By Prince Bubacarr Aminata Sankanu Since the 7th November 2014, a group of 12 men, women and a boy, is held incommunicado in The Gambia, West Africa, on suspicion of being gays and lesbians or LGBTs. More arrests are anticipated from a list with about 200 names compiled by the country’s secret police, the National Intelligence Agency (NIA). Apart from the usual written protest by rights groups and the prejudicial remarks by religious hypocrites, no prominent person, Gambian or non-Gambian, has gone further in taking decisive action for the detainees to be…
Author: Gainako
Mambanyick Njie acquitted Former permanent secretary Mambanyick Njie at the Ministry of Youth and Sports was yesterday acquitted and discharged by Principal Magistrate Dawda Jallow of the Banjul Magistrates’ Court. Monday’s judgment brought to end two years of trial, after he was indicted on a single-count charge of giving false information to a public officer. Police prosecutors accused Mambanyick Njie that on 1 March 2012 in Banjul whilst serving as permanent secretary at the Ministry of Youth and Sports, he wrote a petition to the Office of the President stating that the then Gambia Football Association (GFA) executive officers were…
For more than 200 years, our tradition of welcoming immigrants from around the world has given us a tremendous advantage over other nations. It’s kept us youthful, dynamic, and entrepreneurial. It has shaped our character as a people with limitless possibilities. People not trapped by our past, but able to remake ourselves as we choose. But today, our immigration system is broken, and everybody knows it. Families who enter our country the right way and play by the rules watch others flout the rules. Business owners who offer their wages good wages benefits see the competition exploit undocumented immigrants by…
By Ebrima Manneh In a nation where liberties are willfully violated and rights continuously denied, concerned citizens find it a moral responsibility to do whatever it takes to reclaim their basic rights. It is a moral injustice and an unfair burden for a small minority to take up what should be the overall responsibility of a whole nation. The current regime in Gambia continues to impose draconian and undemocratic laws because we the people have failed to put up resistance and have willingly accepted to be herded. As Dr. Ben Carson…
The Gambia government on Saturday November 29 in the 8 pm prime time television news said it will not condone any dialogue with the European Union or any other bloc on the need for the liberty of homosexuals in The Gambia. This was contained in a declaration read by the minister of Foreign Affairs, Hon Bala Garba Jahumpa on national television, and came a week after the reported arrests and detention of homosexuals. The following is from the government declaration: “We the government and people of The Gambia hereby make it very clear to the Union European and any…
By Abdul Savage The Army calls it AAR (After-Action Review), some civilians call it Periodical Review, others call it Re-evaluation, and others say it is called Periodic Report, while others call it Taking Stock. Other smart people call it Assessment, and some say it is called Recap. Whatever name you elect to call it, you must at least once a year have a re-evaluation of your objectives compared to the results, your shortcomings and successes (if any) are evaluated, and efforts re-directed where necessary and warranted, to achieve your goal or maximize your strides to achieve the objective that…
Egypt’s Dangerous Precedence: Hosni Mubarak By Yero Jallow. It is nerve breaking to see Egypt setting dangerous precedence. According to news report on CNN online (www.cnn.com, culled from the web on 11/29/2014, http://www.cnn.com/2014/11/29/world/meast/egypt-mubarak-trial/index.html?hpt=hp_t2), a court in Egypt has acquitted Egyptian former criminal ruler, Hosni Mubarak. It sends a wrong message to the rest of the African oppressors sitting on the high chairs and continually enjoying the limelight. In January of 2011, many people hailed the Egyptian people, for doing what was thoughtfully a people revolution to rid the old…
Gainako is on record vehemently criticizing Gambia’s first lady Zainab Zuma Jammeh in many fronts where we thought she failed to take full opportunity of her role as a first lady. Sometimes last year we issued a strong editorial on Gainako radio challenging the humanity and compassion of the first lady when it comes to Gambian matters. We issued a disclaimer that we were challenging the first lady not in her capacity as an individual woman, but her role as a first lady of the Republic of the Gambia. We cited many references to history around the world where…
Notice is hereby given that (CORDEG UK), in association with Sene-Gambia Human Rights Defence League is holding a Symposium in London. The gathering will be addressed by Hon OJ Jallow (a well- known Public spirited Gambian and politician/former cabinet Minister). Please follow details below: Topic: The state of play in Gambia and The way Forward. Date: Sunday November 30 2014 Time: 2.30pm GMT onwards Venue: Athlone Hall…. Athlone Street Kentish Town London NW5 4 LN Contact details for more information: Aib Jobe: 0771 225 8887 James Bahoum: 07429 326721 All Gambians AND friends of The Gambia are…
Mike Brown killed by a police officer By: Madi Jobarteh What is the difference between a police officer (any police officer) shooting an unarmed teenager on one hand and on the other hand, the spilling of oil by a big company like BP in the Gulf of Mexico for which it was been punished severely by the US Government? At the core of both events is the failure of one who bears responsibility to do the right thing yet failed to do so. Both incidents therefore demand for justice for victims who are at the receiving end of a…