eye on gross human rights violations being meted out on poor Gambians by Jammeh and his thugs.

Jammeh is also using the Justice Ministry office to draft draconian laws that are giving more and more powers to the president through state instruments instead of the people.

Ms Saine has forgotten that the Ecowas Court of Justice passed its judgment in favour of Chief Manneh based on the evidence of eye witnesses who were present at the time of his arrest. The evidences of these witnesses were never contested by the Jammeh regime despite numerous requests by the regional community court.

If the Gambia government is indeed innocent of the charges, then why did it refuse to cooperate with the ECOWAS court?

Former Daily Observer MD, Saja Taal, admitted that he reported Chief Manneh to the authorities after he tried to publish a story authored by BBC's Elizabeth Blunt on the AU Banjul meeting that was critical of Jammeh.

Ms Saine needs to know that Gambians are not small children to be fooled around. So instead of making a fool of yourself, politely ask Jammeh to re-unite Chief Manneh with his aging father- that is, if he is still alive. The old man is crying himself to sleep everyday and waiting for the return of his son.