Gambia: UDP Peaceful Protesters - Detained and Denied Bail for Three Months, now Jailed for Three Years!

Lawyer Ousainou Darboe

The United Democratic Party - the main opposition party in the Gambia is facing the most turbulent and trying times since its inception. With the arrest and detention of the Party leader - Lawyer Ousainou Darboe and a significant number of his executive members and party militants, the party sympathisers have been expecting the worst possible outcome since April. Their fear was compounded when the High Court in Banjul handed a three year prison term to Lawyer Darboe and 18 executive members of the party on Wednesday 20th July, 2016. And to ‘rub salt on the injury’, the Mansakonko Magistrates Court handed the same conviction to another batch of protesters on the following day.

Background

On Thursday April 14th 2016, a handful of UDP party militants led by the party’s youth leader - Ebrima Solo Sandeng converged at the Westfield junction to embark on a peaceful protest carrying a banner which read “we need political reforms” and a loud hailer. Minutes into their protest, they were met with force by officers from the Police Intervention Unit (PIU), bundled into trucks and whisked away to different detention centers. Rumours began circulating that they were tortured overnight which resulted in the untimely death of Mr Sandeng.

The troubling rumours circulating in town forced the UDP executives led by Lawyer Darboe to embark on a reactive demonstration two days later. On Saturday 16th April 2016, they assembled and started marching along the Kairaba Avenue. Holding hands together and brandishing the Gambian flag, they began chanting; “we need Solo Sandeng, death or alive”. They were similarly met with force by security forces, bundled into trucks and whisked away.

UDP Peaceful Protesters 

Both batches of protesters were subsequently charged with multiple court counts which included unlawful assembly, riot, incitement of violence, riotously interfering with vehicles, holding a procession without a permit and conspiracy to commit felony.

The three months trial have been very dramatic indeed. It has severely exposed the flawed judicial system in the country. The first judge who was assigned the case had to withdraw after granting a telephone interview to an exiled Gambian journalist based in the USA. To make matters more odd for the court, the lawyers representing the protesters decided to walked out of proceedings after being apparently intimidated by security forces. Another dodgy decision made by the courts was to transfer some of the protesters to a court in Mansakonko, some 110 km from where the actual protest took place.

Analysis

Without a shadow of a doubt, the incarceration of the UDP members have already raise eyebrows and question the legitimacy of the forthcoming elections slated for December 2016. To imprison a political leader and a prominent lawyer for that matter, severely undermines the judiciary, and could potentially inflame the already tensed political situation in the country.  

Now that the judiciary has messed up big time, the onus is on the executive to make things right. To safeguard the peace and stability we all enjoy for so long, the government should order the immediate and unconditional release of Lawyer Darboe and all UDP militants. They have done nothing wrong whatsoever and does NOT deserve to be incarcerated. May peace continue to reign in the Gambia.

NEPAD Heads of State and Government Summit: Does Africa Really Have Everything it Needs?

“Africa has everything it needs, including natural resources and agricultural potential. What we need now more than ever is investment in human capital, so that we can have quality and abundant human resources that have the knowledge and expertise in ensuring that our continent takes its place in the world in terms of development.”  Those were the words of Senegalese President - Mr Macky Sall, who also doubles as the Chairperson of the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD) Heads of State and Government Orientation Committee (HSGOC).

NEPAD, according to the AU article, is an economic development program of the African Union which aims to provide an overarching vision and policy framework for accelerating economic co-operation and integration among African countries.

Speaking at the opening of the Summit which took place on Saturday 16th July in the Rwandan capital - Kigali, President Sall commended the efforts taken by African leaders in implementing projects that have become a foundation for inclusive growth and achieving Agenda 2063. In his remarks, President Sall said that NEPAD emphasises the utilisation of Africa’s rich natural and human resources, as well as taps technological advancement to enhance development in the continent. He also called on citizens and leaders across Africa to work together in ensuring that the continent’s development objectives are achieved as per AU’s Agenda 2063

President Macky Sall of Senegal

He also advised African leaders to avoid the trap of external “exploiters” who want to misuse African resources for their own gain under unequal terms. “We have rich resources and many exploiters in the world want to utilise them, not for our gain but for their gain. I request African countries to exploit their resources while focusing on Agenda 2063 because it is essential in empowering citizens and driving inclusive growth,” he said.

With due respect President Sall , Africa might have everything it needs but unfortunately, we do not have the capacity or resources to make good use of what we have. If you just think of the potential Africa has got to produce enough electricity, it beggars belief that  there is still more than 645 million people in the continent who have no access to electricity, according to the AfDB. A staggering 70% of people in sub-Saharan Africa are without access to electricity. Therefore Africa does not definitely have everything it needs just yet! We are on the right track but we are still a very long way from the finish line.

