GAMBIA: Expatriate employee payroll tax increase

The Office of the President, acting independent of the Ministry of Finance, issued a circular last week notifying employers that they should pay an additional payroll tax of D 10,000 per expatriate employee.

A perplexed local businessman wondered why he is being asked to pay for his foreign, mainly Senegalese, employees after paying the same in January this year.

Sources have suggested that the presidential directive to collect additional taxes from business established was done with neither the consultation nor the consent of the Minister of Finance.

Equally disturbing about the Office of the President's unilateral action is that the Gambia Revenue Authority (GRA) charged with the mandate to collect revenue has been totally blind-sided by this recent development.  The GRA is unaware and thus equally surprised by the action which clearly contravenes recent agreements entered into between the Government of The Gambia and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and other development partners.

"The persistent interference of Jammeh is a cause for concern", says a highly place civil servant who proceeded to warn that the IMF's staff monitored program "hangs on the balance, thanks to president Jammeh."

The strong reaction of the senior official was prompted by the fact the payroll tax collection is being conducted by the Immigration Department brigade and not the GRA.  Immigration officers are seen going from shop to shop along Wellington and Picton Streets demanding payment of a tax that had already been paid in January.

When the businessman was asked whether the payment was being done in advance and that they will not be expected to pay the payroll tax next January, his response was "we get to pay again before January 31, 2016."

 

GAMBIA: In defense of the opposition parties

Some members of the Gambian Opposition

The Gambian opposition parties have come under severe and, some would argue, unfair criticism lately.  The pace of the criticism has been incremental as the 2016 presidential election draws nearer, and the tone, furious, bordering on contempt for the leadership.

The interim leader of the PPP, Omar Jallow has been spared of the venomous attacks directed at his colleagues, partly because of his unequivocal stance on the need for a unified opposition.  By taking himself and his party out of the leadership race, he appears to have insulated himself from the wrath of the pundits who have become increasingly hostile to the opposition parties.

The outburst of criticism is primarily the result of frustrations of diaspora Gambians, brought about by what is seen as lack of progress in addressing the urgent issues leading up to the upcoming presidential elections.  There is also the lack of appreciation of the difficult and downright hostile environment the opposition parties must operate at great risk to their personal safety.  We have experienced similar frustrations which we have made known by reminding the opposition leadership of rapidly closing window of opportunity in our recent Facebook page in which we wondered how the opposition can participate in the the 2016 without a comprehensive electoral reform.

Any criticism of the opposition, at this critical juncture, that extends beyond raising the alarm on the closing of the window of opportunity for any meaningful electoral reform to include demanding change of leadership of opposition political parties is, in our view, inappropriate and intrusive, especially if the demands are coming from non-members of the opposition party in question.  As a prominent member of the diaspora radio commentator correctly opined recently, the opposition parties are the only legal entities through which we can channel our efforts to effect democratic change.

Supporters of individual opposition parties in the diaspora have been overtly sensitive to criticism of their leaders who are being asked to vacate their leadership positions in favor of younger candidates because current leaders are either over the presidential age limit or have been perennially leading their respective parties. While opposition supporters may have a point, it is also healthy to open up to, and tolerate criticism - criticism that will promote dialogue among partners in the fight against a dictatorship that is certain to maintaining the status quo for as long as we inadvertently promote disunity within the various opposition parties.

It is perhaps time for critics, including political activists in the diaspora, not aligned to any political party, consider joining existing political parties to effect the change they wish to see or form their own.  These are options worth considering, given the numerous concerns raised about the perceived deficiencies of existing opposition parties.  

GAMBIA: Election boycott is an option

Mustapha Carayol, Chairman of Gambia's IEC

The main opposition party, the United Democratic Party (UDP) under the leadership of lawyer Ousainou Darboe. is currently toying with the idea of participating in Gambia's presidential elections scheduled for the latter part of 2016.

The National Reconciliation Party (NRP) led by hotelier/businessman Hamat Bah, has stated consistently that his party is opposed to any form of election boycott.  Thus it is safe to say that the NRP will not join in any boycott effort should miracle strikes.

The People's Democratic Organization for Indepenedence and Socialism (PDOIS) led by a former civil servant and social worker, Halifa Sallah, is unclear in its stance as regards election boycott in general and the 2016 elections in particular. However, the party has issued a full-throttled, point-by-point response to the recently-passed Elections (Amendment) Act of 2015, and proposing to the Independent Electoral Commission to invite stakeholders comprising political parties and government to discuss the new electoral law with the view of building consensus.

Unfortunately, since a letter was addressed to the IEC Chairman immediately following the passage of the Act in July, there has been no response while the clock ticks.  If previous reactions to such requests are any indication, the Chairman will ignore this request like previous ones.  The Chairman has never been independent.  He has always taken instructions from the Gambian dictator, and this year will be no different unless the opposition adopts a new set of strategies.

There's a litany of outstanding and critical issues relating to future conduct of elections, including but not limited to, registration of political parties including exorbitant fees and deposits, constituency boundaries and all the issues relating to and raised by the Elections (Amendment) Act of 2015.  The fact that the Chairman is illegally occupying the Chair is, in itself, a central and vexing issue that must be addressed.

The opposition parties must start applying pressure, applying every civil disobedience tactic in the book to force the IEC and the regime to come to the table.  If all consensus building efforts fail, boycotting the elections will be the only option available to the opposition to deny legitimacy to a regime that is becoming increasingly fascist in its style of governing.    

 

Yaya Jammeh's contempt for Diaspora Gambians

DUGA in Washington

Gambia's diplomatic representation has grown almost three-fold in 20 years, according to budget figures complied by Foroyaa newspaper. The country's embassies have ballooned from modest number of eight in 1993 to twenty-two Embassies today covering over fifty countries around the globe. While the number of embassies have mushroomed, the country's economy has not grown at the same pace, and neither has government revenue.

The budget allocation for the 22 embassies to look after the welfare of Gambians living in these 50-odd countries sprinkled across the globe is shameful and scandalous, especially when compared to the amount of Gambia's meager resources is devoted to 'Futampaf' dancing in Kanilai.

To illustrate our point, In 2013, D1.5 million was allocated for all of the 22 embassies, in 2014 D 2.5 million was allocated and in 2015 D 2.4 million was provisioned, averaging out to $ 2,400 per embassy per year. What can this measly sum do for example the Washington DC embassy that covers Canada, Mexico or the London embassy that covers most, if not all of Scandinavia.

What these allocations show is that the Jammeh regime erroneously and increasingly view Gambians living aboard as enemies of his dictatorship and thus do not deserve protection from their government in Banjul. Jammeh values the lives of his kith and kin in Kanilai than Gambians living abroad, pure and simple.

