By Omar Bah
Fatoumata ‘Touma’ Njie, the National Assembly Member for Banjul South has been released following her arrest on Sunday by police who alleged she obstructed them in their duty by attempting to bring her mother out of coronavirus quarantine.
The police said she broke the law by going to Golden Beach “on three separate occasions where she subjected the health and security officials to verbal abuse”.
But after her release on bail, Njie explained her own side of the story. She said: “To say that I was forcefully trying to remove my mother is a gross misrepresentation of what happened for reasons unknown to me. I was at the gate but never once did I request to the security that I wished to inspect the place as I have to protect myself as well as respect quarantine procedures. Even the food bowls I take, I do not collect just not to be exposed to quarantined persons. That is how protective I am to my environment”.
“I denied the charges and have indicated that in my statement to the Police. I’m reiterating my demand for people being quarantined to be provided with conditions fit for purpose. Failure to do this will lead to more people evading quarantine as currently being observed,” she added.
She went on: “I wanted to enquire if the Hotel was disinfected before the next batch of guests, including my mum, was hosted in the Hotel. I wanted to know and parked at the gate demanding for the Hotel Manager to provide an update or else I would not move. He came out and we discussed amicably and he promised he was going to clean all the rooms, indicating that the rooms were not initially disinfected.”
“After my discussion and moving my vehicle to the side, an officer walked towards me trying to intimidate me. I then told him my mind of course and asked him why he didn’t come whilst I was parked at the gate and left it until I moved to the side. We exchanged words; [that’s] when I told him that I shall ask questions even to the highest authorities if I see any act of injustice as it’s my job to speak up,” she argued.
