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.