Dear Editor,
This speculation is plausible given that he has not been banned and many of his allies, implicated in the TRRC and commission of inquiry, remain at large and hold influential positions within the government. The question stems from the strong aspirations among his supporters, both domestically and internationally, particularly with rumours that Babili Mansa is scheduled to arrive this month. To my knowledge, there is no existing ban on his candidacy. According to The Gambia’s constitution, eligibility for presidential candidacy requires citizenship and a minimum of one year of residency; thus, if Jammeh returns this month, he would meet the requirements by the time of the polls. With a substantial support base and the belief in his ownership and control over The Gambia, evidenced by his phone mass rallies addressing thousands in Kanilai, the possibility of his rule again is a subject of interest. This will become clearer with the reactions of key figures such as Fabakary Tombong Jatta, Seedy Njie, Rambo Jatta, and Fatoumata Jahumpa Ceesay as his party militants prepare for a potential homecoming and presidential run. Their responses will indicate whether they will support Jammeh, Babili Mansa, or President Barrow.
Kalilu Touray,
Washington state
Gambia we have a design problem?
Dear Editor,
There is no use denying the truth that we have inherited a poisoned chalice from the Jammeh dictatorship. No doubt Jammeh was the poster boy for bad governance for 22 years but the system of governance that backed him to the hilt is still firmly entrenched in the laws, institutional arrangements and personnel he left behind.
The inherited system as per the 1997 Constitution was designed to perpetuate ONE MAN RULE and is dedicated to the defenestration of the two other branches of the Government i.e the Legislature and the Judiciary.
The congenital flaws of the architecture of good governance in the Constitution have since 2017 made a national fresh start for our people virtually impossible and have dragged our nation through the gutters of incompetence and maladministration.
Some of us have been calling for reforming the law making process on day one because the rule of law is predicated on the premise that the laws in content and spirit are just and efficacious. Apartheid Nazism Segregation USA all proved that the rule of law by texts alone does not enthroned liberty justice and equality in a democratic republic.
What we must do urgently as a nation is to accept that the toolbox we have is not equal to the tasks at hand. The transition away from dictatorship have stalled mainly because of a deficit of laws : our nation’s statute books do not have the requisite laws to guide our actions to prove man’s brotherhood-national reconciliation.
What we must do now as one people is to sit around the table of brotherhood/sisterhood, in complete good faith talk with each other as brothers and sisters, with the confidence that as Gambians we have the human ingenuity to understand and solve our problems, in the abiding belief that we share a common destiny and we all want a better life for all our children.
Almami Fanding Taal
Banjul
