Where is Chief Manneh?

Its many years now since Chief Manneh was abducted. Chief is the bread winner of his family and his old man is crying himself to sleep everyday. His family is waiting every day and night for him to come home but his abductors are still holding him to satisfy their desires.
Why? Why? Why for Christ sake?

Chief is an innocent bloke. So gentle that he cannot hurt a fly. Let him go please.

Can anyone break the silence and tell his old father whether his son is alive or death.

Gov't responsible for Kanyiba's disappearance

Gambia’s largest opposition party, the United Democratic Party (UDP), has insisted that the Gambian government is responsible for the missing UDP leader Kanyiba Kanyi.

Reacting to claims by President Yahya Jammeh that his government is not responsible for the missing UDP official, the party's leader, Ousainou Darboe, told PANA here Wednesday that plain cloth security personnel, who identified themselves as National Intelligence Agency operatives, were responsible for the arrest and subsequent detention of Kanyi from his Bonto village on 18 September 2006.

He said the UDP had refrained from making a public statement on the issue because it was before the court.

“It will be irresponsible to do so because the matter is before the court and it is a matter of (regret) that the President, who should be the pacesetter in observing basic rules, has used the occasion of the celebration of a military ov erthrow of a democratically-elected government to make unsavory remarks on Kanyiba and his tribe,” Darboe said.

He explained that Kanyi was arrested along with his brother, Wandifa Kanyi, by the NIA, and the two brothers were taken to the premises of the NIA.

Darboe said that Wandifa was released from the custody of the NIA on 19 September 2006, while Kanyiba was not.

He said the UDP official was arrested and detained to keep him out of circulation during the 2006 presidential election campaign, because he (Kanyi) was a formidable youth mobilizer.

The UDP leader also said former Interior Minister Babucarr Jatta had accepted responsibility for ordering the arrest of Kanyiba and Ousman Jatta.

PANA

Gambia press freedom worst in W.Africa -watchdog

Attacks on press freedoms in Gambia are the worst in West Africa, a press watchdog said on Wednesday amid mounting criticism of the country's case against six journalists charged with sedition and defamation.

Seven journalists were held last month following a statement by the Gambia Press Union which was critical of the government's treatment of journalists, particularly after the unexplained killing of veteran reporter Deyda Hydara in 2004.

Charges against one journalist were dropped last week and the remaining six are being tried having been granted bail.

"Repressive legislation, arbitrary arrests and generalised fear - nothing is spared the country's few independent journalists," Jean-Francois Julliard, secretary-general of watchdog Reporters Without Borders, said in a statement. "The press freedom situation in Gambia is the most serious by far in all of West Africa ... Daring to express an opinion or criticise the authorities is immediately regarded by the government as an attempt to besmirch the country's image."

The journalists, who are facing a total of six charges linked to sedition and criminal defamation, appeared in Banjul's high court on Wednesday.

Those arrested include three members of the Gambian Press Union, two reporters from The Point Newspaper and two journalists working for Foroyaa Newspaper. One of the journalists for The Point, Pap Saine, also reports for Reuters.

A previous charge of false publication against Saine, which had been dropped in April, was re-opened and then dropped again this week.

The Vienna-based watchdog International Press Institute (IPI) also reiterated its call for the journalists' release.

Rights groups frequently accuse Gambia of clamping down on the press and media freedom watchdogs say the death of Hydara has never been properly investigated by Gambian authorities.

They accuse authorities of using threats, arbitrary arrests and torture against journalists in the tiny west African country best known as a tourist destination for Europeans.
REUTERS

Dalasi & Butut:strong>Dalasi Strengthens Against Dollar on Forex

The Gambia’s local currency was stable against the greenback on the interbank market but gained against the US currency on the parallel market this week. On the interbank market, the local currency was quoted at D26.63 against the dollar but was up by 73 bututs against the UK Pound to close at D43.00 and appreciated by 12 bututs against the Euro to D37.38. Against the CAF Francs, the local currency lost D1 and was quoted at D275.

On the parallel market, the Dalasi appreciated by 12 bututs against the US Dollar to D26.63 but depreciated by 15 bututs against the UK Pound and was quoted at D43.35. the local currency also lost 60 bututs to the Euro to close at D37.30 but posted a 4 bututs appreciation against the CFA Francs to close the week at D274.

Trading on the international currency market the US Dollar was upbeat against the Euro, the Pound and the Yen. The greenback was up by 1.25 per cent against the Pound to $1.60 and appreciated by 2.21 per cent against the Euro. The dollar also exchanged hands against the Japanese Yen at Y92.50 following a gain of 0.22 per cent.




Instruments Post Declines

Treasury instruments traded on the floor of the Central Bank of the Gambia moved southwards this week. The 91-Day Bill dropped 41 basis points from 12.18 per cent and is currently quoted at 11.77 per cent while the 182-Day Bill was also re-rated downwards by 38 basis points from 12.62 per cent and is trading at 12.24 per cent.

Towards the longer-dated arm of the market, the 1-Year Note shaved off 50 basis points. The Note, which was quoted at 14.85 per cent closed this week at 14.35 per cent.

Company News
Skye Gets CBG Nod
Skye Bank Gambia Limited, a subsidiary of Skye Bank (Nigeria) Plc, has been issued a license to conduct business in the Gambia by the Central Bank of the Gambia, according to a press release issued by the Banking Regulator. The license brings to thirteen (13) the number of commercial banks operating in the Gambia.

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.

Journalists Plead Not Guilty

Courtesy of The Point

The seven journalists: Ebrima Sawaneh, Pap Saine, Pa Modou Faal, Sarata Jabbi-Dibba, Ebrima Saidykhan, Sam Sarr and Bai Emil Touray who are on trial at the Banjul High Court today pleaded not guilty to all charges preferred against them.

The journalists who were charged with five-count charges ranging from seditious publications, conspiracy to publish seditious publication and criminal defamation now have their charges increased to six.

When the case was called for hearing, following their not guilty pleas, the prosecution applied for the case to be heard in camera for the fact that the witnesses to testify are all state security agents and their names and identities should not be made public. This, the defence did not object to, but Sam Sarr who is representing himself, but he was overruled and the application was hence granted by the presiding Judge, Justice Joseph Wowo.

Meanwhile the case was adjourned to the 20th July 2009.

God save our Gambia

by PK Jarju

Last evening, I got the opportunity to again watch Sorious Samura's internationally acclaimed documentary on the dirty Sierra Leonean war, Cry Freetown .

Disturbing images of mutilated dead bodies, missing hands and feet, burnt down buildings and vechiles, cries of rape victims, torture victims, tears of orphaned children, parents without children among others hunted me all night and after putting my children to bed, I tip-toed quietly down stairs and performed a silent prayer for the Gambia.



I prayed not for Almighty Allah to bless our little country with mountains of gold and silver, but to save it from sliding into a violent conflict situation like Sierra Leone .



I prayed for the Gambia because I am deeply worried about what the future holds for our dear motherland.



The country under Yahya Jammeh is following the footpath of countries like Sierra Leone , Guinea and Liberia . Despotism, irresponsible governance, violations of people’s rights and freedoms, lack of respect for the rule of law among others were some of the key reasons for the outbreak of the brutal civil wars we all witnessed in these countries and elsewhere in Africa and our country's leadership is doing exactly the same things.



For over a decade now, the Gambian people are being held hostage by a brutal dictator who is governing the country like his personal estate to deal with as he pleases. In his desire to remain president for life, Jammeh have given himself unlimited powers, which he don't know how to use and is pushing the Gambian people to the wall.



Blinded and absolutely corrupted by his powers, Jammeh thinks he as president, has the right without any basis in Gambian law to label anyone a criminal, saboteur or detractor and then lock him up in Mile Two Prisons and throw the keys into the River Gambia.