On the issue of avoiding 'exploiters', it saddens me to accept it but we Africans have always been exploited. We have been enslaved and colonised. And even now that we claim to be free and independent, we still can’t find the tenacity to stand on our own feet, leaving us exposed to further exploitation. Nowadays, Chinese influence in Africa is on a sharp increase which makes me wonder if, in hindsight, they are indirectly trying to colonise us. Come to think about it! 50 years or so ago, China was nowhere near where it is today. They manage to stand on their own feet and build an enviable economic powerhouse. Why on earth can't Africa do the same!

Until we manage to stand up on our own feet, we will forever be vulnerable to outside interference which could only lead to endless exploitations.

Gambia: Tragedy Struck the Gambian Community in Birmingham

The Gambian community in Birmingham - United Kingdom, on Thursday 7th July, woke up to the devastating news about the untimely death of five of their fellow countrymen at a metal scrap site they were working in. The tragic news occurred just a day after the Muslim feast of Eid-ul-Fitr which makes it all the more painful, as all the victims were Muslims and must have been celebrating the feast with their family and/or friends less than 24 hours prior to the accident.

According to the BBC, Police were called to Hawkeswood Metal on Aston Church Road in Nechells shortly before 09:00 BST. A spokesman for West Midlands Police said emergency services attended the site but the men were pronounced dead. Det Supt Mark Payne described it as "a very traumatic incident". It is understood a sixth man managed to scramble free. He was taken to Heartlands Hospital with a broken leg.

Aerial view of the recycling plant. Photo source: Birmingham mail

The Birmingham mail reported that the dead men are all believed to be Spanish nationals, originally from Gambia. Among them was Saibo Sillah, 42, who was married and had seven children, including two-year-old twins. The other victims were named locally as Alimamo Jammeh, Ousman Jabbie, Bangaly Dukureh and Mohammed Jagana. According to a childhood friend of one of the victims, it is understood that his family was due to join him in the UK next week. How devastating!

We appreciate that accidents do happen. But nonetheless, some serious questions still  need to be answered regarding this tragedy. More so as it is reported that the same recycling plant was hit by a major fire outbreak in 2011 where over 50 firefighters battled a scrap metal blaze. The fire was believed to be caused by petrol tanks which caught fire during a routine scrap metal cutting work. The police said that they will clearly be investigating whether there are any issues of negligence or malpractice that have contributed to that wall falling down.

Not that any outcome would bring the dead back to live, but it will surely help in preventing future tragic accidents of this nature.

May Allah (SWT) forgive all the departed souls and grant them ARJANATUL FIRDAWS.

Africa: BREXIT as a Lesson for the African Union e-Passport Project

The AU Flag

The African Union is set towards marching to an ever closer union with the prospect of launching a continent-wide electronic passport this July. According to the AU, this flagship project, first agreed upon in 2014, falls squarely within the framework of Africa’s Agenda 2063 and has the specific aim of facilitating free movement of persons, goods and services around the continent - in order to foster intra-Africa trade, integration and socio-economic development.

The Chairperson of the African Union Commission (AUC), Dr. Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma, has described this initiative as both symbolic and significant, calling it a “steady step toward the objective of creating a strong, prosperous and integrated Africa, driven by its own citizens and capable of taking its rightful place on the world stage.”

Aspirations 2 and 7 of Agenda 2063, respectively, envision an Africa that is ‘integrated’ and ‘united’, and the introduction of the Common African Passport as an effort towards realising integration and unity on the continent. The first group of beneficiaries will include: AU Heads of State and Government; Ministers of Foreign Affairs; and the Permanent Representatives of AU Member States based at the AU Headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Lesson to learn

Such a project is a very laudable initiative indeed as it will undoubtedly enhance intra-trade between countries in the continent. And more importantly, it will ease the travel burden between countries where at the moment, it is said to be easier for North Americans to travel within the continent than for African citizens themselves. However, in the wake of the current upheaval engulfing the European Union following Britain’s decision to leave, the African Union should closely monitor proceedings and use it as a learning curve in order to avoid a similar breakup to the organisation in the future.

As I keenly followed the BREXIT referendum campaign, I realised that the majority of voters in Britain who favoured to leave the European Union were mainly overwhelmed by the large number of European migrants in the United Kingdom. The immigration phobia is also evident in many other euro-sceptic countries raising fears that Britain might be the first to leave, but will not be the last.

This is therefore a perfect lesson for the African Union to set out clearly the exact modalities of the e-passport bearing in mind the downside of freedom of movement. However, judging by the rise in xenophobic attacks across the continent, most notably in South Africa, and recently in Zambia, I doubt whether this noble project will live to achieve its objective. Only time will tell!