Author: Gainako

By Solo The President of the Gambia Yahya Jammeh has today Friday 24th July implemented his promise to release various categories of convicts by Friday 24th 2015. According to the state owned GRTS over 227 prisoners have been freed today. Among the many prisoners released are detainees who are illegally held incommunicado for long periods of time without trial, who were not mentioned in the amnesty declaration on July 22nd. Lt. General Lang Tombong Tamba, the former Chief of Defence Staff, who have had his life imprisonment conviction appeal turned down by the Supreme court some few months back, is…

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AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL 24 July 2015 Gambia: Prisoner release should include all those detained for expressing dissent The release of at least 200 prisoners is a welcome step forward for human rights in Gambia, but should go further to release other prisoners of conscience still detained in the country , Amnesty International said today.President Yahya Jammeh has this afternoon released at least 200 prisoners, following his promise made during a speech marking his 21 year anniversary in power on Wednesday. These include numerous prisoners jailed for treason, drug offences and corruption, a former director of the National Intelligence Agency, Lamin…

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Mission Journal: Sue Valentine/CPJ Africa Program Coordinator President Barack Obama is expected to address a range of topics when he arrives in Kenya tomorrow. The Kenyan government says it plans to discuss security and trade, while opposition parties and civil society want good governance and human rights added to the agenda, according to news reports. We hope the discussion includes the commitments to improve press freedom that the Kenyan government made to CPJ last week. On July 15, we released our special report, “Broken Promises: How Kenya is failing to uphold its commitment to a free press,” in Nairobi…

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By Mathew K Jallow A big part of the miracle of change occurs by the forces of nature; sometimes with human influence, but more often; not. It is dynamic, imperceptible and mostly irreversible; with a capacity to draw human instincts to respond to changing circumstances. In political terms, Gambia and Gambians have reached a level of alienation that nature can only balance out with a corresponding decline of the Gambia’s agonizing regime. And this week, Gambians’ collective emotions are on a roller coaster; with a few stragglers unsure how to respond Yahya Jammeh’s chronic detachment from reality. But, for…

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The Warped Opinion of Andrew Rice on the Coup Attempt in the Gambia By Concerned Citizen The Guardian just published an article on the Dec 30 coup attempt in The Gambia written by Mr. Andrew Rice. Mr. Rice headlines his article thus: The Reckless Plot To Overthrow Africa’s Most Absurd Dictator. At first, this sensational headline came across as a rather desperate attempt to draw in readers but upon further scrutiny, it becomes evident that this was his way of shepherding his readers to his own warped conclusion. Rice not only tried to inform us about Jagne…

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Bowing Down to Pressure; We are Resolute, Step Down Jammeh!! By Yero Jallow Gambia’s criminal ruler, Yaya AJJ Jammeh, came to power through a military-backed overthrow on July 22nd 1994. Since then, he stationed himself as the world’s “Pharaoh” ruling with an iron-fist, and constantly exercising power greed by violating constitutional and human rights protections. Jammeh’s known power excesses and human rights violations cannot be all chronicled in a single paper. Most of the organizations and individuals doing a review on his political criminality come short as events are with respect to time. Take an example, the U.S…

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By Baba Galleh Jallow July 23, 2015 Dear Mr. President, I am writing this open letter to you in direct response to your speech of July 22, 2015 granting amnesty to several categories of people, including those convicted of treason in The Gambia and those members of the Gambian Diaspora who have been in disagreement and/or outright conflict with you and your government. This letter is motivated by pure love of country and a desire encourage what I understand, rightly or wrongly, to be a potential beginning of change for the better for our dear Motherland. My uncompromising…

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We received with mix feelings the news out of Banjul today that the President of the Gambia has extended a pardon to many citizens languishing in Jail including death row inmates. We are so excited for the hundreds of families that would potentially be reunited with their love ones. We believe this was long overdue. On the other hand we are cautious and firm in our consistent believes that actions speak louder than words. That Gambians must wait to see what happens, who is released and how many people are release come Friday July 24th in two days. This…

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By Solo The president of the tiny West African state of the Gambia surrounded by Senegal on all sides except the Atlantic Ocean, Yahya Jammeh, is celebrating his 21 years of military takeover of government from 1994 to date, and has today July 22nd 2015 pardoned various prisoners convicted of various crimes. The Gambian strong man said he took over the country when he was 29 years of age and today he is 50 years. He said he has a very important announcement to make and that was the reason why he was standing there. He condemned terrorism and…

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By Dbanjulist On the 21st anniversary of the 22nd July Coup, The President of the Republic of the Gambia, Yahya Jammeh, has declared pardon for all political prisoners from 1994-2013 with conditions. Jammeh made this announcement during his statement at the 21st July 22nd anniversary in Banjul on Wednesday 22 July 2015 at the Arch 22. The pardon was extended to all those convicted of murder cases and that have served a minimum of ten years. Whilst making his declaration he made a number of exemptions including a convict guilty of cannibalism. According to our Gainako correspondent the amnesty was extended…

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