Like many African dictators, Jammeh is using his security officers to do his dirty work. He believes so much in the might of his officers and is giving them the blessing to commit serious human rights abuses against the citizenry to ensure his continuous stay in power.



Believing in the military strength of his armed forces, Jammeh thinks that he can do anything under the sun to the Gambian people and gets away with it.



Like Lord Voldemort in the Harry Potter series, Jammeh thinks anything he does is in the best interest of the country and whoever stands on his way must be sacrifice for the greater good. He does not care whose feet he steps on.



Jammeh himself once admitted this on television when he said: "I will not hesitate to kill 99.9 per cent Gambians and go to sleep if it is in the interest of the country."



Almost every Gambian now have a close or distant relative who is either killed, exiled, arrested, tortured or sacked from his job for one unexplained reason or the other. Our name as the Smiling Coast of Africa has disappeared. We are no longer a beacon of hope. We are not being governed according to the motto - peace, progress and prosperity that are on our national coat of arms.



Jammeh does not have any sense of reasoning. He thinks the best way to respond to anyone who opposes his brutalities is to kill, arrest and torture or exiled if they are lucky.



As a former soldier who was thought to obey every order, Jammeh often forgets that he is president of a 'democratic' country, where people have a right to say no. And as a result he has transformed our country to a sorry state.



The situation in our country is getting worst by the day and the Gambian people are getting fed up. They complain every day in their homes, bantabas, street corners and market stalls about the evil deeds of the Jammeh regime.



It our responsibility as Gambians to do anything we can in order to save our country from becoming another Sierra Leone . We have to remind Jammeh of his responsibilities as president of 21st century Gambia and the need to govern the people according to the dictates of the 1997 constitution, which he swore in the name of Almighty Allah to respect.



The Gambia is our only home and we should not let Jammeh to continue destroying the future of our young generation.

Press Statement: ECOWAS Court dismisses Gambian government objection

The ECOWAS Community Court hearing the case of torture brought by Musa Saidykhan, a Gambian journalist against the operatives of the Gambia’s notorious National Intelligence Agency (NIA), on June 30, 2009 dismissed the preliminary objections raised by the Gambian government, the defendant in the case.

According to the Community court, Saidykhan is a citizen of West Africa and that the court is mandated by the ECOWAS protocol to hear human rights violation cases brought before it.

On the legal remedies, the three- member panel overruled a claim by the Gambian government that the plaintiff (Saidykhan) failed to exhaust the local remedies by making reference to its protocol authorizing it to hear cases by citizens of member states without having to exhaust remedies in local national courts.

The Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) in November 2007 brought the suit on behalf of Saidykhan in order to seek justice for him and also bring relief to many other Gambian journalists who had suffered similar fate and have escaped into exile for fear of repression

Commenting on the ruling Shola Egbeyinka, a member of the legal team of Saidykhan hailed the court’s ruling saying it is a boost for media freedom and would go a along way to protect journalists in the west African-sub region.

Marie Saine-Firdaus, the country’s Attorney General, represented the Gambian government, who had previously boycotted the proceedings of the Court on two occasions.

Saidykhan, editor-in-chief of The Independent, a banned bi-weekly Banjul-based newspaper was arrested on the night of March 27, 2006, by a combined force of armed soldiers and policemen in his home and taken to the notoriously feared NIA headquarters. He was held incommunicado for 22 days without any charge. During this period he was tortured until he became unconscious. The continuous torture left scars on his back, legs, arms, and his right hand, which was broken in three places.

The court fixed October 28, 2009 for the commencement of the trial.

Issued by the MFWA, Accra on June 30, 2009.

The MFWA is a regional independent, non-profit, non-governmental organization based in Accra. It was founded in 1997 to defend and promote the rights and freedom of the media and all forms of expression.

For further information, please Contact:
Prof. Kwame Karikari
Executive Director
MFWA
P.O. Box LG 730,
Legon
Accra, Ghana
Tel 233-21 242470
Fax 233 -21 221084
Email: mfwa@africaonline.com.
Website: www.mediafound.org

GPU-USA steps in

Dear Friends,

On behalf of GPU-USA, I wish to declare our unflinching and unconditional support of the statement issued by the Gambia Press Union, Banjul, regarding Jammeh's cynical remarks about murdered Gambian veteran journalist Deyda Hydara.

In a recent ranting on the issue of Mr. Hydara's murder, Jammeh cynically said that those who want to know who murdered Deyda should go ask Deyda. This uncharitable and uncouth statement is further testimony that Jammeh has become so intoxicated with power that he can no longer tell day from night.

Regarding investigations into Deyda's brutal murder, the GPU-USA's position is that Jammeh should be held personally responsible unless and until evidence to the contrary is revealed.

Thank you.
Baba G. Jallow
Secretary General, GPU-USA

The coup plotter

part II

After carefully patching up Lt Sanneh's wounds, the medical officer started throwing insults to his patience, whom he accused of being very ungrateful.



"H.E. promoted you people and made you what you are today but you young boys have betrayed him. You want to overthrow. Do you think we will allow you young boys to succeed," the man said.

Lt Sanneh started to protest his innocent and that the medical officer should call his superiors so that he could explain to them, but was told to shut up.



Sometime around mid-day, Lt Sanneh's cell was opened again. This time, five heavily armed entered and escorted out into the back of a waiting military pick-up. More soldiers jumped into the back of the pick-up and as it headed towards Banjul, one soldier wearing a balaclava placed his foot on his temple while the others started kicking and insulting him.


When they got to the Mile Two Prisons, the prison gates were immediately opened and the vehicle passed through. When it stopped, five men carried him to a prison section he recognized immediately as the maximum security wing. Thinking that he was about to be executed, he said a silent prayer. A prison warden open the door of a dark cell and Lt Sanneh was thrown in and the door was bolted.
xxxxxx
Around 2pm that afternoon, a rumors of another coup started spreading fast like wild bush fire across the Greater Banjul Area.



At Eight O'clock that night, families gathered around their television sets to watch the GRTS news......

Good evening and welcome to the news, I am Neneh MacDoull-Gaye presenting. Soldiers of the Gambian National Army this morning foiled a coup plot organized by some elements of the Gambia National Army led by State House commander Lt Landing Sanneh and Lt Almamo Manneh, a Logistic Officer at State House.



As the pictures of the two Lieutenants were displayed, the newsreader continued....Lt Almamo Manneh was killed on the Banjul-Serrekunda Highway. Lt Manneh was on his way to Banjul on the early hours of this morning to mobilize some support when his car was intercepted on the way by a group of soldiers. He refused to surrender and open fired at the soldiers who were sent to arrest him. There was a shootout in the process of which he lost his life.



Lt Sanneh on the other hand, the newsreader said, refused to come out of his house when the soldiers when to arrest him. He refused to surrender and started shooting at the soldiers. When the soldiers insisted to carry out their orders, Lt Sanneh threw an explosion at them. The soldiers returned fire and in the process, he sustained some injuries which are said to be not life threatening. He is currently helping the authorities in their investigation.



The Department of State for Defense wishes to inform the general public that the situation is under control and there is no need for panic.
xxxxx

Minutes after the arrest of Lt Sanneh and the killing of Lt Manneh, many soldiers believed to be close associates of the two men were arrested while at work or in their homes.


The following morning around 9, Lt Landing Sanneh was pick-up from his Mile Two cell where he spent a sleepless night on the concrete floor. He was driven under heavy escort to the NIA headquarters in Banjul for question.



With handcuffs on his hands, he was ushered into an interrogation room where he was met by team of interrogators from the NIA, military Intelligence and police. Among the men, he recognized Inspector Aziz Bojang of the police force and Pierre Mendy of the National Army.


