Journalism A Dangerous Business in The Gambia

Imam Sawaneh Freed At Last

Imam Alh. Ousman Sawaneh of Kanifing @ Foroyaa

After more than five months in illegal detention without trial, the Kanifing South mosque Imam is at last freed. Until the High Court ruling last week, Imam Alhagie Ousman Sawaneh remained in detention at Jan Jan Bureh prison in the Central River Region.

Gambian authorities refused to explain any reasons for the illegal act. Sources attributed Imam Sawaneh’s arrest and detention to his orchestration of the shocking defeat of a ruling party candidate in Lower Saloum by-election last August. The contest saw a humiliating defeat of an APRC candidate, Kaba Touray, by the NRP’s Modou Bamba Gaye. Other sources maintained Sawaneh’s October 18th arrest resulted after he had questioned unwarranted burials at the Jeshwang Cemetary.

But the court heard a different version of the story. A sworn in affidavit linked the arrest to a petition Imam Sawaneh and others addressed to President Yahya Jammeh.

After all efforts to get him released had failed, Imam Sawaneh’s family contracted the services of a lawyer and sought redress at the High Court in Banjul. Defence lawyer Sheriff Tambedou filed habeas corpus application before Justice Basirou Mahoney, directing the National Intelligence Agency to produce the detained cleric. The application, filed on February 17th2016, also ordered the NIA to “unconditionally release Imam Sawaneh from illegal detention. Lawyer Tambedou said the application is in line with section 133 of the Constitution, which empowers the court to order habeas corpus.

Lawyer Tambedou said the state had violated the applicant’s right to personal liberty. He therefore urged the court to order the NIA and the Attorney General’s office to release his client unconditionally.

But the Director of Pubic Prosecution Saleh Barkum countered Tambedou’s application. He argued that the court needed to hear from the NIA. DPP Barkum also wanted the court to consider prevalence of the circumstances in the matter before arriving at the ruling. He described Paragraph 11 of the affidavit as “vague and vacant” and that allegation in Paragraph 9 does not substantiate its claims.

After listening to both arguments, Justice Mahoney, ordered the state to release the applicant either conditionally or unconditionally. The former Justice Minister would not accept indefinite detention of Imam Sawaneh.

Meanwhile, two other Muslim clerics remain in illegal detention without trial. Imams of Brikamaba Darsilameh, Cherno Gassama and Jabang-Borehole, Sheikh Omar Colley, have spent several months incommunicado detention at Jan Jan Bureh prisons. In both cases, no reasons have been publicly given for the arrests and subsequent detentions.

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Navy Commander Fled With Family

             

A Gambian navy commander declared wanted by the government has fled with his family, Kairo News sources confirmed.

Lt. Commander Momodou Badjie, an Administrative Officer of the Gambia Navy, is declared wanted by the government after efforts to ascertain his whereabouts were fruitless.

In a televised statement, Badjie was accused of misappropriating substantial amount of money belong to the Gambia Armed Forces. The public had been warned against sheltering “a fugitive from justice.”

Kairo News had earlier greeted the news with suspicion until the chaff was extracted from the wind. We have since been putting our sources to work.

Our sources confirmed that Lt. Commander fled with his entire family except his two sons who were left behind in his Brikama residence. Before this development, it was earlier rumoured that Badjie had escaped. “Momodou Badjie kept a low profile life and went on life as usual for weeks before leaving the country quietly,” said a source.

All our sources doubted the government’s allegations that the former Navy Commander had misappropriated state funds. They described him as “a very easy going, humble and honest man who does not have the heart to make life unbearable for others.”

One military official doubted how Badjie would have access to money when “Colonel Momodou Bah is in charge of all army finances. The story does not add up because Badjie is not a signatory to army accounts.”

Our sources added that Badjie was born in Southern Senegal. “His parents sent him to the Gambia to acquire western education. He had acquired education, taught for some years at Alpha Khan Secondary School before he joined the army,” one source said.

Lt. Commander Badjie is reported to have been spotted in the Senegalese capital Dakar.

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source:www.kaironews.com

5 Years On, Awaiting Justice

      

Hold Fair Trials for 2010-2011 Post-Election Abuses

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(Abidjan) – Côte d’Ivoire has not yet delivered justice for victims of grave crimes by both sides in the country’s 2010-2011 post-election crisis, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. President Alassane Ouattara and his new justice minister, Sansan Kambile, should strengthen the country’s justice system so it can deliver long overdue justice.

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Victims of the 2010-2011 post-election crisis hold placards reading 'We claim justice, justice justice' at a gathering in the Kouassai district of Abidjan on February 28, 2013, during the International Criminal Court’s confirmation of charges hearing against former Ivory Coast president Laurent Gbagbo. Gbagbo, with his close ally, Charles Blé Goudé, is currently on trial at the ICC on four counts of crimes against humanity during the 2010-2011 post-election violence. The ICC has intensified investigations into abuses committed by forces loyal to President Alassane Ouattara, although there are not yet arrest warrants.
 

© 2013 Sia Kambou/AFP/Getty Images

The 56-page report, “Justice Reestablishes Balance: Delivering Credible Accountability for Serious Abuses in Côte d’Ivoire,” outlines critical areas requiring additional government support so that Ivorian courts can provide credible justice. It is based on more than 70 interviews with government officials, members of the judiciary, representatives of nongovernmental groups, international criminal justice experts, UN officials, diplomats, and donor officials.

