Global HOMM Debunks Government’s Ownership Claims of Bijilo Property

STATEMENT BY HOME OF MEDICAL MISSION (GLOBAL HOMM) TO SHED MORE LIGHT ON CERTAIN MISREPRESENTED FACTS AND UPDATE THE CITIZENRY.

23 JUNE 2022

Home of Medical Mission (Global HOMM) began coming to The Gambia in the year 2000 with medical missions, mobile clinics, health education, children’s programs and community development. More than 4,000 people received medical care each year from the volunteers of Home of Medical Mission (Global HOMM). It was on this basis of service and for the purpose of providing long-term medical care for The Gambia that it was deemed necessary to establish a permanent site. The allocation did come from the Government of The Gambia. However, the allocated property had never been in the hands of the Gambia Tourism Authority but property previously owned by one Masseray Faal, who graciously gave up her land for a purpose greatly beneficial to the Gambian people. I will refer you to our press statement of November 2021 during our second arrest while in detention, where we provided more more details and debunked the misleading statements made by the AG. We provided facts on our statement.

The time line of events to when the legal battle commenced is all detailed in the same said press statement of November 2021. I will provide you with a copy for your reference. But moving on to recent activities, I have/will provide you with all the following documentations to make your own judgements:

1. Correspondence before we commence court processes.
2. Judgement of 2019 from magistrate court.
3. Actions of state after judgement of 2019.
4. Another judgement from the high court revoking state’s illegal actions.
5. Further actions from the state by disobeying the orders of the court.
6. Evidence of intervention from the Sheriff of the high court.
7. Our unlawful, illegal arrest of October 11th 2021.
8. Judgement from the high court on November 17th 2021 in regards our unlawful, illegal arrest of October 11th 2021 on which the court said the actions of the state was a violation of our rights thus, unconstitutional.
9. On November 19th 2022, we were rearrested, manhandled, harassed, embarrassed and detained for 4 days. Court granted us bail on the 4th day.
10. Judgement in our favor on June 13th, 2022 for our suit against the IGP and AG in regards our arrest of November 19th 2021.
11. Another judgement on June 20th 2022 dismissing the state’s application in which they were seeking to set aside the previous judgement of June 29th 2020.

May I remind the AG of his utterances in his press releases of 11th October and 20th November 2021,

• He claimed there where two ongoing litigations, then why did the OIC secretariat together with its purported investor, contractors, and engineers make a site visit to the said property on 20th October 2021 that is still in ligation?
• I want to remind the AG that the state made an attempt by way of an application to strike out the suit on the representation that the property was one of those acquired by Yaya Jammeh and therefore a subject of the Janneh Commission, which was in fact false. The said application was dismissed by the Court.
• The State thereafter accepted payment of Land Rent from the Mission in the sum of D589,500 (Five Hundred and Eighty-Nine Thousand, Five Hundred Dalasi Only) covering the period of 2007 to 2020. Why then did they accept and receive the said payment and have not refunded the said sum to date.
• Such a payment should infact have been waived since during the periods 2010 to 2019, the property was wrongfully in the possession of the State until it was handed back by the said court judgement in September, 2019.
• The President, H.E. Adama Barrow, at a meeting in State House with Dr Gabou Mendy revealed to him that he had received $87,000,000.00 from a Foreign Investor to build a 5 Star Hotel for the purposes of the OIC three day Conference after which the property would revert to the said Investor. This discussion was later confirmed in a recorded conversation between Neneh Freda Gomez and the Government spokesperson Ebrima Sankareh.

It is unimaginable that as a lawyer, the Attorney General, would state that the Judgements/Orders of
the Courts in favour of Home of Medical Mission are unenforceable. It is a basic principle of law
that all judgements and Orders of Courts are valid and subsist until set aside. Even the layperson knows this basic principle. I dare to say that contrary to the misunderstanding of the law by the Attorney General all the orders obtained by the Mission are enforceable and subsist to date.

The Attorney General should provide you with the following questions, If Home of Medical Mission(GLOBAL HOMM) is a non-legal entity and cannot own land,

• Why did the State itself granted the lease to the Mission,
• Why permitted the Mission to develop the said land,
• After the judgement of the Magistrate’s Court in 2019, why accept payment of land rent from the same Mission in the sum of D589,550 (Five Hundred and Eighty-Nine Thousand, Five Hundred and Fifty Dalasi Only),
• Why which up to date has not been refunded money received by the State if indeed the State believed that Home of Medical Mission is a non-legal entity.
• If indeed the Mission cannot own land why then does the State want to compensate the Mission with another land by reason of its illegal acquisition of the Mission’s property as statedby the AG in his press statement? The Attorney General has said that they have transferred the property to a Private Investor to build a hotel for the OIC Conference.

The OIC secretariat in a press conference on Monday 20th June 2022, the same day the High court dismissed the state’s application, responded to journalist that the property is 100% state owned and has been given to a private investor ImmoGam as opposed to Immoland Sarl whom they signed a purported concession agreement with on Monday April 12, 2021. The question is how can the State transfer the said property to a Private Investor when they have not yet legally acquired the property from the Mission. With my little knowledge of the law, I know that one cannot give what he/she does not have. Ownership of the property remains with Home of Medical Mission (Global HOMM) and therefore the State could not have legitimately transferred it to anyone else.

The state through the AG continues to take the law in their own hands and blatantly disobeying and disrespecting the orders of the courts by using state owned security apparatusas like banana jackets to trample on the rights of citizens. If left unchecked, their distasteful actions will sure compromise the sanctity of our courts and renders the rule of law in this country futile.

Professor Khama Rogo once said “POWER CORRUPTS AND ABSOLUTE POWER CORRUPTS ABSOLUTELY.”

It is also quite often said that “HEALTH IS WEALTH AND A HEALTHY NATION IS A WEALTHY NATION”. I believe then if health is wealth, the lack of health must be poverty. I guess we all now know why our country the Gambia is what is it today. We can change our situation because it is only us who can. GHOMM has a solution. GHOMM IS THE SOLUTION and together we all as Gambians can get what we deserve.

NEVER AGAIN should we be deprived from rights that are constitutionally ours.

NEVER AGAIN! NEVER AGAIN! NEVER AGAIN!