Nigerian judges continue to obstruct justice

Justice Mohammed Balarabe 

We have written on numerous occasions about the unprofessional behavior of Nigerian judges like Judge Mohammed D.A. Balarabe and the Director of Public Prosecution, S.H. Barkum for constantly being on the side of the Gambian dictator instead of the side of the law.

The unprofessional behavior of both of these gentlemen have been documented and reported on with little improvement.  However, we have notice a new pattern emerging and that is the setting up of bail conditions to such impossible levels that the d=accused cannot meet.

The latest is the case of Ebrima Jawara, son of the former President Sir Dawda Jawara, and four other staff of the Ministry of Agriculture where bail amounts were set at such levels that none can meet.

Ebrima Jawara 

In a country that is among the poorest in the world to set bail at D 6 million ($ 133,000), D 7 million ($ 155,000) and D 10 million ($ 222,000 for Sulayman Manneh, Lamin Fatajo and Lamin Mass and Dr. Alasan Bah respectively is both preposterous and an inhumane treatment of the accused.

Continuing to deny bail - because setting such ridiculously high bail amounts tantamount to bail denial - means accused persons are held in prison for bailable offenses, contrary to every principle of justice, including the delaying in the dispensing of justice.

Adding insult to injury, Justice Balarabe decided to take casual leave when he should have been in court, further delaying the proceeding by a week while the accused, who are innocent until proven otherwise had to remain in jail.  There are human lives involved.  All those before the courts must be treated as innocent and must be treated fairly and with dignity.

We will not sit idly by while Gambians and non-Gambians alike are treated in a manner that defies all manners of decency.   Denying the Ministry of Agriculture staff bail is a form of obstruction of justice.  Therefore the practice is unjust (if not unlawful) and must stop.

GAMBIA: Register your confiscated or annexed land

Jammeh inspecting more land to annex

The massive land grabbing taking place in The Gambia led by the Gambian dictator, Yaya Jammeh, has led to the creation of a website which you can log in at  www.https://gambia.crowdmap.com to help Gambians and non-Gambians track their lands confiscated, annexed or illegally occupied by the regime of Yaya Jammeh.

The site was developed by Dr. Malanding S. Jaiteh, a Geographic Information Systems Specialist and part-time lecturer at Columbia University's Earth Institute since 2000.  Dr. Jaiteh has a Ph.D in Forest Science from Michigan Technological University with research in understanding drivers and impacts of land cover change in sub-Saharan Africa.  Prior to coming to the United States, Dr. Jaiteh worked at Gambia's Forestry Department as acting Assistant Director.

We are encouraging Gambian's and non-Gambians who have been victims of the Jammeh regime and have lost legitimate ownership of agricultural, commercial or residential land to register their lost property by visiting the website.   Our intent is to catalog all genuine/legitimate claims against the present regime with regards to land confiscation for future use under a new political dispensation.

You can also visit our blog site at www.sidisanneh.blogspot.com to read more about the massive land grabbing under the current dictatorship of Yaya Jammeh.  

Is the Commonwealth on Jammeh's mind?

Ghana Speaker Edward Doe Adjaho and Gambian Speaker Bojang

A curious story appeared in today's Standard newspaper purportedly originating from the Ghanaian Speaker who is reported to have urged The Gambia, through his Gambian counterpart, to return to the Commonwealth fold.

Reports say the Ghanaian Speaker, Edward Doe Adjaho, asked The Gambia to reconsider its decision to withdraw its membership of the British Commonwealth. It is reported that the Ghanaian Speaker made the request during a courtesy call of the Gambian Speaker, Abdoulie Bojang, on his counterpart.  Speaker Bojang is reportedly on a one-week study tour of Ghana.

The article is deliberately vague as to the context within which the conversation between the two Speakers took place.  What is not vague, however, is the intent of the story which is a lame attempt by the Gambian Speaker and some of his colleagues to get the Gambian dictator to rethink his unilateral decision to withdraw The Gambia from the Commonwealth.

Gambians are not notified much less consulted prior to the decision being taken.  Indeed, the move is unconstitutional because the Gambian leader lacks the power to withdraw the country from any international organization without parliamentary approval.  At least, the single member of the opposition would have demanded explanation and reasons for the withdrawal.

The only official reference to Gambia's withdrawal came in the form of a Commonwealth Secretariat's press statement issued on the 4th October 2013 following a short remark by the Secretary General Kamalesh Sharma expressing regret "at an Executive decision...taken by the Government to withdraw from the Commonwealth..." We also recall Jammeh's statements following the withdrawal suggesting that the Commonwealth is a "neo-colonial institution" and promised that he will "never be a party to any institution that represents an extension of colonialism."

As far as we are aware, nothing has fundamentally changed to warrant a reassessment by Jammeh. He still views the Commonwealth as a relic of colonialism and thus a neo-colonial institution. Therefore using the occasion of a courtesy call on the Ghanaian Speaker to float the idea of returning to the Commonwealth family is disingenuous on the part of Speaker Abdoulie Bojang or it is that Jammeh is looking for an indirect way of saving face by acting on advise of the Ghanaian Speaker.

With the World Bank and the African Development Bank withholding budget support to join the European Union only adds to the regimes financial woes.  We will, therefore, not be surprised if a return to the Commonwealth is actively being considered.  The diplomatic isolation is also taking its toll on a regime that is desperately looking for friends.

The faltering Jammeh propaganda machine

When Gambians woke up to a blaring Daily Observer headline that read "Fatou Camara in her own words", referring, of course, to the former Press Secretary of the Gambian dictator and television talk show host who now runs a very popular online radio, all the Jammeh propaganda press outlets unashamedly ran with the story - by replicating the original, word-for-word - without understanding the potentially damaging effect it might have on the regime.

The story, as it appeared om the Daily Observer (the regime's official mouthpiece), was extraordinary in that it was the first time, perhaps, anywhere, that an entire cautionary statement was ever used so irresponsibly and callously to score a cheap political point.  For it coming from a dictatorial regime that exerts power through force and intimidation and against a lone woman and a civilian at that, spoke volumes about the extraordinary length the dictatorship will go counteract a growing opposition to its being.  Equally extraordinary was the use of the newspaper of record of the Jammeh dictatorship and its mouthpiece to lash back at the enemy.  The fact that the cautionary statement was to be used exclusively in a court of law did not matter at all.  To make matters worse, it was doctored and dressed up with fabrications in such a convoluted and disgusting way that it rendered the entire article fallacious.

The propaganda press of the dictatorship, both at home and abroad, has been growing in number to counteract the proliferation of a very lively and vibrant online press, owned and operated by dissident groups in the United States and Europe opposed to the Jammeh regime.  Jammeh's propaganda press is made up of online news websites that have been created purposely to counter the growing number of the opposition press. in addition to those that are owned by others sympathetic to the regime. What all share in common in their panache for libelous attacks against opponents - real and perceived - especially those considered to hold a degree of sway of public opinion that is now in favor of replacing Jammeh with a respectable government.

