Gambian NAMs call urgent praise singing session as Jammeh secretly signs Bill By Dbanjulist On 29th July – The Gambia’s National Assembly Members (NAM) met to convene a special session specifically to heap praises on The President of the Republic of The Gambia, Yahya Jammeh for his recent pardon of at least 200 prisoners. The majority APRC (Jammeh’s Ruling party) NAM started the session by unanimously agreeing that the recent Pardon was “one of a kind” and described it as the “greatest act of magnanimity”. The motion was completed as the NAMs declared that there was no contradiction with the President’s kind gesture.During the debate…
Author: Gainako
By Sarjo Bayang Picks the Message From the lips of Interior Minister Ousman Sonko all pardoned prisoners are under close watch and liable to arrest. Recently pardoned prisoners by presidential prerogative of mercy could no longer smile with hope of absolute relief. They are subject to arrest any time sooner and bound over peace for next ten (10) years; going by warning of Interior Minister Sonko. Stay out of politics to avoid being arrested Just before they are permitted going home, prisoners recently pardoned by Gambian president Yaya Jammeh have been warned about risks of arrest and further detention.…
H.E. Dr Nkoszana Dlamini-Zuma Chairperson, Africa Union Commission Addis Ababa, ETHIOPIA Dear Dr. Dlamini-Zuma, There is a discernible shift in attitude among ordinary citizens across our continent, specifically concerning the current state of African governance that relates to the new trend employed by some African Heads of States, of changing the rules midstream, in a blatant attempt at extending their stay in power for an indefinite period of time. Every effort must be made by the African Union in collaborations with regional political organizations to stop this trend from becoming a permanent and acceptable fixture in the African…
ENLARGING CIVIL LIBERTIES THROUGH PRISONER RELEASE SHOULD BE ACCOMPANIED BY ENLARGEMENT OF POLITICAL RIGHTS THROUGH ELECTORAL REFORM When the PDOIS leadership issued a clarion call for a mass release of detainees before the APRC commemoration of the 21st anniversary of the coup, we were simply articulating the sovereign wishes of family members whose incarcerated loved ones were under threat as the nation wondered why two Bills which were a threat to both civil liberties and political rights were put in the Public space in the month of June, 2015. In short, before the prisoner release which is welcomed by the…
Analysis 24 July 2014 By Bernadette Paolo In July of 2009, Barack Obama delivered his first speech as President in Ghana calling for change in Africa. Many African countries sought that initial visit from the new American leader, in particular Kenya. It turns out that President Obama’s timing for going to Kenya now, six years and many victories later, is perfect. He returns to the continent for the fourth time, this time a champion who is cementing his legacy as it pertains to Africa. No one appreciates a winner more than a hometown, in this instance, an ancestral home…
By Karamba Touray The legal , active and registered opposition political parties in the Gambia individually and in the aggregate have reached a fork on the road and they must make a historic and consequential decision that will result in either an opportunity for the Gambian people to renew their faith in democracy by embracing a united and determined opposition as they lead the fight to establish the will of the people or they can remain fractured, weighted down by petty politics, inertia and a lack of urgency to match the existential threat the nation and its people face.Significantly…
Press Releases: Release of Pardoned Prisoners and Disappearance of Gambian Journalist 07/28/2015 10:20 AM EDT Press Statement John Kirby Department Spokesperson Washington, DC July 28, 2015 The United States notes President Jammeh’s decision to pardon and release at least 200 prisoners and welcomes, in particular, his decision to release, after a lengthy period of detention without charge, family members of the December 30, 2014 coup plotters. We call on The Gambia to respect its human rights obligations and to release all other prisoners currently being held without charge for longer than the 72-hour period established by The Gambia’s constitution.…
As the dust settles from Gambian president Yahya Jammeh’s abrupt “Prisoner pardon” on July 22nd 21st anniversary, and without any likely further explanation from the President on the rationale behind the unprecedented move, it is becoming clearer that there is more to the story than a genuine repentant leader rediscovering his faith 21 years later. The Prisoner release which includes over 200 detainees mainly people convicted of criminal offenses; murder and alleged treasonable charges looks more like an attempt to reunite and reconcile a gang of criminal enterprise who have lived and breath corruption, nepotism and abuse of office…
Mathew K Jallow It was a week of surprises, cheers, laughs, smiles, hugs, kisses, tears of sadness and tears of joy; all in one hell of a family reunion. Prisoners who had languished in dreary prison cells for years were finally set loose from the dungeon of death, Mile 2 Prison, to a waiting crowd of family and curious onlookers. For those condemned to death, or on life sentences, it is like the miracle at Mile 2. But, this is still the Gambia, where justice and the rule of law are foreign concepts, and Yahya Jammeh is renowned more…
On July 23rd, 2015, Gambia’s Yahya Jammeh began releasing prisoners from some of the worst prisons in Africa. On the same day, President Barack Obama left Washington, DC. for second trip to Africa as president of the United States. Yahya Jammeh, has long time been on the radar of western governments and institution unhappy with the state of human rights in the Gambia. As a result, in January, 2015, the United States removed Gambia from the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act for failing to meet eligibility requirements. In December, 2014, Reuters reports the European Union withholding critical funds from…