Dear Editor,
When I saw the Gambia Police Force using words like “ethics,” “professionalism,” “integrity,” and “impartiality,” I said to myself, either these folks do not know what these words mean, or they think Gambians are too stupid to see through their smoke and mirrors. Ethics, professionalism, integrity, and impartiality are not buzzwords to be thrown around when convenient. Rather, these words are values that any institution worthy of its salt lives by.
A professional police force will not engage in violating the rights of the people they are entrusted with protecting. Does the name Alagie Bora Sisawo ring a bell? How about Madi Jobarteh? Is the Gambia Police Force telling us that they acted professionally in what they did to these two gentlemen? A professional police force will not allow politicians who do not represent any constituency to come to their office and influence what they do. An impartial police force will not dance to the tune of politicians in power. An ethical police force will not feed government representatives with lies to feed the public. Remember the lies of that you fed us to associate the “shooter” with the UDP? Did that also come from you?
On the issue of Asst. Superintendent Binta Njie, it is lost on those of you orchestrating the bidding of political mandarins that she was only being human. There is nothing unprofessional in what she wrote. If anything, you should commend her for her bravery and sagacity. Professionalism is not mutually exclusive with humanity. You should pray to have many more police officers like her, officers who do not think their so-called professionalism trumps their humanity. Professionalism does not mean being a robot. One of the reasons Yaya Jammeh could ask spineless officials to go to the Central Bank and take boxes of cash for his wife to go shopping is because he had brainless “professionals” who think that being a professional means doing what you are asked to do whether it is right or wrong. The reason the Junglers had no issues killing Gambians was that they thought they were being “professional” by putting plastic bags over the heads of their victims and choking the life out of them. May Daarmanso spare Gambians from public and civil servants whose idea of being professional is ignoring evil and minding their business while their people suffer. May Daarmanso spare Gambians from officials and officers whose idea of professionalism trumps their idea of humanity, forgetting that they were humans before being professionals.
I have worked as a Public Affairs Officer before, and while I was limited in issues I could comment on, I never hesitated to speak on issues that affect Blacks and Africa. As long as what I wrote about was written in my personal capacity, no one had any issues. If you cannot commend the young lady for what she did, please let her be. Your naked partisanship is not only embarrassing, but it is becoming very worrying for those of us who saw The Gambia Police Force at the forefront of the abuse of the APRC Government. Some of us remember how you ate your own during Yaya Jammeh’s so-called witch hunt exercise. And when you start using words like “professionalism, integrity, impartiality, and ethics,” we wonder if you actually know what they mean or if you think we are stupid. Let Asst. Superintendent Njie be please.
Alagie Saidt-Barrow