Victims of heinous crimes committed during the post-election crisis have suffered in silence for five long years,” said Param-Preet Singh, senior international justice counsel at Human Rights Watch. “Trials of key perpetrators from both sides would send a clear message that those responsible for grave human rights abuses cannot escape the reach of justice.”

In December 2010, the failure of the incumbent president, Laurent Gbagbo, to cede power to Ouattara, the internationally-recognized winner of the presidential election, was followed by a five-month conflict during which forces loyal to both sides committed devastating abuses. They summarily executed civilians, brutally gang-raped women, and burned villages to the ground. By the end of the conflict, at least 3,000 civilians had been killed and more than 150 women raped during violence waged along political, ethnic, and religious lines.

In June 2011, President Ouattara created a task force of judges and prosecutors – the Special Investigative and Examination Cell – to spearhead efforts to pursue those responsible for the post-election crimes. The step offered hope that the government was finally willing to address Côte d’Ivoire’s deeply entrenched culture of impunity.

source;https://www.hrw.org

Historic step forward for victims of sexual violence

       

“Today’s unanimous guilty verdict by the International Criminal Court (ICC) against Jean-Pierre Bemba is an historic moment in the battle for justice and accountability for victims of sexual violence in the Central African Republic and around the world,” said Samira Daoud, Amnesty International Deputy Regional Director for West and Central Africa.

“Not only is it the first time that the ICC has convicted someone for rape as a war crime but it is also the first ICC conviction based on command responsibility.”

The judgment sends a clear message that impunity for sexual violence as a tool of war will not be tolerated.

Samira Daoud, Amnesty International West and Central Africa Deputy Regional Director for Campaigns

“The judgment sends a clear message that impunity for sexual violence as a tool of war will not be tolerated. It also makes clear that military commanders and political superiors must take all necessary steps to prevent their subordinates from committing such heinous acts and will be held accountable if they fail to do so.”

source:https://www.amnesty.org

Senior GNA Officer on The Run- WANTED

A senior Navy officer of the Gambia National army is reported to be on the run.Lieutenant Commander Momodou Badjie is accused of squandering an unspecified amount of money belonging to Gambia national army. In press release read on the Gambia Radio and Television Services on Wednesday evening the 16 of March. The release which looks scanty described Commander Badjie as a former administrative officer of the Gambia Navy but sort to give details as to wheather Badjie is still a serving member of the army and if not when and why was he dismissed. According to reliable  sources within the ranks of the Gambia National Army, for the past three years a soldier or an officer of the GNA is absconding/going on AWOL every two weeks. This show that the pains and sufering of the citizens of the country have not in anyway excludes the members of the arm forces. This make many to wonder if the Command of the army are not engaging us in their usual drama plays.  Below is an abstract of the GNA press release read on the GRTS .                     ”The former administrative officer of the Gambia Navy, Lieutenant Commander Momodou Badgie, is on the run, “after misappropriating substantial sums of money” belonging to the Gambia Armed Forces, a GRTS news broadcast last night stated. It further announced that a news release from Gambia Armed Forces stated that, “this despicable action by the senior officer is a serious breach of the trust and responsibility vested in him”. Lt Commander Momodou Badgie “is therefore a fugitive from justice,” the release stated, adding that “it should be noted that it is punishable by law to grant refuge to any known or unknown fugitive”. Any information on the whereabouts of Lt Commander Momodou Badgie should be forwarded to the nearest police station, military barracks and or military police post, the release added.

Jammeh Snubs State Opening Of Parliament

Gambians leaving parliament full of disappointment @ Touch On Gambia

President Yahya Jammeh, who was scheduled to preside over the State Opening of Parliament on Thursday, decided to snub the occasion. Ironically, Mr. Jammeh’s office failed to provide justifiable reasons thus throwing the public into total confusion characterised by murmurs.

Parliamentarians, diplomats and members of the public gathered at the National Assembly building in Banjul and waited for President Jammeh to show up for the 2016 State Opening of Parliament. After several hours of waiting in vain, Mr. Jammeh did not show up, leaving everyone wondering about the reasons for his absence or no-show.

                                 

Police outside parliament prepared to mount guard of honour @ Touch On Gambia

Hours later, the Speaker of House Abdoulie Bojang informed the public about the event’s cancellation. He, however, failed to dilute confusion in a country where majority of people rely on rumours to feed their souls.  Mr. Bojang, who admitted he was not in control over the news, only said the program has been “postponed until further notice.” Gambians are at pain with their government’s failure to tell them the reasons for the abrupt cancellation of such a very important national program.

President Jammeh’s unexplained absence has also thrown parliamentarians of both sides – opposition and ruling party – into total confusion. The Majority Leader Fabakary Tombong Jatta who used the Daily Observer newspaper to appeal to the public to attend the event was also disappointed.

Also pissed off with Mr. Jammeh’s no-show was the Minority Leader. Samba Bah blamed the executive branch for unnecessarily wasting taxpayer’s money.

“Something must definitely be wrong with President Jammeh,” our Banjul source said. “He has been playing games on several occasions – mostly trying to make us believe that the country is faced with security concerns. I think this time around he has a real issue at hand. But it will come to light no matter how long it takes,” he said.

Some sources linked Mr. Jammeh’s absence to sickness. Kairo News is trying to corroborate this version of the story.

This is the first time in history that any sitting Gambian president would be absent in the State Opening of Parliament.

The State Opening of Parliament, which officially marks the beginning of the Legislative Year, is a constitutional requirement that allows the president to highlight the government’s development programmes and policies before lawmakers. It also gives him the opportunity to showcase the government’s achievements and shortfalls for the past year.

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source;www.kaironews.com