Dear Editor,
On the morning of Friday, April 5, we were disheartened to hear reports of the youths of Manduar being wrongfully arrested due to the allegation of unauthorised detentions in our cherished forest. We want to set the record straight and shed light on the truth behind these baseless accusations.
Contrary to the misleading reports, the youths of Manduar have not arrested anyone. Their actions were in collaboration with the local police force, providing transportation to officers from Madina Police Station. This effort was to ensure the protection of our community forest, aiding the police in identifying and legally dealing with any individuals causing harm or involved in illegal activities within the forest.
Despite these noble intentions and acts of community service, it is with a heavy heart we reveal that six of our youths, including the Village Development Committee chairman, were unjustly detained. These wrongful arrests appear to be a deliberate attempt to distract from and obscure the real issue at hand: the unauthorised selling of parts of our forest by certain individuals, including the alkalo of Manduar, Seedy Dem of Marakissa Fula Kunda, for personal gain.
We stand for truth, justice, and the preservation of our natural heritage. The actions taken by our youths were in the spirit of community service and environmental protection. It is deeply concerning that their efforts have been met with baseless allegations and abuse of power.
We are calling for the immediate release of the wrongfully detained youths of Manduar; a thorough and unbiased investigation into the unauthorised sale of the community forest lands; and accountability for those who have misused their power and tarnished the efforts of our community’s youth.
We urge everyone to share this message, raise awareness, and support us in our fight for justice and truth. Our youths have shown remarkable integrity and courage in protecting our community’s interests, and it’s our time to stand by them.
#JusticeForManduarYouth
 #ProtectOurForests
#StandWithManduar
Lamin Koteh
Youth mobilser
Manduar VDC
British man convicted for hitting airport customs officer
Dear Editor,
The question is will the convict be serving time in a prison sentence? If you go to the UK or Europe, you will find many of our youths are in prison serving time. So how come when these British and European citizens commit crimes in our country and they are charged, arraigned, convicted and sentenced, behind closed doors they are released and freed just because they are from UK, Europe or USA. Imagine a Gambian citizen hitting a service person in the West. If he or she leaves the spot of assault alive then he or she would be a very lucky person. Unfortunately, our nation is ruled by a bad government in which the corrupt judiciary will let convicts go free just because they are from the West.
Halifax Alex
Serekeunda
Re: Blind man 70, in court over rape of girl, 14
Dear Editor,
I hope the learned magistrate is familiar with what constitutes as rape under the laws of The Gambia and the Commonwealth. At what stage should you call sex having carnal knowledge with someone and when should it be reported to the police station? With what criminal evidence and procedure will the police prefer the charge for rape? Reading your story, the mother seemed to conceal the important evidence from the father of not noticing any signs of her daughter’s physical, physiological and anatomical changes. Did the father ask himself how and why his daughter got into contact with the visually impaired or blind old ma? Remember the man cannot see! These are just my observations. I remain hopeful that the honourable judge will use the wisdom of Prophet Sulayman when making his judgement.
Hammed Jaggel and Touray
Banjul