His interrogators began by asking him about his involvement in a coup plot and what role he played. When he told them that he had no knowledge of a coup, the interrogators said he was lying. They promised to help him if he cooperate with them by giving them the information they need. A piece of paper was given to him to write a cautionary statement. His request for a lawyer was flatly turned down.



Still in handcuffs, Lt Sanneh managed to write a short statement in which he strongly denied taking part in a coup plot. His interrogators described the statement he wrote as rubbish and threw it in the bin.



They played a micro-cassette tape for him which they said was recorded during a clandestine meeting he had with some soldiers regarding the coup. Although the voice of the tape was not clear, his interrogators said it was him detailing the plan of the coup.


Lt Sanneh quickly denied taking part in such a meeting and that the voice in the tape was not his. Again his interrogators said he was lying.



By 2pm, his interrogators went for lunch. Before they left, they told him to make up his mind and say the truth or else they would deal with him. They reminded him that they have been very gentle with him because they knew each other since their days in the barracks.


When they returned, their mood changed. They became hostile. And when he wrote the same statement denying any involving in a coup, the NIA director-general, Muniru Darboe told him cooperate with the interrogators and save himself from suffering.



That evening, Mr Darboe was schedule to have a meeting with the President in Kanilai. President Jammeh who was expected to make a televised statement was residing in Kanilai at the time as his offices in Banjul were being renovated.

Realizing that Lt Sanneh was refusing to cooperate, some of the his interrogators pulled out their pistols and threatened to kill him. They told him that they would kill him like a dog and no one would say anything to them.



When he told them that he don't know what to write as he knew nothing about the coup, his interrogators said they have all the information about the coup. The information they said was passed to them by Lt Sanneh's deputy commander at State House, Ousman Sonko. Sonko was said to have been among the ring leaders of the coup but later changed his mind.

His interrogators told him that hence he claim to knowing about the coup, he should write down their version of the coup plot. This was dictated to him by Inspector Aziz Bojang. Writing down was being dictated his interrogators told him was the only thing that will keep him alive.



When he finished writing what was being dictated, the interrogators asked him to sign it. When he refused they got mad and started torturing him. One of the men pushed the pistol into his mouth, and threatened to blow his brain.



Realising that his interrogators were serious with their threats, Lt Sanneh agreed to sign the statement. A man sitting in the waiting room was brought to be an independent witness. With his hands shaking, he appended his signature at the bottom of the paper and told the interrogators that the weakness of a man is not in his hands but in his mind.

With the results he wanted held firmly in his hands, Muniru Darboe, took the front seat of his car, which his driver started immediately. They were on their way to Kanilai.

In Kanilai, President Jammeh was briefed about how the men's planned to execute the coup and how it would have resulted in many deaths and destructions. With anger, he addressed the Gambian people.

GPU-USA FUNDRAISING FOR CHIEF EBRIMA MANNEH

Dear Friends,

The Gamnbia-Press Union USA Branch has embarked on a fund raising exercise to help the family of disappeared Gambian journalist Chief Ebrima Manneh.

Because Chief Manneh was the main bread winner for his parents, wife, siblings and other members of his extended family, the family has fallen into very hard times since Manneh's arrest and disapearance almost two years ago. We understand that some of the children in the family have drooped out of school because the family can no longer afford to pay their school fees.

Most urgently, we understand that the Manneh family is in need of food and other assistance to keep it going during these difficult times.

Beacuse of the urgency of the situation, GPU-USA is immediately sending the family $500 to help alleviate their current suffering. We are working on getting hold of the leadership of our parent body back home through whom we will get the funds to Chief Manneh's family.

Meanwhile, we have also embarked on a fund-raising exercise to further help the Manneh family in the coming weeks and months.

In this connection, we are asking all Gambians and friends of The Gambia to please help us raise more money to get more help to Chief Manneh's family in these difficult times.

Checks for whatever amount you are able to contribute should be written/made out to GPU-USA Treasurer Joseph Sambou and mailed directly to him at 8046 South Kimbark Avenue, Chicago, IL 60619.

REMEMEBR, NO AMOUNT IS TOO SMALL TO HELP OUT. Please send out your contributions to Mr. Sambou preferably within the next week.

Thank you and God bless you all.

Signed on behalf of the GPU-USA

Baba Galleh Jallow
Secretary General

Halifa Concern with Gambia's Political Climate

Courtesy of Foroyaa


Halifa Sallah, a prominent political figure and the current Director of People’s Centre for Social Science, Research, Civic Awareness and Community Initiative held a press conference on 11th June 2009 at the People’s Centre in Churchill’s Town.
The press conference is in connection to the present Governance situation in the Gambia. Mr. Sallah expressed his opinion that there exists a vacuum in the Governance structure which he believes each responsible citizen has a duty to fill.

He said that the country is demanding for an alternative voice so that not only one voice is heard, that is, the voice of the government. He said he is taking the personal responsibility to ensure that this alternative voice is heard loud and clear.

Mr. Sallah said that from now onwards he will be dilating on civil, political, economic, social and cultural issues which are relevant to the people and propose alternative policies. He said that the Media cannot serve as the opponent of the government; that the media’s primary responsibility is to be transparent and ensure that the Government is held accountable to the public.

Mr. Sallah indicated that he will restrict himself to some core issues of governance in this Press Conference because of the current relation between the Executive, the legislature and The Judiciary. He recalled that the Executive has recently exercised authority which led to the removal of the Chief Justice and The Speaker of the National Assembly. He said that he was not concerned about personalities but would like the public to focus on the principles involved.

He observed that good governance comes through checks and balances, between the arms of the state, the judiciary, legislature and executive. He opined that when those checks and balances are no longer effective, one can legitimately say there is crisis of governance. Mr Sallah emphasized that there is need to give diverse perspectives on the decisions emanating from the office of the executive.

He said that the Preamble of the Constitution, though not a part of the Constitution, does reflect its spirit. He said that the Preamble promised that “The functions of the arms of the Government (state) have been clearly defined, their independence amply secured with adequate checks and balances to ensure that they work harmoniously together toward our common good.”

He said that the separation of powers which the preamble implies is contradicted by the removal of the Chief Justice and the Speaker.

Mr Sallah proceeded to examine the removal of the Chief Justice. He said that The Chief Justice is the head of The Judiciary. If he is removed all judges could also be removed. He argued that Justice must not only be done but must be seen to be done. He questioned how the public could have confidence that judges will function with independence and impartiality if they have no security of tenure. He claimed that section 141 guarantees Judges security of tenure up to the age of 70 years when they have to vacate their office.

First and foremost, he said, section 167 of the constitution forbids any authority from forcing a judge to retire from public service.

Secondly, Sallah argued that section 141 subsection (3) of the Constitution adds that Judges may only be removed from office for inability to carry out their function either because of infirmity or misconduct. He said that no executive can arbitrarily charge and find a judge infirm or guilty of misconduct. There is need to conduct investigation to establish allegation of infirmity or misconduct. He said that such investigation is provided for under section 141 subsection (5) of the Constitution which calls for the setting up of a tribunal by the National Assembly chaired by a person who has held high judicial to investigate any allegation of infirmity or misconduct by the national assembly.

Sallah indicated that even though section 141 subsection (2)(c) did say that the president may terminate the appointment of a judge of a superior court in consultation with the judicial service commission it would be absurd for the president to do so without relying on the grounds of infirmity and misconduct, allegations which have to be investigated by a competent adjudicating authority for confirmation. Sallah added that the Chief Justice is the Chairperson of the Judicial Service Commission which the President has to consult to terminate the service of the very Chief Justice. Sallah therefore concluded that the only way a Chief Justice may be removed from office in a transparent manner is through the setting up of a tribunal by the National Assembly. He said hat if this is done by the executive it only nullifies the separation of powers and makes the Judiciary to be totally under the control of the executive.

He called on the bar association to take the matter to the supreme court for interpretation.

