The Ecowas Community Court has upheld the claim by Gambian lawyer and staff of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Melville Roberts, that The Gambia Government violated his right to work when it terminated his service after sexual offence allegations against him by four women surfaced in social media and news outlets. Mr Robertson was never tried in any court over the allegations.
In protesting his innocence, Roberts filed a case in the court claiming that his right to work has been violated and accused the government of slandering his name.
In its ruling in Abuja yesterday, the court held that while it does not agree with the applicant that the state was responsible for social media and news outlets slandering the applicant, the fact that the accused person has been deprived from working and earning a living is a complete violation of his rights and that the state of The Gambia must compensate him.
The defence filed by The Gambia was out rightly rejected and the court proceeded to give judgement based on the merits of the case.
The court held that it was satisfied that Mr Roberts’s case was admissible and that the reliefs being sought fall under the jurisdiction of the court. It accordingly awarded US$10,000 to Mr Roberts.