In their attempt to regain its previously dominant position that allowed them to set the tone and determined the narrative, the Jammeh propaganda press has grown sloppy as they watch the influence continue to diminish with time.  They are increasingly being seen more as peddlers of Jammeh propaganda than sources of reliable news their audience base last to other dissident-run news sites. The result is frustration, bordering on anger at the success of Jammeh's opponents, resulting in more and more use of anonymous political operatives and sycophants posing as journalists and opinion writers to spew hate and personal attacks on opponents of the regime.  All of this can be seen as acts of desperation in the face of imminent defeat of dictatorship at the hands of a determined and focused diaspora activists and opinion-shapers who are working in tandem with the opposition parties at home and international human rights organizations abroad.

Namibia unhappy with leader because of Jammeh

Namibian president Hage Geingob

Namibians are very unhappy with their president because he shared the same podium with the Gambian delegation led by Vice President Isatou Njie-Saidy who traveled to Washington to receive an award from an obscure news magazine called African Leadership magazine.

The Insight.com website, a leading Namibian news outlet, wrote a blistering editorial asking Hage Geingob, the president of Namibia why he accepted a leadership prize "along side one of the continent's old-style dictators?

Namibians, according to the paper, were puzzled because president Geingob has been touting proudly the "New Africa"  a continent that has turned away from authoritarian rule and has instead embraced electoral democracy only to be on the same platform with representatives of one of Africa's last old-fashioned and out-modes dictators like His Excellency Sheikh Professor Alhagie Dr. Yahya A. J. J. Jammeh, Balilimansa Nasurudeen.

The Namibian paper cited the fact that upon return to Banjul, the Daily Observer carried a report that Gambian vice president Njie-Saidy made a big deal of the fact that apart from, Jammeh, the Namibian president and other African-Americans "were equally honored."  The Namibian president did the honors of delivering the keynote speech.

The Insight news site drew the reader's attention to a detail that can only be described as a convenient omission on the part of African Leadership magazine website that, in reporting on the Namibian president's award, it failed to mention the fact that Jammeh also received an award for Leadership in Tourism.   While touting the Namibian president, African Leadership magazine downplayed, if not an attempt to conceal the fact that an old-fashioned African dictator was also up for an award.

There is a message in all this for the Namibians, The Gambians and the proprietors of the African Leadership magazine.  For the Namibians,  the Insight paper was right in blaming the advisers of  president Geingob for their failure in advising him properly regarding the appropriateness of accepting the award, the organization that is awarding the prize and who else will be sharing the podium with him.

The same message applies to The Gambians but knowing the kind of person Jammeh is, he will be the one initiating the contact with the magazine, it will thus be pointless to advise Banjul about the appropriateness (or lack thereof) of accepting such awards.  Jammeh already has a collection of these useless awards anyway.

For the African Leadership magazine,  the message is that Africa and Africans are ready to rid themselves of dictators, period.  It is no longer business as usual.  Africa moving away from dictatorships to multi-party democratic dispensation, and Nigeria is a very good example of that transition.  We'd like news magazines like African Leadership to join us in join us in that effort by stop awarding "Leadership Awards" to certified depots like Yaya Jammeh.

More evidence: Kora Broadcasting Corporation and Future Africa Foundation are scams

HRH Prince Ebrahim with Gambian dictator Jammeh

KORA Broadcasting is only one of many dummy companies and foundations created by the Gambian scam artist who goes by the fictitious royal title of His Royal Highness Prince Ebrahim for the sole purpose of fleecing the unsuspecting public, including the gullible, across the globe.

African Union flag

The "O" in Kora Broadcasting Corporation logo with the map of Africa in the middle of what resembles a radiating sun is the insignia at the center of the official flag of the African Union.

We need not tell His Royal Highness, The Gambian Prince that it is a serious copyright infringement to mimic, replicate or copy a copyrighted material of any kind.  The intent of using the logo on the flag of the African Union is to lead people to believe that his bogus businesses or, more appropriately, dummy companies are not only legitimate but enjoys the confidence and recognition, if not business association with the continental organization.

The logo has been deemed to be the perfect replica of the logo on the AU flag.  We continue to maintain that "Prince" Ebrahim is engaged in a 419 operation with close family members of the Gambian dictator.

Add caption

 One can see from the promotional piece on the left that it was posted in Kora's twitter account on February 11th, 2015, confirming a multi million investment, conveniently leaving out the currency denomination, of what he described as an "African focus (sic) state-of-the art media complex in the Gambia within weeks." (emphasis ours).

Up to the time of publishing this blog post,  HRH Prince Ebrahim is owing several Gambian employees back pay and arrears in office rents, according to sources.

He is able to get away with scams because he's in partnership with the brother of the Gambian dictator and former Ambassador of The Gambia to Qatar, Ansumana Jammeh. The Ambassador and the Prince both married in the same family. Ansumana Jammeh, although somewhat out of favor with his brother because of a scandal involving what claimed to be a Qatari agro-business firm named Conapro that promised to build a food processing and animal feed factory (all in one complex) factory that never materialized even though the Qatari investor, accompanied by Ambassador Ansumana Jammeh to his brother's office at State House, provided samples of the finished products from the factory.

The Gambian dictator in receiving the samples at State House,"praised God for His Blessings and thanked Conapro (the name of the Qatari firm) for what he called the fastest investment in the history of the country.."  President Jammeh didn't stop there, he further commended the investors for doing the project in record time, adding that they have also proven the skeptics wrong who cast doubt over it", reports the government newspaper, Daily Observer. Read the full Observer story here.  The only problem is that the factory was never built.  It turned out that the samples came from somewhere else. The "business transaction" was all done and concluded by the dictator's brother who was subsequently recalled as a result and has been bouncing from one job to the next while maintaining a close business association with HRH Prince Ebrahim of the Koring Empire.

Since our blog post of September 8th accusing Prince Ebrahim and his string of companies as bogus and a scam, several developments have occurred as expected.  Typical of 419 scammers, they constantly transform themselves by changing tactic and mode of operation to stay ahead of the rest.  His Kora Broadcasting Corporation website, the subject of a potential libel suit in Washington DC has been down for weeks now and his Future Africa Foundation website has been revised extensively.  KORA Broadcasting is the propaganda arm of Yaya Jammeh's campaign for his fifth term as president, an ambition we seek to deny him its fulfillment.  We believe 22 years as dictator is enough and thus not be allowed to present himself as candidate.

Readers will recall that Prince Ebrahim claimed to have in his Future Africa Foundation  Board of Trustees names like former Presidents Jerry Rawlings of Ghana and Thabo Mbeki of South Africa. He also listed Mary Robinson, former United Nations Commission for Human Rights and Prime Minister of Ireland among a host of other Heads of States and international figures.  When these claims were shown to be untrue and the names were being used without the prior consent of the personalities concerned,  the faux Prince quickly changed the composition of the Board of Trustees.

