By Tabora Bojang
In another twist in the long running dispute between the University of the Gambia UTG and its staff association, a contempt of court case the former filed against the staff has been withdrawn.
The UTG filed a motion led at the high court last month seeking a contempt of court action against the Faculty and Staff Association members who were on a sit-down strike over the dismissal of two senior lecturers.
The UTG had argued that the recent strike by the staff and faculty association breached an interim injunction issued by the high court in 2021 restraining the UTG staff, executives, officers, members, from embarking on any further industrial strike.
However, the staff association through its lawyers Lamin J Darboe and Sheriff K Jobe, disputed these claims and argued that the 2021 strike and the recent sit-down strike are prompted by different issues and asked the court to reject the motion.
Both sides were urged to write their briefs of argument and submit it before the court sits on 9 January, yesterday. But the case was withdrawn when it was mentioned on Wednesday.
Yorro Njie, secretary general of the staff association said this development means that the case has been dismissed for good, marking a monumental achievement for the association and its dedicated task force.
He extended gratitude to the new chairman of the UTG Governing Council, Professor Momodou Mustapha Fanneh, members of the UTGFSA task force and the government for facilitating negotiations between the conflicting parties leading to the restoration of peace and stability at the university.
Njie also expressed appreciation to lawyers’ Lamin J Darboe, Sheriff Kumba Jobe, and Abdoulie Fatty for their pro bono services and the invaluable legal support they provided to the UTGFSA.