He promised that he will heighten the debate so that public opinion will become sensitive to the concerns he has expressed regarding threats to the security of tenure of judges of superior courts.

On the office of Speaker, Mr. Sallah said that section 93 of the Constitution makes it a requirement for the Speaker and Deputy Speaker to be elected from the nominated members of the National Assembly. He added that the Speaker and Deputy Speaker may be removed from office by a vote of not less than two thirds of the members of the National assembly. He said that contrary to the thinking of many the President has no power to appoint or remove a Speaker or Deputy Speaker from office. Halifa explained that the President is aware of the provision that if a Speaker or Deputy Speaker is no longer a member of the National Assembly he or she automatically ceases to be Speaker or Deputy Speaker. Consequently, he has been relying on section 231 subsection (5) of the Constitution to remove nominated members from their seats in the National Assembly which reads:

“Without prejudice to the provision of section 167, but subject to other provision of this constitution, the power to make any appointment to a public office includes the power to dismiss any person so appointed.”

Halifa indicated that in other provisions of the Constitution it is made clear that National Assembly members are not members of the public service. He quoted section 166 subsection (4) thus:

“In this constitution, an office in the public service does not include the offices of President, Vice President, Speaker or Deputy Speaker, Secretary of State or a member of the National Assembly.”

Halifa concluded that after the President and Vice President, it is the Speaker who should assume office if the two offices are vacant. Halifa said that this is not an ordinary position and care should be taken before appointments are made of nominated members. The nominated members should have security of tenure and should only leave office as provided for National Assembly members under section 91 of the Constitution.

Mr. Sallah finally dilated on the President’s recent tour of the Provinces and the retention of many Ministries without appointment of Ministers. He said that in a recent interview with Kebba Dibba the President gave the impression that he took his personal initiative to go on tour; that he also gave the impression that he is required to go at least once a year. Mr Sallah indicated that the President’s tour of the Provinces is not a personal initiative but a constitutional and official tour.

He said section 222 paragraph 15 makes it a requirement for the President to undergo a tour in order to familiarize himself or herself with current conditions and the effects of government policies. He said his tour is not supposed to be financed by the president or the local councils but is provided for in the budget approved by the National Assembly.

He said the tour is not personal and that is why it is financed from the National budget to the tune of D1.5 million dalasis for 2009. He opined that the tour should not be utilized as a political campaign tool but should be centered on national issues because it is financed by the public fund.

Halifa also told the reporters that the President is given the power to appoint Ministers with professional competence and experience to exercise direction and control over Ministries. He lamented the numerous Ministries without Ministers. He said that if the President cannot have any competent person within the rank of the APRC or in the Gambia as a whole then one should consider the government to be inflicted with the crisis of governance.

He said the radio and the television should present divergent views and not allow one voice to stand since the state media is financed by the public.

Dalasi & Butut: Bills Improve; Note Dips

Trading on the floor of the money market of the Central Bank of the Gambia witnessed improvements in the 91-Day and 182-Day Bills although the 1-Year Note dropped by 7 basis points from a previous level of 15.70 per cent and is currently quoted at 15.63 per cent.

The 91-Day Bill was up by 15 basis points to 12.93 per cent. The Bill was previously quoted at 12.78 per cent. The 182-Day Bill was quoted at 13.99 per cent following an 8 basis-point increase from 13.91 per cent last week.

The 91-Day S/S Bill inched up by 2 basis points from 12.36 per cent to a week close of 12.38 per cent.

Dalasi Still Unimpressive
The Gambia’s local currency exhibited a mixed performance on the interbank market but weakened on the parallel market this week. On the interbank market, the Dalasi was stable at D26.65 against the US Dollar but appreciated by 25 bututs against the Pound to D43.

The local currency however depreciated by D1.25 and D7.50 to close at D38.50 and D275 against the Euro and the CFA Francs respectively.

On the parallel market, the Dalasi depreciated by 18 bututs against the Dollar to D26.93 and was down by D1 against the Pound to close at D42. The local currency also dropped 75 bututs against the Euro to D36.75 and depreciated by D10 against the CFA Francs to close the week at D270.

The international currency market saw the US Dollar register a loss against the Pound while remaining unchanged against the Euro and improving against the Japanese Yen. The dollar was up by 2.44 per cent against the Pound and was quoted at $1.64 but was fixed at $1.40 against the Euro. The dollar however posted a 1.20 per cent gain against the Yen; with the Yen exchanging hands with the Dollar at Y98.18.


Dalasi Inter-Bank Mid Exchange Rates

USD 26.65
UKP 43.00
Euro 38.50
CFA 275.00


Dalasi Forex Bureau Mid Exchange Rates

USD 26.93
UKP 42.00
Euro 36.75
CFA 270.00

GPU Frowns at Jammeh

The Gambia Press Union wishes to express its shock and disappointment over the inappropriateness of the provocative statement of the head of state, President Jammeh, on GRTS, Tuesday night in relation to the death of veteran Gambian journalist, the late Deyda Hydara.

It is rather unfortunate and the Union is indeed saddened that the second time the head of state has so chosen to discuss the death of Deyda Hydara; he again, has dwelt on the issue of character assassination and ridicule.

We find it most unfortunate that the champion for the promotion of Gambian and African culture, traditional norms and values, and someone, who claims to have total respect for religion in particular, Islam, President Jammeh finds it appropriate to ridicule and to speak ill of the dead. Such behavior and countenance is most unreligious, un-cultural and certainly discredits traditional African norms and values!

The Union need not remind President Jammeh that it is difficult to presume that the Gambia Government is concerned over the death of Deyda Hydara unless and until the Gambia Government and its relevant security institutions are seen to be determined and resolved to seriously commit themselves in a professional manner to embark on investigating the events that led to the death of our dear colleague and brother.

We also wish to bring to the attention of the head of state that the Government of The Gambia and its relevant Security Apparatus’ have the primary responsibility to ensure the protection of each and every Gambian life and therefore the murder of any Gambian should be an issue of paramount concern and curbing such a menace a priority. Mere statements and or speculations and ridicule re: the events leading to the death of Deyda Hydara cannot and will not be accepted as exoneration of the Gambia Government, neither by the Union, international journalist associations, the Hydara family or other interested parties.

The death of any Gambian, more so one who was most vocal on issues of human rights, freedom of expression and the development of the country in general, even if it meant clashing with the powers that be, can only be deemed suspicious until such a time that the state can logically, reasonably, factually and forensically, and within the shortest possible period prove otherwise.

We demand an investigation of fact and forensics spearheaded by the Gambia Government. Should the relevant government institutions not have the resources or wherewithal to carry on with the investigations, we at the Gambia Press Union think it is time that you publicly admit that and invite other states and international policing and security institutions such as Interpol, who already have a desk at the Police Headquarters to take over the investigations.

It is almost certain that the trail has gone cold in the past Four and a half years but the main pieces of the puzzle being the bullets which were or should have been retrieved during post mortem and the post mortem report will certainly go a long way in aiding the continuation and or recommencement of the investigations. Motives and related issues can wait for a later date! Right now our preoccupation is that the perpetrators of this murder most foul be brought to book.

Mr. President the venom with which you spoke about the websites with a picture of the slain journalist and the slogan “Who Killed Deyda Hydara” is alarming. We are very much aware that the issue be kept alive and until such a time that his killers are brought to book, this slogan and its accompanying image will remain on the website of the Union and that even then, we will coin a statement fitting to forever haunt the perpetrators of this heinous crime!

The killing of Deyda Hydara, if nothing else, has only strengthened the resolve of true journalists to remain steadfast, truthful and committed to speaking in defense of the weak and the vulnerable.

