Yaya Jammeh must stop the killing

Yaya Jammeh 

It is being reported that the 25-year old radio journalist, Alhagie Abdoulie Ceesay, who has been in custody for over 8 months without bail, has been rushed to the hospital from the notorious Mile II prisons.  He's gravely ill.

His illness and hospital admission has been confirmed by the prosecution during a court hearing today, even though his medical status was not divulged.

The journalist who has been falsely accused of distributing photos of the Gambian dictator with a gun pointed at him has been subjected to torture over a sustained period of his being held in custody and persistently being refused bail for a bailable offence.
He's suffering from an enlarged liver as a result of the torture he's been undergoing at the hands of the National Intelligence Agency (NIA) agents.  

Despite being gravely ill which has been brought to the attention of the regime's Director of Public Prosecution, S. K. Barkum and Judge Simeon Abi, the radio journalist has been refused bail and continues to be held in one of the world's worst prisons.  He continues to be mistreated and being denied medical treatment.

Yaya Jammeh must stop killing his real and perceived political opponents as a means of holding on to power.  Gambians are yearning to be free from despotism and tyrannical rule from a regime that continues to display intolerance and brutality against a defenseless population.

ITF challenges Yaya Jammeh over the death in custody of trade union leader

Sheriff Diba

The International Transport Workers' Federation (IFT) is challenging the Gambian dictator, Yaya Jammeh, over the death of Sheriff Diba, a Gambian trade unionist who died while in custody at Mile II prisons - one of the worst prisons in the world.  

In addition to demanding answers to circumstances surrounding the death of the union leader, the IFT is making specific demands on the regime which include (i) the immediate lifting of the ban on the Gambian National Transport Control (GNTC) which Jammeh imposed (ii) the dropping of all legal charges against leaders and members of the GNTC and (iii) a National Commission of Inquiry that includes members of GNTC be established to determine the exact circumstances that led to the death of Sheriff Diba.  

The circumstances over his death and the cause of death have not been disclosed by the authorities.  In fact, when he died last week, it was reported that prison officers tried concealing the fact that he died in prison by moving his body to a health center in the outskirts of the capital of Banjul.

The regime of Yaya Jammeh continues the cover up by promising the family of Mr. Diba that an autopsy will be conducted, a promise that was never fulfilled.  His body was released by authorities to Mr. Diba's family several days after his death,contrary to Islamic teachings and with the proviso that the body be buried immediately.

The banning of the GNTC and the subsequent arrest and charging of the entire executive of the last functioning trade union in the Gambia was triggered when the union asked Jammeh to lower the retail price of fuel to reflect the dramatic reduction of fuel price.

Unlike neighboring Senegal and other countries around the world, Gambia did not pass on petrol prices even when the world market price has been tumbling for the past couple of years.  Despite numerous calls to the dictatorship by this blog on behalf of consumers - who are afraid of the repercussions - Jammeh, who has the monopoly of importation of petroleum products and a significant control over the retaining of petrol and petroleum products, refused to pass on any savings directly to the consumers.

It was until recently that through a budget gimmick that his Finance Minister decided that proceeds from a D1 reduction per gallon of petrol  instead of going into the pockets of the consumer would go to fund a "Road Maintenance Fund".  Drivers have since been asking what happens to the road tax they pay annually meant for road maintenance.  Gambia has been withdrawing the petroleum subsidy at the insistence of the International Monetary Fund, thus increasing the pump price until this year.

Price gauging has been perfected into an art by the Gambian dictator and a few of his business partners who've cornered the petroleum market.  It, therefore, becomes highly risky for consumers to be seen to be interfering with the income stream of a select few.  Unfortunately, in making a legitimate demand as a citizen and union leader, Sheriff Diba, paid the ultimate price.

The 1,000% unilateral tariff increase for the use of the TransGambia highway will further complicate a resolution of the problem and the fulfillment of the demands of ITF because, as Alassane Ndoye, the former Executive Secretary of the Senegal Transport Union and a Member of Parliament said in a recent radio interview that Sheriff Diba and colleagues on the executive of the GNTC had been extremely instrumental in negotiations in previous border closures.  Now that the union is banned and members facing dubious charges, the border closure is expected to drag in for a a very long time.      

Yaya Jammeh and Halifa Sallah selected respectively as APRC and PDOIS presidential candidates

PDOIS's Sallah, Presidential candidate

APRC presidential candidate Jammeh

Political parties in America aren't the ones busy going through the motions of primary elections to select their candidates to be nominated to represent their respective parties in the November presidential elections.