According to his Future Africa Foundation website, the new composition of the Board is as follows: Ambassador Ansumana Jammeh of The Gambia, Barrister Uzoma Achigbue of The Gambia of Nigeria nationality and son-in-law of Barrister Antouman Gaye, Ms. Carollyn Lascalles of BLJ, London and Icse Nelson of Royal Africa Holdings and Ms. Fadia Ahmad Abdulrazaq of Africa Royal Holding, Ghana.

The list of HRH Prince Ebrahim's vast empire comprises, as at last count, of the following:
1. Royal Africa Holdings
2. Africaada Bank
3, Africaada Airlines
4. Invest Gambia
5. Prince Ebrahim Future Africa Foundation (Pefaf)
6. KORA Broadcasting Corporation

This continues to be a developing story.....

 

FULL STATEMENT of African Leadership magazine on Jammeh's award

THE GAMBIA: Leadership Award For Tourism Development – Our Position

African Leadership Magazine has from inception positioned itself as a Pan-African medium, dedicated to telling the African story through the lenses of Africans. The magazine’s philosophy is founded on the premise that, too many platforms are already promoting the trite headlines of hunger, war, disease and famine, and all things evil about Africa. Before now, if it is not negative news, it wasn’t worth reporting by some major international news outlets. Hence the need to present the other side of the story – the untold successes. It is for this reason that the African Leadership Magazine seeks to promote the positives over the negatives, celebrating whatever successes recorded by leaders on the continent. We understand that there are no perfect beings, leaders, or regimes anywhere in the world, and this knowledge guides our outreaches. The Magazine does not share in the view that the Change we seek can be achieved through bullying or isolation, but rather through strategic engagements and mutual respect.

We therefore wish to state that our Awards seek to reward the best in people not the worst, and the recent Award to the President of Gambia, Yahaya Jammeh falls within this category. The Gambian President was honored during the 7th African Leadership Summit 2015, alongside other political business and diplomatic leaders with the “Political Leadership Award for Tourism Development”, and the award was received on his behalf by the Vice President of the Gambia, Isatou Njie-Saidy.

In selecting Gambia for this category of award, the Editorial Board of the magazine reviewed submissions from our online subscribers and independent sources on the ground in The Gambia and available records and statistics, and was satisfied that there was clear evidence to show that Gambia is a leading Tourism hub in West Africa and indeed on the continent.
From available World Bank records, Gambia’s tourism attracts about 100,000 visitors yearly, mainly from Europe and has maintained a consistent growth in the past four years peaking at 171,000 visitors in 2013, before the Ebola outbreak, which strained the growth in 2014. The country’s Tourism growth has been very consistent, earning her the sobriquet-Smiling Coast of Africa. It is based on these findings that the country’s president was honored award for providing the political leadership for tourism to thrive.

Since the announcement and presentation of this award, African Leadership Magazine have received emails expressing reservations at this award-citing widespread human right abuses, and our independent findings have shown that there is a high probability that they do exists. The magazine therefore felt it was its duty to clarify its position.

While this award is in no way an endorsement of the Gambia’s president regime and reported human right abuses, it would be safe to state that, the category of award in which the Gambian President was honored had no direct bearing on Human right indices. More so because, we are of the view that for tourism to thrive in any country, there must be the political will. Cases abound on the continent, where countries with huge tourism potentials are blighted in the face of the lack of political will. It is a common feature to find tourists from all over the world freely mix-up with locals on the streets of Banjul; we are of the opinion that this would not have been possible in the face of insecurity and poor leadership.
Alluding that this award is an endorsement of Jammeh’s regime, is also inferring that his hosting at the white house on the invitation of the President of the United States, Barack Obama, during the African Leaders Summit, was an endorsement from the United States Government. This is definitely not the intention of the magazine or the award.

We therefore call on President Jammeh and his team to urgently address the concerns raised by credible international organizations on the human right issues, so as to consolidate on the gains already recorded in other areas. These successes, especially in the Tourism sector are seemingly dwarfed by the glaring cases of injustices and rights abuses.

It suffices to say also that a time has come for Africans to begin to set certain benchmarks for assessing her leaders, as the time for an all-side-fits-all approach is gone. It has been shown over and again that “perception” on the continent is a far cry from the reality on ground. If there ever is any thing positive to report and celebrate in Africa, we shall report and celebrate – for no one else may do so better than the non-political African press. The overall narrative on Africa has changed, and we urge all to embrace this change. We therefore call on President Jammeh not to see this award as an endorsement of his regime, for it is not; but a pat on the back for successes recorded in the tourism sector and a call for him to act as honourably in all other sectors of the Gambian national life.

African Leadership qualifies Jammeh's award

Sidi Sanneh 

African Leadership magazine that describes itself as "dedicated to telling the African story through the lenses of Africans", and in doing so counter the negative image of Africa portrayed in the international press, finds it necessary to issue a statement explaining its decision to select the Gambian dictator for an award for his distinguished and extraordinary leadership qualities.

The magazine now explains that the leadership award to Yaya Jammeh was for tourism development, and that the title of the award is "Political Leadership Award for Tourism Development".

The firestorm in social media following the award was ferocious and widespread, engulfing both the diaspora communities in America, Europe and Africa and their international human rights allies that included but not limited to the Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice and Human Rights and Human Rights Watch.

For the African Leadership Magazine to counter the negative image of the continent by accentuating the positive is praiseworthy.  In doing so, however, the magazine must avert the risk of embellishing the records of African dictators the likes of His Excellency Sheikh Professor Alhagie Dr Yahya Abdul-Aziz Jamus Junkung Jammeh, Babilimansa, Nasurudeen.

The name and string of titles should have been enough red flags, in our opinion, to have suggested candidate Jammeh was as wacky a dictator as they come, and that is putting it mildly and respectfully.  Dictators love titles and will go to any extent to add to their collection.  Speaking of titles, Jammeh is recipient of an award called Admiral in the Great Navy of State of Nebraska, a landlocked state which was duped into buying it from a scammer for a handsome fee.

However laudable the mission of the magazine, selecting the wrong recipient poses great danger to the reputation and image of a news outlet like the African Leadership Magazine.   The selection criteria, including whether fees are involved, for being a candidate that eventually leads to the award must be clearly stated and made available to the general public for the readership to judge.

Africa is faced with a serious leadership deficit.  Dictatorships in Africa are a serious obstacle to economic growth and development.  Selecting a known and recognized dictator for the award only prolongs efforts to improve Africa's governance environment.  The Mo Ibrahim Foundation is doing a fantastic job of encouraging African leaders not to overstay their welcome.  ECOWAS is attempting to introduce term limits for its 16-Member State regional organization. The African Union is being encouraged to lend support to regional political organizations to move in similar direction. Leadership Awards like the one administered by African Leadership should go towards reinforcing good governance culture that we are all trying to promote.

