Re: Prosecuting Jammeh alone not enough
Dear editor,
I am telling OJ that Jammeh alone will not be prosecuted. Anyone and I mean anyone, who has a hand in enabling him in the 22 years of tyranny will also face justice. Be it financially or torture, killing or otherwise. Then we will forgive and move on. If you forgave him doesn’t mean the entire Gambia has to forgive him.
Furthermore please Agriculture minister address the situation of the farmers who couldn’t still sell their groundnuts. And help facilitate the boreholes that you have promised the farmers. We need our agricultural sector to be revamped for increased production to food security. We should be able to feed ourselves. We can’t keep importing our basic food stuff. Please help the farmers with the necessary tools. We have abundance of land and water. Let’s make good use of them.
And before I forget you have said it loud and clear on the platform of Jammeh victims that there should be no selective justice. And it best to let the law take its course. Anyone found wanting should face justice. Justice has to be served first before we can forgive. We can’t forgive someone who is denying any wrongdoing. So Jammeh and co should face justice first and then the people of The Gambia can forgive them.
Ebrima Cham
Re: High school education very basic for presidential candidate
Dear editor,
Almamy Taal’s tone, if correctly reproduced by this reporter, is rather disappointing. I expected more foresight from a spokesman of UDP and also on his own right a lawyer by profession. Good judgment is not anchored exclusively on the education level one can show on paper. The constitution should not discriminate against anyone base on school certificates just as it should not discriminate any able Gambian base on anything apart from criminal record. If we would go by the criteria as threshold of standing for president being conditional to have a college/university degree, we would be excluding half of today’s Gambians from taking part in fair democratic dispensation.
I think the choice of word, if reproduced correctly, of the newly appointed spokesman is unfortunate. If you talk about inclusion, you don’t single out 2 parties and label them as gold standards and debase the rest as “Clowns”. NRP, NCP; GMC and even GDC /APRC have decent people and educated members too.
I think broadly, the selection of candidates as UDP is doing, through primaries, is the step in the right direction. Through the rigorous selection process, combined with a fair refereeing and impartial party leadership, in general competent people will be selected to stand for political posts. I think by far, this is the only plausible way you can objectively ensure that all people take part in the democratic dispensation.
It is not perfect but the fairest among the alternatives!
I also wish to remind Mr. Taal that among the people who marched with Solo Sandeng and subsequently with Darboe on those fateful days in April 2016, at least half of them, do not own a college degree or more. Some of them may not even own a primary school certificate. Denying such people the right to stand for election and be voted for would tantamount to grave unfairness.
Our by-word should be competence and good sense of judgment. And the selection process must remain open to all to compete. The party delegates and by extension the voters have the ultimate powers to decide who get elected to political office.
Kemo Kinteh