On a second note, we are quite surprised that you claim there is Freedom of Expression in The Gambia. Mr. President, we beg to differ, the legal environment in particular the Newspaper Amendment Act 2004, the Criminal Code Amendment Act 2004, the Newspaper Registration Act and the recently passed Communications Bill 2009 make it practically impossible to practice efficiently as a journalist and yet remain within the ambits of the law.

The laws notwithstanding, the disappearance of Chief Ebrima Manneh, the continued prolonging of unnecessary court cases of journalists and media practitioners, arbitrary arrests and detention, harassment of Gambian journalists especially the episodes of 2006 leave a lot to be desired re: the state of freedom of expression in The Gambia.

We therefore call on the Gambia Government to respect, promote and defend the rights of journalists, notably by bringing an immediate end to the unnecessary and continued embarrassment and harassment of journalists; to create the enabling environment for the development and full participation of the independent media, the fourth estate, by repealing the current media laws which criminalize media offences amongst a host of other detrimental issues and to pass new and progressive media related laws such as Freedom of Information and Access to Information Acts which amongst other provisions guarantee freedom of the media as stipulated in the regional and international treaties such as Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and Article 9 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights to which your Government is signatory.

We also propose, in good faith that your Government seriously look at strategies geared towards engaging and collaborating with the independent media to enhance and strengthen independent media participation and to enable the expansion of the space for divergent views and healthy debate.

The coup plotter

part 1

Like Paul Sheldon in Stephen King's book, Misery, State House Commander, Lieutenant Landing Sanneh woke up in a filthy cell. He though he was in a dream and the man he saw lying on the concrete floor was someone else.

The man Lt Sanneh saw in his dream had no shirt or trousers on. He was not even wearing a pair of Sankung Sillah slippers. He was wearing only a small boxer half of which was stuck in his bum lining. The man's face look familiar, no in fact they look alike. They have the same nose, mouth, dark eyes, hair cut and body figure.

Lt Sanneh was woken by the sound of heavy footsteps.Whoever the giant was, was showing no mercy to the poor earth he was walking on. The sound of more footsteps and heavy laughter of men and women could be heard somewhere outside. Their laughter were sharp and loud like people celebrating a jackpot winning.

As he slowly opened his tired eyes, his body was greeted with terrible pain that made he moan. The pain was down below somewhere on his groin. The pain was horrible. It was as if a wicked soul hunter had cut him open and stuffed red burning charcoal into his body.

With his heart beating between 100 to 150 times a minute, he realised that the man he saw in the dream was not only his lookalike. It was himself. He tried sitting up but could not. His hands were cuffed, by whom he don't know.

He began asking himself so many questions but his mind was as blank. It was as blank as an A-4 paper and could not come up with any answer.

What happened to him? he don't know. How did he get here? he don't know that either. It was hard to think. If only those idiots who woke him up from his sleep would help or give him the gaddem answers he so badly needed.

As he tried to sit up again, Lt Sanneh felt something wet. He slowly turned his head and his eyes saw a pool of something dark where he was lying. It was blood. His boxer was shoaking wet not with water but blood. His own blood. He tried to drag himself away from the pool of blood but the pain got worse.

He could not see the wounds which were killing him and could not remember how he got them. He shouted out for help but no help came.

Moments later, he hear some footsteps then the sound of a key on the door of his cell. The cell was open and there stood a man with a First Aid box.

"Who are you?" he shouted at the man, but the man just ignored him. The man shot him a long angry look and said slowly:" You should thank your god that you are still alive."

"We should have killed you. I would have left you to rot if I have the power. Thanks to our weak chief. He is a very weak man," the man replied and started patching his bleeding wound up.

Lt Sanneh gave the man a second and better look and he immediately recognised him as a medical officer at the Yundum Military Camp.
.
It was then that he remembered everything. Everything that happened.

x x x x
It was around 4am on January 21, 2000. He had been in bed for not less than two hours because he stayed up till late watching Nigerian movies at his Mile Seven residence with some relatives. Since going to bed, Lt Sanneh had tried hard to go to sleep but couldn't.

The past few nights were horrible. He always woke up with nightmares about his young nephew he accidentally killed while reversing his car. He was hunted by the horrible images of the accident.

Today though, as he lied in bed staring at the ceiling, he heard some footsteps, then a knock at his door. Not sure who was knocking at the door at that ungodly hour and what they may possible want, he ignored them.

"Whoever the person is," he told himself "must wait until in the morning." As he laid in bed, he heard the footstep disappearing the way they came. When he peeped through his bedroom widow, he saw two men walking in the dark. He could swear that he overheard them saying: "He is inside."

Taking the men to be thieves, who broke into some neighbouring houses weeks ago, Lt Sanneh rang the night duty officer at the Denton Bridge, which was guarded by his State Guard boys and requested a patrol team to visit the area and see if they can catch the thieves.

As he replaced the phone receiver, Lt Sanneh was sure he heard a car engine.Within seconds, he heard people jumping out of the car even before its engine was gunned down. He heard some men running round the back of the house and others to the front. And then he heard someone issuing orders.

"Lets do anything we can to get him either dead or alive," and then they started shooting. They were shooting directly at the house.

The sound of gun shots and bullets mercilessly shattering his glass windows sent him diving to the floor. He don't know who the people shooting at his house were and why they were trying to kill him. Not only him but everyone in the house.

As the bullets started hitting the sitting room, bedrooms and blasting away anything on their way, Lt Sanneh had to think fast. Think fast how to safe his family. He crawled on his chest like a pregnant lizard to his children's bedroom and shoved them under the bed. "Get under your beds," he shouted out to his terrified wife and relatives.

Paw paw paw, pum, paw paw paw paw pum, the shooting continued both in the front and back section of the house. It was like a Silvester Stallone movie. Every moving Shadow was shot at. To add to his fear that attackers were definitely trying to wipe out everyone in the house, he heard a loud explosion at the back of the house which shook the house. Perhaps it was a grenade, only God knows.

Like Paul Sheldon in the book, Misery, Lt Sanneh convinced himself that he had to do something to stop his entire family from being wiped out. Reaching his dressing table, he grabbed his loaded service pistol and crawled to the rear exit of the house.

Seeing that there were only a few armed men at the back, he convinced himself that if he act quickly, he could make it out of the house before the attackers know. As he tried to quietly open the door, the armed men who looked as if they were high on cannabis, turned their guns to the door and started spraying bullets.

With the pistol in one hand, Lt Sanneh pushed the door open and raised his hands in surrender. But the gun men paid no attention. A bullet missed his chest but two landed on his groin and heap sending him crashing on the floor in agony. As he landed on the ground, the armed men quickly surrounded him and aimed their guns at him.

"Halt, halt," he shouted at the top of his voice. The shooting stopped and the armed men gleefully took away his pistol and cuffed his hands on his back.
"Where are your weapons?" someone asked.

"I only have my service pistol," Lt Sanneh replied.

The man he immediately recognise as senior officer of the National Army took the pistol from one of the attackers and ordered to search the house. Minutes later, the men returned with nothing. Satisfied, the commanded tapped Lt Sanneh on the shoulder playfully and ordered his triumph men to take him to the car.

Without any explanation, Lt Sanneh was dumped in the back of the heavily armed pick-up which turned right on the Bakau-Banjul road. At Sting Corner, the pick-up turned right again, this time towards Kanifing. Reaching Westfield Junction, the pick-up stopped. No one said anything.

Lying in the back of the pick up, Lt Sanneh could hear the unit commander talking on the phone. He heard him say gleefully to the person on other end of the phone: " We got him."

As the unit commander continued on the phone, Lt Sanneh's body started getting cold. His injured leg was hurting like hell and bleeding profusely. When the commander finished his phone conversation and came to take a second look at him as if to reconfirm that it was truly him, Lt Sanneh asked for help.

"Don't worry about your leg," the man replied calmly, "We are going to kill you. We have already killed your friend, Almamo Manneh and you are the only one left. Remember to say your last prayers."