While it is encouraging that the African Leadership magazine's qualification that the "ward is in no way an endorsement of the Gambia's president regime and reported human rights abuses...", we cannot help but to react to the insinuating reference to President Obama's invitation of Jammeh to last year's U.S. - Africa Summit as endorsement of the administration's endorsement of Jammeh and his record. It must be noted that there has been a significant shift in attitude, if not in official policy, of the Obama administration towards the Jammeh regime.  If there is ever another event like the one held last year, the chances of Jammeh receiving an invitation from President Obama are next to zilch. Attitudes towards the regime have change significantly around Washington in general and the White House in particular.

Calling on Yaya Jammeh not to see the award as endorsement of his overall performance as a leader is like a bartender denying a drunk on last drink before closing time.  Dictators know the propaganda value of such awards and will exploit it to the fullest.  The value Jammeh placed in the award is proportional to the number of Ministers - four minister, Education, Information, Health and Justice - who accompanied Gambia's Vice President just to receive the award in Washington DC who, in turn, we supported by senior officials at tremendous cost to a treasury that is effectively bankrupt according to the IMF last mission report.

The Vice President of The Gambia is already touting the exemplary leadership quality, citing the award as proof, of someone who oversaw, in his 21-year brutal rule - the decline of an economy that had the third highest per capital GDP in the 16-Member State ECOWAS in 1994, behind Cote d'Ivoire and Cabo Verde to its current last place.

The economic management style of the Jammeh as described by the last September Mission of the International Monetary Fund has resulted in policy slippages that have led to weaker real GDP growth than in other countries in the region - policy slippages, according to the Fund have worsened an already difficult macroeconomic situation and are threatening the near- and medium-term growth prospects.  Citing performance of the tourism sector as the primary reason for the award, in the midst of an EBOLA outbreak that resulted in  last season's 60% reduction in tourist visitors is a weak argument to make.

All the same, we do appreciate the fact that the news magazine is trying to make amends with the Gambian people by qualifying the award, and we thank Africa Leadership magazine for it. We hope similar errors are not committed in future awards.

Gambia's regional player status threatened by Jammeh's meddling in affairs of Guinea-Bissau

Guinea-Bissau's President Jose Mario Vaz

Yaya Jammeh, the Gambian dictator, continues to misread Guinea-Bissau's political dynamics - a political evolution that seems to be moving at too fast a pace for the Gambian dictator to process and appreciate.

Guinea Bissau's political landscape has shifted significantly in the last decade, with new alliances formed, even within the ruling PAIGC party and among former rival factions, thus changing the complexion, as well as the rules, of the game.

By inviting the rival factions to his home village of Kanilai in the midst of deepening political crisis, Jammeh appears to be sending the wrong message to the parties engaged in shuttle diplomacy who are trying to defuse a highly tense and combustible situation that requires delicate negotiations that the current Chairman of ECOWAS, Abuja and Conakry are conducting.

President Jose Mario Vaz of the ruling PAIGC fired Prime Minister Domingos Simoes Periera over a series of disputes which included the hiring of a new army chief, and replaced him with the 39-year Baciro Dja.  The move raised some constitutional issues which the President's own PAIGC party consider unconstitutional thus pitting PAIGC parliamentarians and party executives against the president who is from the same PAIGC party.  Thus the dispute is purely an intra-party that could be solved internally without meddling from the outside which may help explain why representatives from the PAIGC refused to honor Jammeh's invitation, leaving only representatives of the opposition, PRS, to attend the Kanilai meeting.

According to a highly placed source, Jammeh could have used the occasion to the PRS delegation's views on how they see their role in the new political environment and what He (Jammeh) can do to help.  Instead, our source continued, Jammeh started off by lecturing them on the genesis of the political stand-off and the personal role he played in trying to bring peace and stability to Guinea Bissau and the region.  The problem with Jammeh's pitch was, as indicated earlier, the pieces in the chessboard have moved without Jammeh realizing the new realities in a country that continues to pose security challenges by continuing to be chronically unstable.

PRS holds the balance of power in Guinea Bissau with approx. 47% of the votes in the last elections. Anything that will jeopardize the current make-up of their parliamentary position will be avoided.
Other outside parties interested in seeing a stable Guinea-Bissau are also determined to build on the current dispensation to strengthen it.

Rightly or wrongly, the Kanilai meeting was seen by some Guinea-Bissau watchers and regional security experts as Jammeh's way of trying to inject himself into the Guinea-Bissau conversation now that it appears that he's being deliberately kept out by the main players i.e. Senegal, Nigeria, Guinea-Conakry and ECOWAS.

It is obvious that Jammeh feels left out of the equation with Macky Sall firmly in the driver's seat. This brings us to this week's tirade by Jammeh through his Communication Minister about last month's article in l'Observateur, a daily newspaper owned by Youssou Ndure, a former member of Sall's cabinet and a famous Senegalese singer.

The article accused the Jammeh regime of playing an "explosive game" in Guinea Bissau by "sparing no financial effort to tempt" members of parliament of the opposition PRS with money to join the Vaz government, something PRS has refused to do, to date, for the reasons we have cited above.  It must be noted that Guinea-Bissau was recently extending assistance to the newly installed government of Jose Mario Vaz, comprising of a dozen four-wheel drive vehicles in the name of Yaya Jammeh, according to the official mouthpiece of the regime in Banjul.

Eyebrows were raised in certain quarters and resented by many Gambians when Jammeh decided to provide aid to a country whose 2013 GDP per capita is US$ 563 to Gambia's US$ 488.67.  When compared to 1994 figures, the year Jammeh seized power, Gambia's per capita GDP was the third highest in the 16-Member ECOWAS region behind Cote d'Ivoire and Cabo Verde at US$ 737.51 representing thrice Guinea-Bissau's thus highlighting the same point the Senegalese newspaper was alluding to.  Previous to the 12 vehicles donated to Guinea-Bissau, the Gambian dictator had also donated US$ 500,000 each to Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone as his personal contribution to the EBOLA campaign to those countries when the threat of the disease was on Gambia's doorsteps threatening to enter.

Jammeh's reaction to the l'Observateur's article critical of his regime, in our view, was as disproportionate and it was inappropriate because the article in question was not the official position of the Senegalese government nor was it the official position of the paper. It was a reporting and not an editorial piece.

Because the paper is owned by a former minister in Sall's cabinet is immaterial and thus should have not found its way into an official response to an article written by a journalist in a privately-owned and operated newspaper about a political issue with vested interests that are regional in nature.

Jammeh is obviously frustrated for being left out of the equation which should force him to ask himself the question: why?  He suffers from a condition known as trust-deficiency syndrome.  His colleagues do not trust him and neither does the rest of the international community.  
 

