Yaya
Jammeh claimed that he was totally unaware of the deplorable and inhumane
conditions that exist in his notorious Mile II Prisons. He expressed this whopper during the
swearing-in ceremony of his newly minted, Ghanaian-born Chief Justice of the
Supreme Court, his second in a month. Jammeh's claim must have come as a
shocker even to his ardent supporters because, it is a known fact that he
visits the prison's facilities himself at night and in disguise to see that his
most prized-prisoners are given the torture treatment they deserve. He is also known for his trademark frequent
firings of judges who do not dispense justice favorable to Jammeh and in
accordance with his wishes. He has been
known to interfere in the judicial process either directly or indirectly.
It is
obvious that Yaya Jammeh did not read the seminal Report of Amnesty
International entitled “Gambia: Fear rules” that cataloged the human rights
abuses under Jammeh, and where an entire chapter was devoted to the right to a
fair trial with an opening quote from an anonymous lawyer who said that
"the law is ineffective in this country.
We are simply operating a bunch of kangaroo courts." These kangaroo courts, unfortunately, are
being operated by a majority of judges who have been inappropriately appointed
by Yaya Jammeh. According to the Amnesty
report, there has been a history under the regime of Jammeh "of the
removal of judges who hand down impartial and independent decisions." The report further states that in 2008 alone,
"within a period of three months, the President removed three High Court
judges without consultations with the Judicial service Commission" as
required under section 141(4)-(9) of the Constitution which lays out the
removal process of judges, and offers some safeguard for judicial independence.
Jammeh's
interference in the judiciary is a matter of public knowledge and record,
including a well-documented Amnesty International report on the human rights
condition in The Gambia. Personal
accounts of judges themselves who have been victims of Jammeh's summary and
unconstitutional dismissals have added to a mountain of proof of judicial
interference by Jammeh. The resultant
effect of presidential meddling has contributed, in significant measure, to the
current backlog of cases and overcrowding at Mile II. Judges are being dismissed, transferred
and/or cowed into submission by a regime that sees the judicial system as
legitimate tool of oppression, which has further worsened
an already broken and discredited judicial system. And Jammeh is almost entirely responsible for
it.
As a
result of his constant meddling, competent and reputable judges, even under technical
assistance, who would rather go elsewhere than serve in The Gambia to avoid the
risk of tarnishing their reputation and ruining their careers in the
process. So, Gambia is left with rogue
foreign judges, notably Nigerians, to run a rotten system - a development that
suits Jammeh fine. He cannot now claim ignorance that he's presiding over a
corrupt and inhumane judicial system that relies heavily on what are now
referred to as "mercenary judges."
Nothing illustrates the state of Gambian judiciary better that the
situation currently at hand - the new
Chief Justice was being sworn in to replace the Nigerian ex-Chief Justice Wowo,
who himself was dismissed as an Appeal Court judge, arrested, charged with providing
false information to a Public Officer, and appointed as Chief Justice only to
be dismissed again for soliciting bribe, all in a span of six months, As for the rest of us, Gambians, who have
been watching this one-man wrecking crew named Jammeh destroy the judiciary
along the rest of our institutions, the only consolation (for lack of a better word) is that we are not
alone any more. Ghana is watching, and
so is Nigeria.