Gambia is also preparing to go to elections in December. The ruling APRC party led by dictator Yaya Jammeh who's ruled Gambia for 22 years was selected again as its flag bearer while PDOIS selected Halifa Sallah its Secretary General who's been at the top of his party's echelon since 1986 when he co-founded it.

PDOIS conducted its primaries with Halifa Sallah as the sole candidate, although party rules, according to it's own press release, allow for two or more candidates to take part in primary elections. Since there was no challenger to Halifa Sallah, it appeared that he was selected by acclamation to be his party's presidential candidate in the 2016 December elections.

The ruling APRC convened a 5-day party congress to reconfirm Yaya Jammeh as presidential candidate who will be attempting to run for the fifth time as president.  Prior to the party congress which is taking place in Jammeh's village of Kanilai, an army of party militants was dispatched to collect signatures of party supporters.

The militants led by Balla Jahumpa, a minister in Jammeh's cabinet who doubles as party Secretary General, fanned the country and in a matter of one week, managed to secure over a quarter of  a million signatures, representing over a third of all the votes cast in the 2011 presidential elections.  a presidential candidate who has already been a dictator of The Gambia for 22 years.

In the case of the signatures gathered in Upper River, Balla Jahumpa and his troops collected 60,000 signatures in one week which exceeds the 59,816 votes that Jammeh received in Upper River in the 2011 presidential elections.  Some food for thought for the opposition parties.  The rigging of the 2016 elections have already started almost a year before the first marble drops.  As we enter the election season, we will be paying close attention to the activities of the APRC stalwarts and operatives.  

Who owns the mines and who keeps the proceeds?

Mining as Kartong 

There are two types of mining operations going on in the Kombos and perhaps in other parts of the Upper River Division of the country - sand and mineral mining - both types of mining activities occurring in the Kombos.  Mineral mining is reportedly taking place in the Basse area but we are yet to confirm it.

What is known is that both the sand and mineral mining taking place in Kartong and other areas of the Kombos is having a devastating environmental effect on the communities which, in turn, is impacting, negatively, on the living standards on residents who are already on the fringes of the poverty line.

As a consequent of the devastation, which you can read here, environmental activists in Kartong through the Environmental Concern Group of Kartong drew attention to the plight of the community by launching an appeal to the authorities to take remedial measures to mitigate the problem - a story you can find here. 

In response, the regime, through the Geology Unit, which has always been part of the Physical Planning Department of the Ministry for Local Governments and Lands but now part of the Office of the President, has denied reports that the mining activities are affecting the village's vegetable gardening activities.

Both local newspapers and this blog have reported on the issue.  We have paid particular attention to the environmental damage done and to the economic and financial cost to the area and residents.

This led us to continue to press the regime of Yaya Jammeh to be transparent in its handling of these mining activities, shrouded in secrecy since the advent of the messy case involving Carnegie Mineral (Gambia) Ltd which ultimately led to legal litigation that will potentially end up costing the Gambian taxpayer over $ 22 million.  You can read that here.

Given the potentially huge cost to the public treasury that Jammeh's mishandling of the mining sector, it is important for the government to provide the Gambian people with a true account of who owns what and how are the proceeds handled.  The same applies to the petroleum sector which is equally shrouded in secrecy and where public disclosure is needed as well.  

A member of the opposition National Reconstruction Party did ask the Finance Minster during the last Budget Session about the treatment of the mining revenue generated because it was not shown in the budget.  Initially, the Minister conveniently evaded the question.  We did blog on that issue too, here.  However, he volunteered a response after the session that the mining revenue go to the Geology Unit, to Local or Area Councils and to the National Environment Agency and not to the Consolidated Fund as should be expected.

Who owns the mines and who keeps the proceeds are two important questions that must be responded to, in the interest of transparency, especially for a regime that seized power promising Gambians transparency, accountability and probity.  If the Minister of Finance's response is correct - we question the truthfulness of his responses - the revenue sharing method and formula he described are marked and substantial departure from conventional budgeting practices.

We continue to insist that proceeds from mining activities must be properly accounted for and lodged in the proper public accounts - if these mines are publicly owned - and if not, full disclosure of private ownership must be made by Yaya Jammeh which must include details of all contracts. The people are entitled to know what their government is doing in their name.

Gambia Bar Association must support the expulsion of Director of Public Prosecution, mercenary judges

History will not be kind to the Gambia Bar Association (GBA) because of its shameful behavior during the 21-year dictatorship of Yaya Jammeh.

The GBA's silence and condescending behavior towards the Jammeh regime has contributed to the current predicament that the country is in where human rights of Gambians are denied, abused and trampled upon by the judiciary.