100 Days Behind Bars (and counting) for Gambian Journalist

Alhagie Abdoulie Ceesay 

By: Jeffrey Smith, RFKCenter, Guest blogger

Tomorrow, October 10, will mark 100 days in prison for journalist Alhagie Abdoulie Ceesay. His crime: committing acts of journalism in Gambia (or what local authorities would refer to as “seditious intention" and “publishing false news”).

Ceesay is the manager of Gambia’s last remaining independent radio station, Taranga FM, which has been repeatedly shut down by the government since 2011. The station was prevented from broadcasting for nearly two years until an “act of goodwill” in January 2014 allowed it to reopen.

That Ceesay, and other members of Gambia’s media fraternity, face constant harassment, intimidation and imprisonment is no surprise. President Yahya Jammeh -- who has been in power since a July 1994 military coup -- has carved out a notorious reputation for his violent intolerance of dissent, creating a “layer of fear” that is palpable in Gambian society, according to a March 2015 United Nations report. The criminalization of dissent in Gambia, and its deadly consequences, has prompted the regional ECOWAS court to claim that Jammeh has fostered a “climate of impunity,” routinely ruling against the government for violating the right to freedom of expression (multiple decisions, in fact, that the government has thus far refused to acknowledge or adhere to).

A 2013 report by the Doha Center for Media Freedom notes that over 100 journalists, at the time, had been forced to leave Gambia since the 1994 coup. More recently, it was revealed that every member of Gambia’s Press Union has fled the country since 2009.

During his time behind bars -- dating to July 2 of this year -- Ceesay’s lawyer has reported that his client is subject to routine torture by prison authorities, which the United States government has both taken stock of and denounced, and that Ceesay has been consistently denied medical attention, despite suffering from asthma. According to information from local sources, several individuals, including Ceesay’s girlfriend, have been forced to provide testimony against him.

For too long, Jammeh and his brazenly offensive regime has evaded international scrutiny. During the past year, however, an international spotlight on Gambia has undeniably brightened, prompting a concerted effort by the regime in Banjul to deflect this well-deserved criticism. One can hope that this new reality will also prompt Yahya Jammeh to use his country’s limited resources more wisely, and finally uphold important African and international agreements -- as well as Gambia’s own constitution -- to protect the basic human rights of all its people.

How Jammeh's greed continues to destroy the Gambian economy

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The Flexible Exchange Rate System was one of the lasting legacies of the 1986 Economic Recovery Program, commonly referred to by its acronym, The ERP.  It is generally agreed also that it had served the Gambia well throughout the years.

With the exception of a few instances when there was disruption in the system, including during and immediately after the transition, the flexible exchange rate has been relatively intact.

What has changed since?  Well, when Jammeh seized power, he had no clue as to how the system works, thus he was unable to figure out how to manipulate the system to his individual benefit.  Officials at the Central Bank nor at the Finance Ministry wanted to let Jammeh in on the secret.  The function of the Central Bank of The Gambia (CBG) was unclear to him and for this reason he left the CBG relatively alone until relatively recently when the interference in the forex market became frequent.

In October 2012, Jammeh reacted to the precipitous decline in the value of the dalasi by issuing an Executive Order (EO) that reduces the rate from D 34 per one dollar to D 28.  The ensuing uproar from the IMF and local operators resulted in the prompt withdrawal of the EO but not before he blamed "hoarders and speculators" of foreign exchange.  The restrictions, however short-lived, shook the confidence of the forex market from which it had not recovered, and before Jammeh decided again to interfere in the market in July 2014 only to lift the restrictions once more.  The fits and starts did not end there.

In March this year, Jammeh was at it again and once more the IMF issued a warning and recommended that the restrictions be lifted immediately.  Jammeh ignored Fund warnings, and now warnings from the Gambia Chamber of Commerce, that his interference is harming the economy, and in the process, ordinary citizens.  The IMF Directors have said to Jammeh, as recently as last month, that his regime needs to "restore policy credibility, rebuild policy buffers, re-engage development partners and achieve the Gambia's poverty alleviation goals." In spite of it all, Jammeh is still dragging his feet because of greed.

It is public knowledge that he has business interest in the forex market, a position he'd like to exploit as long as he can, at the expense of the economy and ordinary Gambians, before reverting to the flexible exchange rate system.  The Fund has also indicated that by fixing the rates, the dalasi is over-valued by 20% as a result of the fixed rates unilaterally by Jammeh which has "already damaged the near-term prospects and increased vulnerabilities" in the economy.

The decision to peg the dalasi should be rescinded  "immediately" according to the recommendation of the Fund, and the Gambia Chamber of Commerce has promised to "continue to intensify its engagement with the government through the ministries of Finance and Trade", presumably to prevail on Jammeh to revert to the flexible exchange rate system.  Oh, the cost of dictatorship !  A single individual holding an entire country, including the International Monetary Fund, hostage at the detriment of the Gambian economy.

  

Justice Emmanuel Amadi begs forgiveness as he departs The Gambia

Justice Emmanuel Amadi

Justices Emanuel Amadi and Joseph Ikpala, two Nigerian mercenary judges, will be departing The Gambia after serving one of the most repressive and dysfunctional judiciary in Africa for a period of six years.  On his part, Judge Amadi was quoted as saying the following : "I may have made lots of mistakes.  I may offend others in some of the things I have delivered.  I am now going back to my country and I ask forgiveness."  

The Gambian judiciary was among the most independent in Africa prior to the military takeover in 1994 and before the replacement of the Commonwealth-sponsored judges by freelance-judges and magistrates engaged by the Yaya Jammeh dictatorship.

Many of these new class of judicial personnel, that includes public prosecutors, came from Nigeria and Cameroon, and with the new arrangement, came injustice.  Some within this class were recruited and hired in Banjul, from other government institutions or straight off the unemployment line to serve the interest of the Gambian dictator instead of justice.

One such judge was Justice Emmanuel Amadi who, during his tenure,  presided over some of the most politically-motivated and malice-driven cases, almost all of them with instructions coming straight from the Gambian dictator to him or through his Minister of Justice regarding the desired judgement.

Some of the most controversial cases involved alleged coup plots, the military and civil servants who have been the prime target of a dictatorship that, from the unset, targeted this class of public employees for prosecution.  In the case of Momodou Sabally, former Secretary General of the Civil Service and Minister for Presidential Affairs, who was charged with causing the delay from Johannesburg - Banjul of the departure of the Vice Presidential plane by fifteen minutes.

The charges were frivolous and thus should have been thrown out by the judge for wasting the time of the court. Instead, Judge Amadi allowed the case to proceed despite the state using inordinate delaying tactics bordering on contempt of court which drove the judge to threaten packing his bags and returning to Nigeria which led us to demand his resignation or be fired. 

On the day that judgement was to be delivered, the court abruptly adjourned.  And a few days before the court reconvened, Jammeh issued an executive order pardoning the accused further demonstrating the sham that is the state of the Gambian judiciary. The decision of the judge was preempted by the dictator's executive fiat.  

