Reports out of Banjul has it that the toothless and rubber stamping Special Criminal Court in Banjul has convicted UDP’s Treasurer and successful businessman Amadou Sanneh. He was sentenced to five years in Jail without an option of a fine. The verdict which was disgracefully read in front of a full court house after the presiding Judge Nkea took recess to consult with higher authorities before passing his judgement.
Mr. Sanneh was arraigned alongside Malang Fatty and Sambou Fatty and charged with conspiracy to commit an act with seditious intention, sedition, possession of seditious publication and false swearing. He has been illegally jailed for almost three months while his alleged offense is constitutionally a bailable offense.
A packed court room with supporters and curious citizens erupted in disbelieve when the verdict was read. Though many were not surprise of the verdict from the mercenary judges, the harsh sentence without an option of a fine was ridiculously insulting to many people’s conscience.
Leader of the UDP Lawyer Ousainou Darboe himeself a constitutional lawyer described the verdict as “travesty of Justice” and a slap in the face of human decently. “An innocent and decent citizen has been unjustly punished” said an angry Mr. Darboe. Amadou is not only a successful business man but a decent citizen who loves his country.
Amadou’s conviction defies every logic and sets a disgraceful precedence in Gambia’s justice system. It is truly a travesty of justice and the lowest from some of the most immoral and cowardly legal practitioners in Gambia’s justice system who dare not stand up and live up to the dictates of their oath of office and legal ethics. Sitting judges who are accused of corruption, succumbed to the dictates of one man for simply keeping a job at the expense of a people.
One thing is abundantly clear from this verdict, the Gambian people have been pushed to the limit of any imaginable patience. How such a high profile citizen smeared with false accusation, remanded during his trial, blatantly convicted and sentenced to jail without an option of a fine is simply the red line that any citizenry can take anymore. The sentence is nothing but a litmus test and a desire for President Jammeh to unleash his anger through his shameless judges on innocent citizens. It is equally a provocation of the masses to react so he could use the occasion to eliminate his most prominent political opponents.
The country and the international community is closely watching this open assault on the people of the Gambia. No citizen regardless of what side of the political spectrum you are is spared of Jammeh’s desire to establish his authority. His desire to shed blood in the country cannot be more explicit. He has provoked and exhausted last drop of patience of the Gambian people. He must therefore be held responsible for inciting violence against innocent citizens. His security forces which are his only force to lean on in brutalizing innocent citizens must equally be held responsible for anything that happens through a mass uprising of citizens at this point. Any common sense security personnel who are well aware of being the next victims of this brutal regime must stand with the people and refuse to defend a dying regime willing to set the country ablaze. What happens next as citizens run out of patience is anybody’s guess, but Gambians must be free of this treachery no matter the price. There is no heavier price to be paid than what the Gambian people have already endured.