By Facuru Sillah
Mandinaring mourns the loss of its son Omar Badjie. My community fumes in anger at policing gone terribly wrong so that a life is extinguished at its prime. Smoke bellows into the skies of my hometown in response to an alleged smoking incident of a joint of weed by a 27-year-old man. In response to the incident, my first reaction was to call on the Mandinaring Diaspora Association (MDA) on whose project Omar was working, to hire a lawyer in support of the bereaved family to help ensure justice is seen to be done in this case. I’ve followed the associated skirmishes between the police and angry youths. I appreciate the responsive compromises made by the authorities, notably the release of the detained youths. Let sanity prevail. Professionals can still make mistakes. What’s important is for goodwill to guide every action and reaction. We are one. Ego must submit to reason. Law must be of service to the nation.
Exactly 25 years ago, in a similar incident in Brikama, that is, the death of a student at the hands of fire services officers who got involved in a disciplinary problem at a school, I advised President Yahya Jammeh to fire his Interior Minister and the Inspector General of Police when they used disproportionate force to stop the associated student protests at the death of young Ebrima Barry, and eventually killed more youths. Jammeh didn’t listen but that’s when he started looking bad at home and abroad. I’m asking for no less of President Barrow in the case of Omar Badjie. History, they say, repeats itself but not without significant variations. Such variations are noted, but the fact remains the same. To demonstrate good leadership, Barrow must relieve his Interior Minister and or the IG. This is not to say they are directly responsible for the death of the boy, but because it happened under their leadership. That will show enough respect for the life of Omar, console the bereaved family and appease Omar’s fellow youths who are protesting his death by venting their anger in the streets of Mandinaring and its neighbourhood.
The whole purpose of the police is to be of service to the people. There is no sensible way a routine police patrol in a quiet community should cut a life short. Below is my response to a social commentator who regretted the provision of crowd control resources like teargas and water cannons for our post-dictatorship era police.
“Equipping the police with law enforcement resources is not to be regretted. In the absence of such resources, live bullets are the only resort. That explains why protesters were shot dead before. Bad policing attitudes are not quickly changed. The education pill is what the police need. Hence, the security sector reform. Its fruits are not yet ripe. Meanwhile, those who are found wanting must be prosecuted and made to face the consequences of their faults. Law enforcers can’t be violating the law in the process. That’s unacceptable. It’s unfortunate that almost a decade after toppling the Jammeh dictatorship, the reforms are too slow to be seen in practice. The police must be respecters of life and the dignity of the human being. The last time I checked, there’s a human rights unit in the police structure. What are their gains? They must step up their game. I don’t see why the police major in minor issues. Manhandling a young man for a misdemeanour is wrong. A disproportionate use of force is irresponsible. May the soul of the victim rest in peace, and may peace reign in The Gambia. It’s disappointing when the fence eats the crops it’s supposed to protect. It’s offensive to logic when a citizen dies at the hands of the police. It’s a failure of the state’s responsibility to protect. Mandinaring town mourns the death of Omar Badjie. The boy was working at the Mandinaring Diaspora Association’s sponsored construction of a mortuary at the local health centre built by the community. What a pity! It’s heartbreaking to see my hometown in such bad news. I urge restraint among all stakeholders. Justice must prevail for any healing and closure to take place… May Allah grant the deceased Jannatul Firrdaus and may his loved ones have the strength to bear the irreparable loss. Amen.”