Judge Amadi's handling of the Sheikh Tejan Sosseh's case of the Ministry of Agriculture who was accused of "economic crime" because he returned the balance of funds after successfully implementing a European Development Fund-financed and a World Bank-administered project, as dictated by donor requirement.

The regime drag the Project Manager to court in 2013 and charged with economic crime and negligence of duty.  Up to the time of going to press, the case is pending. Now that Judge Amadi, who was handling the case, is returning to Nigeria, the case will now have to be handled by a third judge, after the first judge named Judge Emmanuel Nkea from Cameroon had to skip town when he fell out with the Gambian dictator to evade certain arrest.            

Panic has set in on the Jammeh camp

Jammeh surrounded by soldiers

An ardent critic of the Gambian dictatorship was libelously called a serial rapist and a pedophile by a publication in a website owned by an international con-artist who goes by the royal title of His Royal Highest, Prince Ebrahim of the Koring Dynasty and a well-known business associate of one of Jammeh's brothers.

The Africa Specialist at the Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice and Human Rights was accused of biased, unprofessional behavior, and called him a Jammeh-hater.  A letter writing campaign was thus launched to get him fired from his job.

Now, a well-known radio personality who ran a successful television talk show in The Gambia and now in exile in the United States is the latest victim of Jammeh's smear campaign against what the dictatorship sees as political opponents, critics and arch enemies.

What is so unique about the latest attack on Fatou Camara is that the official mouthpiece of the Jammeh dictatorship, The Daily Observer (DO), was used to reproduce a purported cautionary statement the authorities claim she wrote when she was detained at the notorious National Intelligence Agency (NIA) in September 2013.  The material used appeared to have been doctored and fabrications added to make it salacious.  This appears to be the first time that the DO is being used to personally attack a non-politician in this manner, and a female at that.

The fact that the regime of Yaya Jammeh will stoop to such a low level by reproducing an official document in the form of a Cautionary Statement meant for the exclusive use in the judicial process is further demonstration of the amateurish character of a regime that continues to display high level of incompetence and vindictiveness that fittingly explains Gambia's current political predicament.

It is evident that the regime has decided to adopt a scorched-earth policy to deal with its enemies - real and perceived - using both the official media, and other communication outlets, owned and operated by supporters like Kora Broadcasting and Gambian Inquirer as part of Jammeh's propaganda machine in readiness for the 2016 elections.  It is no secret that the diaspora is campaigning very hard for the exclusion of Jammeh from the 2016 elections when he would have been in power for 22 years.

The media conglomerate put together by the dissidents living abroad is unmatched, both in terms of content, reach and sophistication.   This media infrastructure has been further enhanced by the cooperation that exists between this network of online radios and websites, exchanging programs and guests across the internet.

The superior media arrangement by the diaspora led us to observe the panic within the Jammeh camp following the sudden burst of nervous reactions from Kora Broadcasting, Gambia Inquirer and Daily Observer. The Gambia Radio and Television Service is next in the Jammeh arsenal to be used against diaspora Gambians.  What a shame and an inappropriate way of using scarce state resources in a battle that the oppressed Gambian people will ultimately triumph against an evil, corrupt and incompetent regime.            

Sidi Sanneh Blog In the Spotlight

Sidi Sanneh

In the Spotlight: Jammeh Would Like 

to Thank The Academy

POSTED ON OCT 5, 2015

By Jeffrey Smith

Over the course of the past year, the West African nation of The Gambia has attracted an out-sized volume of media attention, including a recent front-page story in the Washington Post. The lion’s share of international scrutiny has rightly focused on the country’s highly erratic and brutal dictator, Yahya Jammeh, who has ruled the country with callous and brazen impunity since a July 1994 military coup. At the time, then interim President Jammeh announced to the world: “We will never introduce dictatorship in this country.”

More than two decades later, the human rights situation in The Gambia has increasingly deteriorated to the point that the country is now referred to as the North Korea of Africa due to Jammeh’s violent intolerance for dissent and legitimate criticism of his abusive regime.

Unsurprisingly, Yahya Jammeh has registered the newfound and rising interest in his country by noticeably ramping up efforts to counteract the negative, and well-deserved, spotlight. Indeed, in recent weeks Jammeh has been honored by African Leadership Magazine – a widely recognized “award mill” that bestows faux honors to undeserving leaders – for his “extraordinary leadership” and for “the love he has for his people and entire humanity in general.” This “award,” which has been shamelessly publicized  in Gambian state media, has coincided with a concerted social media campaign led by a shadowy new propaganda outlet called Kora Broadcasting that has been seemingly collaborating with the First Lady of Gambia Zineb Jammeh and a so-called “son of President Jammeh,” Prince Ebrahim— each have become quite active on various social media platforms, espousing the fabricated virtues of their beloved dictator and his myriad “successes.”

What’s more, I’ve been targeted myself – repeatedly – by Jammeh’s propaganda apparatus for helping to raise the level of awareness and for serving as a platform for citizens to voice their long-silenced concerns regarding missing and detained family members, as well the ongoing human rights violations that are routinely committed in the country. (As an aside, the outpouring of support from ordinary Gambians, as well as from activists in the diapora, has been tremendous and will no doubt serve as additional motivation moving forward).

The new public relations campaign by Jammeh should come as no surprise— it is undoubtedly an indication that efforts to expose his illegitimate and wholly unaccountable rule are having an effect and have positively rattled the foundations of his regime. In the meantime, Jammeh and his cohorts may continue to shroud themselves in faux awards and phony accolades all they want.  For it stands to reason that the world is now onto their charade. 

In defense of RFKCenter's Jeffery Smith

The dictatorial regime of Yaya Jammeh of The Gambia is at it once more, attacking the messenger instead of the message.

The propaganda machine of the embattled leader, His Excellency Dr. Professor Sheikh Alhagie Yaya Jammeh of The Gambia, the slither of a country embedded in the belly of Senegal - frequently referred to as the North Korea of Africa - has upped the ante by going after Robet F.Kennedy Center's Jeffery Smith who has been in the forefront of exposing the human rights abuses of one of Africa's most brutal, corrupt and incompetent regimes.

Last month, it was this blog's author who was the subject of a libelous piece published in a website run by an international con-artist and a business associate of the dictator who goes by the bogus royal title of His Royal Highness, Prince Ebrahim who runs an equally bogus charity named Future Africa Foundation that falsely claims the patronage of Bishop Desmond Tutu, Former South African President Thabo Mbeki,  Mary Robinson, former President of Ireland and former President of Ghana Jerry Rawlings, to name just a few.

The Jammeh regime is at it again.  This week, a letter-writing campaign has been initiated by a local website that appears to be a mouthpiece and an organ of the 2016 presidential reelection campaign of a dictator against Jeffery Smith of the Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice and Human Rights.

