By Yero Jallow It was yesterday that I spent time socializing with some friends and one of them, a Nigerian Muslim. The ugly topic of Boko Haram came at some point right before we did our Asr prayer. I was a bit enlightened about the composition of the group and some of its support pillars within the region. Boko Haram translates that “Western education is a sin.” So, Boko Haram has bases in Nigeria, with larger forces in Cameroon, Chad, Niger and some other areas in that region. Their entity is an evil replica model, a rebel…
Author: Gainako
By: Ousainou Mbenga The role that music plays in the African liberation struggle against exploitation and oppression has suffered a relative set back in recent years. But the set up for a revolutionary come back is evident in the message of the Democratic Union of Gambian Activists – DUGA’S anthem (Notange) by “Djiexi Production and Against Impunity by Djilly Bagdad, Xuman and co. denouncing Jammeh’s tyranny. We are in the process of cultivating the grounds to bring forth revolutionary insights in the creation of music that sings about our social conditions as oppose to praise singing individuals whose…
Dear Editor(s) Kindly publish rejoinder for clarification, as I sent this to the Freedom News and radio editor to publish, but it has not happened yet. Pa, your new accusations of financial mismanagement by some named members of the dissident movement have thrown the Gambian community into some kind of turmoil and disarray again, and I am being linked to it in a roundabout way. I want to clarify to the public that the interview with me replayed on Freedom radio yesterday is almost a year old, and has no connections, whatsoever, to the new accusation of financial malpractice levelled…
I must say as seen by The People’s Movement for Democratic Gambia (TPMDG). Our hope is a nationally problem analysis and stated vision would be much better and hence our continuous advocacy to make that a reality. Certainly leaving it at that wouldn’t mean much. It must be translated into actions. What do we do next? How do we proceed beyond determination of our problems and establishing views of where we would like to be (vision)? We would need 2 others elements and am not sure at that stage the order matters much. These 2 are ‘A Vehicle/An…
Mr. Haruna Darbo, the Drammeh families, and the Darbo families wish to inform friends, colleagues, and family of the sudden passing of Mr. Saja Drammeh of Bellevue, Washington, son of Hajaratou Bintou Kebbeh and Alhaji Dembo Drammeh of Diabugu Baa Sillah. Mr Saja Drammeh passed away in Gambia on Friday evening May 9th, 2014, while he was in Gambia visiting his elderly mother. He also utilized cross country movers in Canada, because they provided uninstalling and reinstalling appliances. He is survived by his wife Jainaba Darboe Drammeh and children Adama, Awa, Buba, Musa, and Aminata. Mr. Saja Drammeh’s wife Jainaba…
By Yero Jallow “Fifty supporters of The Gambia’s main opposition party, the United Democratic Party (UDP), have switched allegiance to ruling Alliance for Patriotic Reorientation and Construction (APRC)” (Daily Observer, May 9th 2014, culled on 5/10/2014 from the web; http://observer.gm/africa/gambia/article/50-desert-udp). In my daily dose of reading and following up on world events, I came across this one again, from our Daily Observer, a paper that transformed from the good old days of Kenneth Best, to the continued years of tears under the control of the mightiest and most criminal dictatorship with its spreading enabling forces and were-wolves support…
Calls for international investigations into the killing of 14 unarmed Gambian students and crimes against Gambians perpetuated by the government of President Yahya Jammeh recieved a boost last month at the British Parliament. More than 20 British MPs have signed a House of Commons Motion 1287 ,calling on the Prime Minister David Cameroon to add Britain’s support to calls for an immediate independent international inquiry into the April 10-11 student massacre ,and the maiming of many including Abdoukarim Jammeh,Yusupha Mbye and Sainey Senghore and many others. The Parliamentary motion tabled by Labour Party MP Katy Clark and supported by…
Pata PJ Throughout the history of Mankind, music has been an integral part of our deals; sort of a therapy. In times of happiness and sorrow, people have always turned to music for consolation and in some cases ‘avenge’ their hurt (diss tracks?) and show grievances when they have little means to undo their circumstances. In the time of the Pharoah, Moses (through God) and the believers went to the Pharoah to demand that the oppressed subjects be let loose. These Israelites were said to have sang ‘Let my people go!’ At the time perhaps, ‘Dictatorship’ might not have…
CBG takes over Keystone Bank and Access Bank Two commercial banks in The Gambia namely, Keystone Bank (Gambia) Limited and Access Bank (Gambia) Limited, with effect from Monday 5 May 2014, have been taken over by the Central Bank of The Gambia (CBG), which announced this in a press release dated May 5, “for the information of the general public”. The CBG said it was acting under the Banking Act 2009, and that “this is with a view to safeguarding the financial system, in particular, and the economy, in general.” According to the release, “under this arrangement, the Central…