Political activist Madi Jobarteh has issued a “public notice” on Monday claiming that President Adama Barrow has threatened his life on national television during a meeting of the latter with Banjul Muslim elders who visited State House to felicitate the head of state on the Ramadan eid.
In the public notice, Jobarteh wrote: “Out of a guilty conscience and under pressure, President Adama Barrow has just threatened my life on national television today Monday 2 May 2022 at State House. I hereby put all Gambians and relevant national and international bodies on notice. My life is currently in danger, threatened by the president of the Republic Adama Barrow. From today, the safety or destruction of my life is in the hands of the president. I consider the president’s remark as a death threat.
“The president has expressed in no uncertain terms, unequivocally, precisely and directly that he wants to eliminate me because he cannot take the heat coming from my uncompromising stance in holding him and his government accountable. He has already set a perfect but false scenario that I wish to burn down this country and therefore I should be ‘handled’. This means he has set the context and the pretext for a preemptive attack on my person. There’s no doubt that his government is corrupt, inept and dishonest that is dangerously undermining the peace, stability, unity and the future of The Gambia! As a cover-up for his failure to respond to the urgent needs of the country, he has decided to dishonestly deflect issues by attacking a citizen and his constitutional rights.
“I hereby publicly notify the National Human Rights Commission that President Barrow has expressed his intention to seize and kill my rights including my right to life, my right to personal liberty, my right to freedom of expression, and my right to political participation and my duty to hold the state accountable! These are all rights and duties entrenched in the 1997 Constitution under Chapter 4.
I wish to notify the Inspector General of Police to ensure my physical safety and security including the safety of my home and my family, as a result of a presidential threat.
“I wish to put on notice the UN and foreign missions in The Gambia about this direct, unwarranted and unprovoked attack from the President of the Republic. In due course I shall submit a formal complaint to all relevant authorities.
Meantime, I shall continue to fulfill my constitutional rights and duties as a citizen of this country to defend the constitution and the republic to the best of my ability. I harbour no grudge or ill will against Adama Barrow nor against any public official. What I do is to uphold and defend the constitution in order to ensure that the rights and freedoms of all Gambians remain protected and our needs get fulfilled by the state. That’s the only reason for my advocacy.
Hence if The Gambia Government is doing the right things in upholding the Constitution and fulfilling its obligations accordingly I will have nothing to say other than to commend and encourage them, at least.
I have no doubts that while I hold the President responsible for these threats, I also hold the entire Cabinet, State House officials, his Advisors and his political surrogates and allies are all complicit in this very serious attack. It is obvious that the President has been ill advised and encouraged by these officials and surrogates to threaten by life, thereby undermining the President by making him to act unconstitutionally. If not, I hope to see anyone of them to distance themselves from these unconstitutional remarks and even resign in protest.”