Overtaken with fear, Lt Sanneh began to shake. And as the pick-up speeds away on the pot-holed roads towards the Yundum Army Barracks, Lt Sanneh injured leg was bleeding profusely. He started feeling dizzy then he saw darkness which swallowed him as fast as it came.

To be continued
Note: Lt Sanneh was a former State House military commander, who was arrested and jailed in 2001 for allegedly plotting to overthrow the government of the Gambia. The article is part of his testimony before a military tribunal headed by Vincent Jatta and presided over by Justice Okoi Itam at the Yundum Military Barracks.

Hurricane Jammeh

Once again, the Quadrangle in Banjul was badly struck by another hurricane Jammeh, which for a moment, left almost everyone in the country shaken.

As if last week's removal of Yankuba Touray was not bad enough, Jammeh's electric broom swept off key figures of his regime once thought to be untouchable. Among them, Bala Gaye, secretary of state for Finance, Abdou Karim Savage, chief justice and Fatoumata Jahumpa-Ceesay, speaker of the National Assembly.

As always, hurricane Jammeh sent no warning before it struck its victims and there is no one to give an explanation to the public. I felt sorry for the victims of the hurricane and more sorry to my friend or lets say my 'aunty', Fatoumata Jahumpa-Ceesay.

These people as Jammeh always does, were badly used, turned into public enemies then sent packing to an angry and unsympathetic public. But will the Gambian people learn a big lesson from the treatment of this people, who were once elevated into the seventh heaven and did everything for Jammeh? I don't think so.

It must have struck my aunty like a thunderbolt when she received her marching orders, but no matter what the circumstances resulting in her removal are, she should hold her head high.

Love or loathe her, the woman was a loyalists. She was APRC true and true. She joined the AFPRC/APRC regime as a great supporter of its leader and was remove with the same-if not higher respect and admiration for her party leader.

I have had the opportunity to meet FJC as she is better known by the Gambian media on many occasion both official and private and even though I disagree with some of her views, yet I have nothing but respect for her.

She may not be the sharpest woman in the country, but she always knew what she was doing. She was committed to the APRC regime and have done everything she could to promote the cause of the party both at home and abroad. She loves President Jammeh, a love that runs deep in her veins and was never shy to show it.

Jammeh was too dear to her and she once confessed in a newspaper interview that she is willing to serve Jammeh in any capacity even as an office cleaner.

Despite Jammeh's appalling human rights record and the disgraceful way and manner in which he is governing the country, FJC regards him as the best man for the country and dislikes everyone who criticises him.

Unlike many senior figures in her party, FJC was never afraid to take on Jammeh's opponents, especially the opposition. Her blind support of President Jammeh and the APRC have sometimes made her a national hate figure and if positions are allocated to people based on their loyalty to their leaders, FJC should have been vice-president.

I know that she will be getting a lot of stick from many people in the coming days and weeks taking into consideration the way and manner in which she conducted herself during her short-stint as speaker of the National Assembly. Her record was terrible. She was partisan and have shamelessly used the house to strengthen the hands dictatorship in the country.

Despite her appalling record, am still finding it hard to come heavy on her for whatever she did or said during her tenure in the house. She was just doing what a large majority of Gambians are doing in their respective jobs at home. Serving Jammeh first and the Gambia second.

Our country is sinking because of sycophants like her and the future of my children, your children and that of every young Gambian is being ruined because of people like her. They don't have any conscience. What a shame.

FJC's removal as speaker will have an enormous impact on her life and her future. But whatever happens, I have no feeling that the lady will abandon the APRC nor linger in wilderness for long. She will stick with Jammeh and will continue to champion the cause of the APRC. People like her are much much better inside the field than on the side lines. She will bounce back maybe at an ambassadorial level, who knows.

With Jammeh, everything is possible.



xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Sometime last week, I received an email from a Gambian police officer, currently serving with the UN mission in Darfur, Sudan. His email was in response to an article I wrote sometime ago entitled From Where I Stand.

The officer wrote: "I have been reading your articles since when you were working for The Independent Newspaper and the Daily Observer. Your article on AllGambia Newspaper was touching and as Gambians I will advise you to be strong and be determined. Nobody can hurt you, the only person who can hurt you is yourself. Keep it up. I love reading your writings."

Encouraging words Mr Officer. Thanks.

Statement by IMF Mission to The Gambia on Progress Under the PRGF-Supported Program

Press Release

The following statement was issued Thursday, May 21, in Banjul by Mr. Robert Powell, the IMF mission chief for The Gambia:

“The IMF team visited Banjul from May 8-21 to assess progress under the government’s economic program supported by the Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility (PRGF). Meetings were held with Minister of Finance and Economic Affairs Mousa Gibril Bala-Gaye, Governor of the Central Bank of The Gambia Momodou Bamba Saho, other senior government officials, legislators, the private sector, and members of the donor community.

“The economy of The Gambia grew by about 6 percent in 2008. Economic growth is expected to be weaker in 2009 in the face of a significant fall in receipts from tourism and remittances resulting from the global slowdown. Nonetheless, a strong rebound in agricultural production in 2008 is supporting a recovery in manufacturing and trade-related services this year, and 2009 growth is expected to be about 3 1/2 percent, which is higher than the regional average. Inflation is also expected to remain under control.

“The Gambia has continued to make progress under the IMF-supported program. In the period to March 2009, government revenues have achieved the budget targets, and government borrowing has been contained within planned levels. The central bank has also achieved its target for international reserves, following sharp falls at the end of 2008. Among the structural measures planned by the government, the key action of making the credit reference bureau operational is now expected by July 2009, after necessary legislation has been considered.

“Even after the debt relief provided recently under the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries and Multilateral Debt Relief initiatives, The Gambia’s external debt remains high. It remains critical, therefore, to establish a medium term debt management strategy that sets clear goals for reducing debt ratios further. This requires limiting external borrowing to highly concessional loans, and stepping up efforts to seek grant finance to support the implementation of The Gambia’s Poverty Reduction Strategy.”

At his mercy

by PK Jarju, Birmingham UK

It is often said that moving houses is one of the hardest things to do in the UK. Since posting my last article, I moved into an empty house that does not even have a phone line. Typical of British Council Housing. Not even a carpet or flooring was in the house and I have to spend every hour in the past three weeks trying to put the bit and pieces together.

I will therefore like to apologise to my esteem readers for my long absence. I am yet to get the my phone line sorted and as a result I may not be able to contribute regularly as before. So like we say in Jollof, Balal lem ma

Whenever I take a serious look at the Gambia, the more worried I get concerning the political situation of the country. The country is fast sinking and nothing is being done to save it. It is sinking not because the general population is unaware, but because they feel they cannot do anything to stop it.

The Gambia looks like a hijacked ship being flown to an unknown destination. For the past 14 years, a man who many Gambians don't want as their head of state is holding a gun to the captain's head and the passengers and the rest of the crew are all too terrified to say a word or stop him.

The principles that were supposed to make you and me safe in our own land of birth and protect us from such political madness have been badly tampered with to favour the head of state. He is given full control of our land of birth and is empowered to do whatever he wants, anytime, anyhow and to anyone.

He is applauded for anything he does or say whether good or bad. The head of state is said to love our country so much so that anything he does or says is seen as in our best interest. He is seen as a messiah, puritan and reformer hand picked by Almighty God Himself to make the Gambia a prosperous country and a giant of the sub-region.

As a country of true believers, we believe in anything we are told by our head of state even when he told us without any prove that he have discovered a cure for HIV/Aids. Despite him being the richest Gambian, we contributed millions of our hard earned taxes towards his HIV treatment programme.

Patriotism to our head of state, is defined by how much you love and support him. He comes first and the country second. You cannot claim to love the country without loving him. Be the most qualified Gambian but there is no job for you in any government department if you don't worship the head of state.

