Author: Yusef Taylor

By Yusef Taylor, @FlexDan_YT National Assembly members will be holding public hearings at Jarra Soma (the centre of Mansakonko) and Brikama Ba tomorrow 28th April 2021 focusing on the Elections Bill 2021. The tour which started today 27th April 2021 is expected to be concluded on Friday 30th 2021. There are currently two teams of National Assembly members from the joint committee of the Regional Government and Lands, Ombudsman and IEC and Human Rights and Constitutional Matters touring the country on this sensitisation tour focusing on the Elections Bill 2021. The North Bank team of National Assembly members is chaired by Hon…

By Yusef Taylor, @FlexDan_YT Comfort Quality Services (Comfort) has increased the price of personalised number plates from D10,000 to D11,500 against the Traffic Act which dictates that personalised number plates be priced at D2,500. According to the Motor Traffic Act, CAP. 70:03 provision 12A (1) “the licensing authority may issue a personalised identification plate for a fee of two thousand five hundred Dalasis [D2,500]”. However, Comfort has decided to ignore this law completely for the benefit of their business. When our reporter questioned Comfort’s Operations Manager, Mr Ousman Njie about this violation he said “the personalised number plate I understand…

By Yusef Taylor, @FlexDan_YT For the Diaspora to Vote, the Executive (Ministry of Justice and Ministry of Foreign Affairs in particular), the National Assembly and the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) must manifest the Political will to secure the Diaspora Vote. 1. Firstly, the IEC and the Ministry of Justice must ensure the right legislation is in place. To date, only the Elections Bill 2020 has been table which was pioneered by the IEC and the Ministry of Justice. There are some additional Constitutional Amendments which are needed to be tabled by the Ministry of Justice (MoJ). These amendments include legislating…

By Yusef Taylor, @FlexDan_YT Gambian Civil Society Organisation Women’s Association for Victims’ Empowerment (WAVE) launched their video documentary titled “We Were Accused” on Friday 16th March 2021 at the Kairaba Beach Hotel. The documentary showcases victims of a witch hunt campaign initiated by former Dictator Yahya Jammeh back in 2009. Co-Founder, Ms Priscilla Yagu Ceesay explained how “WAVE has been working with victims of the witch hunt campaign since they started [2019] on the Kairabolungi Project”.  However, “bringing it to the big screen” was through “the collaboration with the UN Transitional Justice and funding from the Peace Building Fund”. Speaking…

By Yusef Taylor, @FlexDan_YT A statement issued by “The Super League” has announced that “Leading European Football Clubs Announce New Super League Competition” which will break away from Europe’s highly popular European Champions League. The statement issued on Sunday 18th April 2021 reads that “twelve of Europe’s leading football clubs have today come together to announce they have agreed to establish a new mid-week competition, the Super League, governed by its Founding Clubs.” At the moment the main European Club Competition is the UEFA Champions League and the UEFA Europa League which sees the best clubs in Europe compete in…

By Yusef Taylor, @FlexDan_YT The Chairperson of the National Assembly’s (NA) Public Petition Committee, Hon Sunkary Badjie of Foni Berefet has told Gainako that all petition appeals should be forwarded to his Committee, however, the Office of the Clerk has still not forwarded the Number Plate Petition Appeal to his Committee. According to Hon Badjie, the delay forced him “to confront the Clerk about the letter because I sense that someone’s rights are being seized”. This article features an exclusive interview with the Chairperson of the NA’s Petition Committee and Mr Landing Jobe, the Director of Committees at the NA.…

By Yusef Taylor, @FlexDan_YT The Chairperson of the Gambia Center for Victims of Human Rights Violations (Victim Center) told Gainako that his team concluded an outreach in Upper River Region (URR), in Basse “to sensitise the victims and the general public on the reparations policy and the reparations of Truth Reconciliation and Reparations Commission (TRRC)”. In an exclusive interview with, Mr Sheriff Muhammed Kijera, Victim Centre’s Chairperson, he told Gainako that the outreach conducted in partnership with the TRRC “started on Friday the 9th of April and concluded on Tuesday the 13th of April 2021”. Speaking about the Victim Centre’s…

By Yusef Taylor, @FlexDan_YT A Constitution (Amendment) Bill, 2021 which proposes to reserve 16 seats for women in the Gambia’s National Assembly has been validated by the Civil Society Gender Platform and other stakeholders on 10th April 2021. Numerous elected women and male leaders, Civil Society advocates and members of the media were present at the opening ceremony which took place at the Sir Dawda Kairaba Jawara International Conference Center. The National Assembly Member (NAM) for Banjul South, Hon. Touma Njie and Ms Tobaski Njie Sarr delivered the welcome remarks followed by opening remarks by Consultant, Ms Janet Sallah Njie…

By Yusef Taylor, @FlexDan_YT Aisha Jammeh was around 13 years old when she lost her dad. Speaking about the impact of her loss she says “I lost my dad at a very early age when I was 13, 14. I don’t have that type of childhood that a lot of children have. I was robbed of my childhood”. Aisha’s father, Haruna Jammeh, was the cousin of former President Yahya Jammeh who was allegedly killed by the “Junglers”, a private killing squad that reported directly to then-President Jammeh. One of the Junglers named Omar Jallow, commonly known as Oya confessed to…

By Yusef Taylor, @FlexDan_YT An early warning report published by the West African Network for Peacebuilding (WANEP) highlighted that “growing tension in mainstream and social media platforms also contributes to a waning social cohesion in the country”. According to WANEP “the manipulation of social media as a tool for ethnic exploitation and violent communication to stoke violent attacks against political opponents is a potential threat ahead of the 2021 Presidential election”. The report commences by contextualising “the Truth, Reconciliation and Reparation Commission (TRRC)”, as an investigation on the “human rights violations during the 22-year rule of former President Jammeh”. In…