The ruling NPP issued a press statement over the weekend hailing the December 12 supreme court judgement in the case brought by the UDP which sought to invalidate the appointments of six presidential advisers who happen to be senior members of the NPP.
The court threw out the UDP challenge and affirmed that the appointments of NPP national president Dembo Bojang, campaign manager Lamin Cham, Dodou Sannoh, Henry Gomez, Lamin Saidy, and Sulayman Camara as presidential advisers are constitutional.
The NPP said three among these men, Dembo Bojang, Lamin Cham and Dodou Sannoh deprived themselves of numerous privileges in the country, including turning down public appointments under the former government, driven by their unswerving commitment to the cause of seeing Mr Darboe rise to power. “For them, and many others in the UDP, Mr Darboe was more than just a leader; he was almost a demi-god, a figure whose vision and struggle they revered with the utmost regard and esteem.”
Therefore, they intimated that the filing of the lawsuit against them by Mr Darboe and his cohorts was unedifying.
The NPP statement signed by deputy spokesman Seedy Njie lauded that the interpretation of the appointments as lawful and constitutional, devoid of any legal contradiction or violation by the country’s highest constitutional court, is a further restatement of President Barrow’s diligence, conscience, and legal consciousness in making appointments within the remit and dictate of the law.
Calling the UDP lawsuits as vindictive and sentimental, devoid of legal merit, the statement added: “We take this opportunity to reiterate the firm commitment of His Excellency, President Adama Barrow, and the National People’s Party, to the independence of the judiciary. The NPP holds in the highest regard the principle of non-interference in judicial matters, ensuring that our courts remain impartial guardians of justice and equity for all citizens, irrespective of political affiliation.
“In light of these principles, this judgment provides an opportunity for sober reflection on the UDP’s approach in pursuing this legal challenge. Among the appointments targeted were those of Dembo Bojang, Dodou Sannoh and Lamin Cham… Their sacrifices for the party, including their unquestionable loyalty to UDP leader Ousainu Darboe during his most trying times, remain etched in the annals of Gambian political history and discourse…
“Their only perceived crime was their choice to remain loyal to President Barrow and the ideals of the NPP after Mr Darboe fell out of favour with him, following his dismissal from the government where he had served as foreign minister and later as vice president.
The NPP said it considers this “a clear demonstration of the UDP and Mr Darboe’s chronic history of intolerance towards personal political choices and their tendency to vilify loyal and principled individuals who refuse to toe the [UDP] party line…”