Some members of the Gambia Bar Association have steadfastly refused to represent cases considered to be political in nature for fear of confronting Yaya Jammeh and his repressive and corrupt regime.

In many countries, it is the lawyers who led the charge against dictatorships that prey on ordinary citizens by defending the rights of the oppressed and those whose basic rights are being systematically abused.

Unfortunately, the same cannot be said of the Gambia with the exception of a few exemplary and conscientious legal minds who have consistent and persistently defended the rights of Gambians, even at great risk to their personal safety especially in cases considered to be political and controversial in nature.

The Gambia Bar Association watched for 21 years while the Gambian dictator filled the Bench with mercenary judges from Nigeria and Cameroon, unleashed against ordinary Gambians who are regularly imprisoned in disproportionate numbers to the small Gambian population.  The GBA continues to watch while the judiciary is transformed into a formidable weapon of suppression by an increasingly unpopular and hated regime.

The Gambia Bar Association must stand up now with the Gambian people and demand the expulsion of all Nigerian mercenary judges, including the Director of Public Prosecution, S. K. Barkum, from The Gambia.  Gambians must not sit and watch from the sidelines while ordinary Gambians are victimized on a regular basis by foreign mercenary judges.  Stand up and be counted while there is still time to correct the wrongs you've committed.  Don't be an accessory to a vile, corrupt and incompetent regime.

Yaya Jammeh will not be dislodged through elections

Sidi Sanneh 

Yuweri Museveni of Uganda has just been declared winner in an election that can only be described as a sham affair where the principal opposition candidate was put under house arrest throughout the voting.

The conduct of the elections prompted immediate statements of concern from the United States and the European Union, each expressing "concern" over the manner in which they were organized and effected.

According to the United States's Department of State statement issued today,  the elections were marred by "[D]elay in the delivery of voting materials, reports of pre-checked ballots and vote buying, ongoing blockage of social media sites, and excessive use of force by the police, collectively undermining the integrity of the electoral process." The American statement said the Ugandan people deserve better and continued to urge the release of the opposition leader from house arrest.

Signing a petition to President Obama today, we issued a statement stating that Africans have grown tired of despotic leaders who perpetuate themselves into a permanent state of repressive governance by manipulating the constitutional instruments and the security forces in their favor and against the interest of the general welfare.  We then warned that presidential elections will be held in several African countries this year - highlighting the upcoming presidential elections in the Democratic Republic of Congo and The Gambia - and warning that similar tactics employed by Museveni will be adopted by Kabila and Jammeh.

As a general rule, dictators are never dislodged through the ballot because elections are never fair.  In many instances, the playing field has been rendered uneven well before election day.  In the case of the Gambia, Yaya Jammeh has already rigged it in his favor.  As recently s last week, he has deployed the Secretary General of his political party to fan the country to distribute nomination forms collecting voters card - read vote buying - and promising bags of rice to prospective voters.

New voters are being registered willy-nilly, including under-aged school children by members of the security forces who have traditionally been an integral part of and active participants in the electoral process since Jammeh seized power in 1994.  These are the same tactics being employed by despotic African leaders across the continent.   It is tme to put a stop to it, at least, in the case of The Gambia.

It must be noted at this point that Dr. Marloes Janson, a Reader in Anthropology and Sociology at the School of African and Oriental Studies, has published a paper on Africa Research Institute concluding that Jammeh may win another victory in the elections scheduled for December 2016.  It is a point worth recording.

APRC claims are false, they've already started the nomination process

APRC Presidential nomination form 

APRC stalwarts are denying reports that their party has started the presidential nomination process ten months before the scheduled December 2016 presidential elections in apparent contravention of the law. .

Yankuba Colley, the KMC Mayor, is quoted as saying that "the APRC are not politicising, but only meeting people to help them get their voter's card."

Our sources in the CRR and URD have provided us with the actual APRC presidential nomination forms (shown here) that are being distributed across the country with a target of 50,000 signatures, according to Balla Jahumpa, a Minister in Jammeh's regime and Secretary of the A(F)PRC party that is currently campaigning across the country.

Collecting signatures for the nomination of a presidential candidate at this time is illegal and contravenes the electoral laws.

We also reported that forms with the IEC logo is also in circulation but we have so far unable to lay our hands on these forms.  We will provide them as soon as we have samples of them.  Until then what is evident is that Jammeh and his henchmen have already started to skew the electoral landscape om their favor.

It is  now up to the opposition parties to take concrete measures aimed at preempting further infringement of the electoral laws by a group of A(F)PRC rouge elements determined to rig the elections before the scheduled dates of the presidentials and parliamentaries. .