By Tabora Bojang
Top lawyer Lamin J Darbo has said the continuous retention of sedition in Gambian law books is a colonial legacy kept by successive governments to “enslave citizens and trample on their fundamental rights.”
Mr Darboe’s comments came on the heels of the arrest of opposition UDP executive member Ebrima Dibba who has been charged with uttering seditious words against President Adama Barrow.
Dibba, who denied the charges, was granted bail at a magistrate’s court in Banjul.
Speaking at on Kerr Fatou, Lawyer J Darbo without specifically referring to the Dibba case, said maintaining sedition in our laws is not only draconian but inimical to democracy, accountability of public officials and the development of a dynamic civic society.
“I will not comment on or relate my comments to the ongoing Dibba case. I am only expressing my opinion on sedition law generally. In this country, sedition is defined as criticising the president or the judiciary when it is considered to incite hatred, contempt against them or belittling them in the eyes of the people”, he said.
This law, he added, should be reviewed and removed from the law books as it was put there when Gambia was not independent and successive governments refuse to remove it because they want to continue enslaving the citizens just as the colonial government did.
“They continue to go after their critics in a bid to silence them and do things that are useless. There are other provisions that can be relied on when such issues arise but I don’t agree that the sedition law should remain in our laws. It has passed its time.
The president is a public servant and the people in the courts are also public servants so you cannot make them as if they are not part of human society and that nobody can criticise them, or hold them accountable for their actions to say things that they are not okay with. I personally don’t agree with it,” the senior lawyer stated.