A strong advocate against the human rights record of the idiosyncratic and brutal leadership of the Gambian president, Jeffery Smith has demonstrated a stern and consistent advocacy position against the policies of the Gambian leader which, obviously, has rattled the dictator's cage, leading to the concerted effort in Banjul to personally attack the messenger, as they have done in my case and in so many other critics of the regime of Yaya Jammeh.

Needless to say that the dissident Gambian community in the United States and abroad appreciate the efforts of Jeffery Smith in fighting for the rights of Gambians in and outside of The Gambia, and look forward to further collaborating with the RFKCenter as well as other human and civil rights organizations like Human Rights Watch, Human Rights Campaign, Freedom House and Open Society.

Educate our daughters, do not exploit them, sexually

Fatou Lamin Faye, Basic Education Minister

The July 22nd Beauty Pageant has been sold to an unsuspecting audience as a scholarship financing scheme, sponsored by the Jammeh regime and organized by the Basic Education Ministry under the personal supervision of  the Basic Education Minister, Fatou Lamin Faye.  The claim is factually untrue from what we now know about the beauty pageant.  

The Basic Education Minister personally scouts the length, breadth and every nook and cranny of the country, in search of the most beautiful - not the smartest - of our children to parade in the catwalk in Kanilai in the presence of Babilimansa, Nasurudeen Jammeh who ultimately decides the winner and the runners-up.

After selecting the winners, they are not offered scholarship immediately (most are never awarded scholarships) but are instead promised jobs as "protocol officers" in the Office of the President" were they are expected to perform anything and everything but protocol duties.  They are there to do "whatever the president desires."  The revulsion in narrating this beauty pageantry makes it impossible to repeat what we have already addressed in previous blogs,the latest being as recently as early in the week which you can access here.

Gambians know better.  The July 22nd Beauty Pageant is not about a scholarship program for our daughters.  In fact, most of the winners end up being thrown out of State House after being sexually abused.  This must stop.

We are, therefore, demanding that Yaya Jammeh, Fatou Lamin Faye, he Basic Education Minister, Isatou Njie-Saidy, Vice President get out of the beauty pageant business.  The government has more pressing and urgent matters to address at a time when the economy is in serious decline and unemployment, especially among the youth of the country, it as it highest levels since Jammeh seized power illegally in 1994. 

It is not only the economy that is under performing. The performance of the Ministry of Basic Education is equally dismal, mirrored by the consistently and persistently poor results of our students in regional exams. 

The pageantry has become a sandal that the regime of Yaya Jammeh cannot afford to ignore. Cultivating promiscuity by exploiting the vulnerability of our daughters and granddaughters for the sexual gratification of Jammeh and his band of sexual predators is both illegal and immoral.  Integrating this scheme into the annual school calendar threatens the integrity of Gambia's educational system by further weakening the curriculum that should emphasis academic excellence and not the physical endowment of our children. 

The reestablishment of the Scholarship Advisory Committee in the Ministry of Education through which students can apply for scholarships based on their exam results would be the simplest and most efficient (cost wise) to addressing a scholarship award scheme.  The July 22nd Beauty Pageant has no place in our educational system, given what we now know about the scheme.  We hope the powers that be will see it as the decent and moral thing to do.

This sexually exploitative scheme will continue at the detriment of our young if parents continue to support the 22nd July Beauty Pageant.  They must, therefore, stop encouraging their young daughters from participating if they are to protect them from the dangers that they are likely to expose themselves to at the hands of those the Pageant was designed to benefit.  The primary duty of any parent is to protect his or her child against danger.  The 22nd July Beauty Pageantry is one such danger that your daughters must be protected against.  Prevent them from participating in any future pageantry organized by Yaya Jammeh or his agents.

Educate them. Do not exploit them, sexually.  

Ousman Sonko: Gambia's silent killer and prolific torturer

Ousman Sonko

Ousman Sonko 

Ousman Sonko, Interior Minister

Ousman Sonko, Gambia's Interior Minister, was an army officer in the administration of Sir Dawda Jawara when he was accused of' and charged with rape in 1994, just barely weeks before the coup d'etat that ushered in the current dictatorial regime of Yaya Jammeh.  His case never proceeded in the courts, and all charges were subsequently dropped.

He was freed and immediately joined the brutal regime of Yaya Jammeh and has since 1994 occupied prominent and powerful positions within the dictatorship.  He's served as Inspector General of Police where he supervised and was reported to have taken part in the brutal murder, execution-style, of the forty-four Ghanaians who were mistaken for foreign mercenaries by an extremely nervous and overwrought regime.

The nervous suspicion that characterized the Jammeh regime since the moment he seized power to date has been taken advantage of by Ousman Sonko to cement his position within the dictatorship and to advance his personal ambition.  He falsely implicated Almamo Manneh and Landing Sanneh in a coup plot and then proceeded to lure the former to, what appeared to be, an ambush that led to his death.  The latter was charged with attempted coup and sentenced to long-term sentence and recently pardoned by Yaya Jammeh.

Ousman Sonko was removed as Minister of Interior, reinstated for barely a week only to be redeployed as Ambassador to Spain in February 2012.   He was however reportedly the point-man directing the operations as the presidential killing machine known as the "Jungulars" when he returned from his Ambassadorial post. were tracking the journalist as he was making his way home the night after celebrating the 13th anniversary of his newspaper.

The spate of recent defections from the regime's security apparatus, particularly from the "Jungulars" and agents of the notorious National Intelligence Agency - primarily responsible for the systematic torture of the regime's opponents - brought with it fresh insights into a dark and sinister operations of a regime that use brute force and violence to maintain order and retain power.

Some of these former agents have started shining light on those within the dictatorship who are responsible for the killings, torturing and general tormenting of the citizenry.  And Ousman Sonko, the Interior Minister, has been identified as the central figure who acts as the coordinator and supervisor of the systematic murders and torture sessions conducted in the name of the regime of Yaya Jammeh.

The disappearances of journalist, Ebrima Chief Manneh, and a member of the main opposition party, Kanjiba Kanji have been linked to the handiwork of Ousman Sonko in his role as Interior Minister. Countless disappearances of opponents - perceived or otherwise - has become a signature trademark of a regime that use extreme repressive measures to stay in power.

Ousman Sonko is one of those trusted member of an extremely violent regime who ensures that Yaya Jammeh stays in power through assassinations, disappearances and torture that includes sexual violence.   He is the silent killer and prolific torturer because he has managed to stay away from the radar for many years until recently.

It is time for all decent Gambians everywhere to stand up and expose murderers and rapists like Ousman Sonko presently in our midst who carry out illegal orders of murder, disappearance, assassination, sexual assault and torture in the name of Yaya Jammeh.
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* This is an amended version which corrected an error placing Ousman Sonko at the Interior Ministry which is incorrect.