against The Voice Newspaper journalists
What in the world is going on in The Gambia’s political landscape and social fabric? It’s the poorest country in the world and one of the most vindictive and wicket societies you find anywhere on the globe. There’s no harmony in this country; families are at loggerheads; and, our societies are breaking down due to greed and petty political differences.
For a newspaper to publish a story of a presidential succession, and to have the president of the Republic from his vantage point at a global summit in New York, to issue a civil lawsuit threat only to be followed by police intervention and subsequent detention and criminal charges against the journalist, are vivid reminder of the autocratic rule that Gambians fought and defeated in December 2016, presidential poll.
I must admit, I do not have a firsthand information about the charges, but my understanding is that it was Jammeh-era draconian laws aimed at intimidating and frightening the media. A law that describes publishing false information is by itself vague and delusional and, has no place in a civilised society!
The irony is that the very people who are advising the incumbent president were the surrogates and proponents of the autocratic regime decapitated in 2016.
The vestiges of dictatorship linger and President Barrow, in his UN General Assembly speech, painted diametrically different picture of the prevailing conditions at home.
The arrest, detention and criminal charge against journalist Momodou Justice Darboe, is a glaring example. There’s no ethical and moral justification for this action by the IGP and legal practitioners at the Attorney General’s Chambers, to parade this poor guy in a court of law.
The draconian laws applied in Momodou Justice Darboe’s case are remnants of a defeated dictatorship and, are garbages that belong in the dustbin of history!
When the new dispensation was commissioned in 2017, there was prevailing view from the public and political establishment to expunge all the draconian amendment laws to the 1997 Constitution. After much debate and consideration, the need to do away with the 1997 Constitution in its entirety was proposed and necessitated a new draft constitution.
The first attempt at this project in 2020 failed because UDP members of the National Assembly were swayed to the contrary. A disastrous consequences to the Gambian nation and history would not be kind to all those involved in the nefarious plot.
This country is facing myriad of development challenges and a frivolous and petulant criminal charges against a poor journalist, is unwarranted, undemocratic and not in the best interest of hardship stricken-citizens who are desperate for urgent assistance from their president.
It’s an understatement to conclude that President Adama Barrow has better things to do as president and Commander-in-Chief than a frivolous litigation in court for a false succession story!
Thank you.
Musa Bassadi Jawara