Our head of state is the heart of all government organs. They operate round him and him alone. The executive dance to his tune and the National Assembly smoothens his path. Every bill he drafted is quickly enacted into law. The judiciary feared him and follows every order he barks.

Anything which is against the head of state is seen as an enemy. And enemy that should be destroyed in the national interest. Criticisms are never welcome. Try telling the head of state how to govern the people and life will be made difficult for you. So difficult that you wish you were never born.

Journalists get bullets put through their heads, their houses and printing machines set on fire, arrested, tortured and media houses closed down on bogus charges. Political opponents are always hunted down, arrested, tortured, jailed or buried six feet deep.

Gambians don't trust each other any more. We cannot talk freely to each other without looking at our backs. Political discussions are out of the way. Talk about the head of state and you risk spending months in a secret detention centre, where you will be tortured and subjected to all sort of inhumane treatment.

Once you are arrested, forget about getting a lawyer. Many of the top lawyers will simply say no to your request as they don't want to upset the head of state. Our legal practitioners according to the London based International Bar Association are "operating under challenging conditions due to the existence of ongoing incidents of harassment and intimidation, which have created a climate of fear in the profession.

It added that government exhibits hostility and suspicion in its dealings with the legal profession which it perceives as an oppositional force, and there is currently an atmosphere of fear amongst lawyers, emanating from the attempted murder of a lawyer and several other incidents of harassment and intimidation of lawyers, that they may face serious adverse consequences as a result of their acceptance of certain causes on behalf of their clients.

The name of our head of state's is sacred. He is worshipped like Lord Voldermort in the Harry Potter series and disobedience is regarded as the worst crime.

In The Gambia today, an accused person is presumed guilty even before being tried in court. Get arrested by our security officers and you risk losing all your friends. You become stigmatised and people become even too scared to get close to you. Fall out with the head of state and no company will dream of even employing you as a cleaner. Ask former KMC mayor, Abdoulie Conteh, for Imam of Banjul International Airport to name just a few and they will tell you.

It may be easy to convince yourself that because you have good personal relations with senior people in the Gambian government you Will be protected in someway if things go wrong. Maybe if you are a close family member of the head of state. If you are an ordinary Gambian then you are on your own.

Your highly placed friends will deny ever knowing you for they have their own careers, their own lives to protect.

What a tragic demise of democracy in a country that shelters the headquarter of African Centre for Human Rights studies? God help us.


Rest in peace Alex
It was shocking to read the news of Alexandre Djiba's death. I first met Mr Djiba in 2000 at the former Atlantic Hotel in Banjul during peace talks between the MFDC and the Senegalese government. I saw him as a smart fella who was the voice of the MFDC and had interviewed him on many occasions for The Independent Newspaper.

The last time I interviewed him was in 2001 after Jean Marie Biague renamed himself as MFDC secretary general some few weeks after his resignation. Months later he rang to informed me that he was travelling out of the Gambia. I was later to hear rumours that he was kicked out of the Atlantic Hotel.

While he was at the Atlantic Hotel, it was rumoured that the Gambia government was footing his hotel bills although DJiba himself neither denied nor confirmed it in the many interviews I had with him.

During his stay in Banjul, Alexandre spread MFDC propaganda in Gambian and the international media as well as keep in touch with other MFDC figures in France.

In late 2000, he was arrested in Guinea Bissau but later claimed upon his returned to Banjul that he escaped from custody.

Alexandre may have gone but many Gambian journalists who have had the opportunity to meet him will always remember the stocky, beared and big eye fella, who have always defended the cause of the MFDC.

The reluctant democrat

When Yahya Jammeh came to power in July 1994, his Armed Forces Provisional Ruling Council (AFPRC) that overthrew the PPP regime of Sir Dawda Jawara promised to be soldiers with a difference.

by PK Jarju
With the motto accountability, transparency and probity, they promised to act and to do everything different from typical military governments we have seen in our god forsaken continent. They said they were servants of the people, whose main objective was to free the enslaved Gambians ruled by a corrupt, despotic and retrogressive government that lived on flamboyant life styles while the average Gambian lived in abject poverty.

However, 13 years on, all the sweet talk of making a difference, accountability, transparency and probity is dead and buried 360 feet deep. The current military regime in Gambia is not accountable to the electorates, nor is it transparent and trusted by the very people it claims to be serving. The regime has become a curse to Gambian people with President Yahya Jammeh transforming himself into a super god expecting to be worshipped by every Gambian.

Despite return of the country to 'civilian rule', The Gambia is far from being democratic. It has become more tyrannical with president Jameh continuing to tighten his grip on power everyday. While President Jammeh claims that he is a democrat, he rules with an iron hand, showing no mercy towards his political opponents. To him democracy, which is defined by Abraham Lincoln as government of the people, for the people and by the people is inapplicable in The Gambia. His own definition of democracy is government by Yahya Jammeh, of Yahya Jammeh and for Yahya Jammeh.

As president, Yahya Jammeh is in total control of all the chambers of government. He uses his moppet National Assembly Members who forms a large majority in the National Assembly to manipulate the country's constitution left, right and centre. These dummies (excuse my French) at the National Assembly put the president's interest before national interest. Bills drafted by the executive are hastily passed into laws without second thought. The Gambian National Assembly is now transformed into an APRC bureau were President Jammeh is regarded as a puritan, perfectionist and prophet who will never eat until every Gambian has eaten.

Being party leader of the APRC, President Jammeh has over the years expelled National Assembly Members of his own party who fell out with him despite the fact they were voted into office by thousands of people in their constituencies. He reserves the power to dissolve the National Assembly and to declare state of emergency.

The executive is also under firm grips of president Jammeh. Ministers are hired and fired without any explanation. Civil servants suspected of being opposition sympathisers are sent packing out of the Quadrangle. Police officers, armed forces, NIA and other security officers openly manifest their loyalty to the president and they never hesitate to harass opposition supporters and critics of the regime. Many security officers have been sacked for merely being impartial in the execution of their duties.

The Gambian judiciary has lost its independence to administer justice in a free and fair manner. It has failed its motto of fiat justicia. President Jammeh is responsible for appointment and removal of judges. Many judges who pass judgements against the state have been unceremoniously removed.

While the Gambian constitution guarantees rights and freedoms of the citizens, the government continues to violate them without giving a monkey. Freedom of expression is not tolerated as journalists and other media practitioners are persecuted left, right and centre. And in a bid to prevent Gambians from establishing private newspapers, the government has still refused to repeal military Decree 70/71 from the country's laws. Government has also introduced the criminal amendment code under which journalists risk receiving long jail terms for publishing false news and caricature.

Private media houses are shut down by the state without any court order and journalists are killed, arrested, tortured and detained well over the legal 72 hour period. President Jammeh himself has described African journalists as illegitimate sons of Africa who are brainwashed by the West to cause trouble and instability in their countries. Lashing out to journalists in one of his interviews he said: "Journalists are sh..t. You don't need to go to toilet to know that it stinks."

Today, becoming a journalist in The Gambia is more risky than joining the army. A journalist is ten times more likely to go to jail than a minister who swindles thousands of Dalasis from the state. As a result many Gambian journalists are fleeing the country living behind their children, parents and wives.

NIA officers at the Banjul International Airport now have a classified listed of innocent journalists and writers abroad not because they looted the Gambia economy or attempted to assassinate the president, but for telling the regime the unpleasant truth. Like vultures looking for a dead carcass, these officers cannot wait to lay their hands on any member of the wanted club.

Freedom of association and assembly is also strictly restricted. Opposition parties intending to hold gatherings are required by the bogus laws to seek a permit from the Inspector General of Police, who is appointed by the president. Gambians also need a permit from the police to hold any demonstration. Gatherings and meetings without a permit are termed unlawful and the police and armed soldiers are often sent to disperse such gatherings. These security officers are immune and cannot be held liable for prosecution for any force they prefer using to disperse such a gathering.

The government also seriously violates privacy of Gambians. As a result of its intolerance to criticisms, the lethal National Intelligence Agency (NIA) similar to the German Gestapo, tap the phones of innocent Gambians without any court order. Gambians cannot talk about Yahya Jammeh in the streets without looking at their backs to see who is listening. Air mails living or entering the country inspected by NIA officers permanently posted at all postal offices. Political discussions in schools are now well out of the way with many students recruited as NIA officers to spy on their colleagues. Anyone found criticising the regime is whisked away to the NIA headquarters where they are merciless tortured.

Pressure groups in the country have all become voiceless and toothless. Their rights have been taken away and their leadership doesn’t even have the balls to criticise any law or government policy that are not in the interest of their members.

Gambians are today living in constant fear wondering who is next on the NIA list. Power belongs to the president and his ever loyal NIA officers are so thick that they regard any critic of the regime as an enemy. They are protected by law and can get away from any crime ranging from murder, kidnapping, torture and rape.

The Jammeh regime continues to violate rights and personal liberty of Gambians. It also fails to protect political opponents from inhumane treatment to the extent of even depriving them from their properties. People who fall out with the president are often detained indefinitely at the Mile Two Prisons without any court order.

While the constitution guarantees the right of Gambians to join any political party of their choice, opposition sympathisers are stigmatised and treated like outcasts. Opposition figures and their children cannot get any job in the civil service. They are always presumed guilty anytime they clash with APRC supporters. Law enforcement officers are always in a fishing expedition to arrest and charge opposition sympathisers who refuse to defect to the APRC for the slightest wrong doing.

Today in The Gambia, we are like in the reign of Lord Voldermort in the Harry Potter series. Security officers are like the death eaters always on the hunt for opponents of the regime.

May Allah shower His love and protection on us all. Amen.
Note: The above article was first published on Nov 29 2007 in AllGambian.net

A hand book for 2009

Readers
Got the mail below from a friend which I wish to share with you. I hope it will help to change someone's life for the better.

Health:

1. Drink plenty of water.

2. Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a beggar.

3. Eat more foods that grow on trees and plants and eat less food that is manufactured in plants.

4. Live with the 3 E's -- Energy, Enthusiasm, and Empathy.

5. Make time to practice meditation, yoga, and prayer.

6. Play more games.

7. Read more books than you did in 2008.

8. Sit in silence for at least 10 minutes each day.

9. Sleep for 7 hours.

10. Take a 10-30 minutes walk every day. And while you walk, smile.

Personality:

11. Don't compare your life to others'.
You have no idea what their journey is all about.

12. Don't have negative thoughts or things you cannot control.
Instead invest your energy in the positive present moment.

13. Don't overdo. Keep your limits.

14. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.

15. Don't waste your precious energy on gossip.

16. Dream more while you are awake.

17. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.

18. Forget issues of the past.
Don't remind your partner with his/her mistakes of the past.
That will ruin your present happiness.

19. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone. Don't hate others.

20. Make peace with your past so it won't spoil the present.

21. No one is in charge of your happiness except you.

22. Realize that life is a school and you are here to learn.
Problems are simply part of the curriculum that appear and
fade away like algebra class but the lessons you learn will last a lifetime.

23. Smile and laugh more.

24. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.

Society:
25. Call your family often.

26. Each day give something good to others.

27. Forgive everyone for everything.

28. Spend time with people over the age of 70 & under the age of 6.

29. Try to make at least three people smile each day.

30. What other people think of you is none of your business.

31. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick.
Your friends will. Stay in touch.

Life:

32. Do the right thing!

33. Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or joyful.

34. GOD heals everything.

35. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.

36. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.

37. The best is yet to come.

38. When you awake alive in the morning, thank GOD for it.

39. Your Inner most is always happy. So, be happy.

Unfinished business

Press freedom is stifled year after year by an intolerant and unpredictable government. The work of the privately owned media is hobbled by an extremely threatening climate, bolstered by laws of defamation and against “publishing false news” that are among the most draconian in West Africa.

Despite the existence of a civilian government, headed by young president, Yahya Jammeh, the country is the reserve of a small clique of frequently irrational soldiers, who imprison, torture and terrorise often randomly, those who dare to clash with the head of state or his friends.

The murder of the country’s most prominent journalist, editor of the weekly The Point, Deyda Hydara, on 16 December 2004, marked the end of a period when a well organised and rigorous private press could still stand firm against a government which did not hide its hostility towards it. Hydara was formerly president of the journalists’ union, correspondent for Reporters Without Borders and AFP, the doyen of the country’s journalists and a perceptive editorialist, pointing out the erring ways of the inexperienced and mystic young president. At the time he was killed, within a stone’s throw of a police barracks, Hydara was being permanently watched by the dreaded National Intelligence Agency (NIA), the head of state’s all-powerful intelligence service.

Since his death, almost all those who were a thorn in the president’s side have fallen into step or have left the country. Apart from The Point, which is more or less protected by the aura of its deceased editor, most newspapers that tried to get a different voice heard from that of the pro-government Daily Observer have been illegally closed.

One imprisoned journalist, “Chief” Ebrima Manneh, disappeared without trace into the sinister Mile Two prison on the Banjul sea front. And the authorities have always denied holding him, despite numerous reports from prisoners and eye witnesses to the contrary.
RFS on press freedom in Gambia

The Gifts And the Salary of the President Do They Correspond?

Source Foroyaa

The 29 Million Dalasis offered to those connected with the Under 17 victory, the offer of 1 Million to the winner of the competition to draft an anthem for July 22nd and the huge sums of money frequently granted to musicians have raised questions regarding the source of the wealth of the President.

It is important for people to concentrate on the legitimate earnings of the President from Public Funds .It is important for all readers to understand that no authority including the President has power to withdraw money from public funds without the authority of Law. The Constitution has stated very clearly how Public Finance is to be managed in the country. Section 150 of the Constitution states that "There shall be a Consolidated Fund into which shall be paid all revenues or other money raised or received for the purpose of, or on behalf of, the Government.."

Section 151 adds that "No money shall be withdrawn from the consolidated fund except-to meet an expenditure charged on a fund by this constitution or an Act of the National Assembly; or where the issue of that money has been authorized by an Appropriation Act" or Supplementary Appropriation Act.

Hence the President's legitimate income must be prescribed by law. Now one may ask: How is the income of the President determined?

Section 69 of the Constitution states that "the President shall receive such salary and allowances as may be prescribed by an act of the National Assembly, and such salary and allowances shall not be altered to his or her disadvantage during his or her tenure of office."

Furthermore, "the salary and allowances, and pension and retirement benefits, as prescribed by an act of the National Assembly, shall be exempted from taxation, but the President shall be subject to taxation on all other chargeable income."

It is therefore clear that the President cannot receive any salary or allowances from public funds without a bill being passed by the National Assembly, assented to by the President and then published in the Gazette as Law.

The salary and allowances of the President and the Cabinet members should not be secret.

The salary of the Secretary of State is put at 204,000 dalasis per annum; Responsibility allowance for both Permanent Secretary and SOS amounts to 108,000 dalasis,;telephone allowance for both amounts to 48,000 dalasis and house rent for both is put at 200,880 dalasis per annum. It is strange that the Salary and Allowance of the President and Vice President's are not put as part of the break down of expenditures of the Office of President and Vice President.

The Secretary of State for Finance and Economic Affairs will be contacted to find out how the salary of the President and Vice President feature in the approved estimates and the Appropriation Act governing the budget for the 2009 'financial year. We will keep the public informed in the interest of transparency and accountability.