If the recent statement by the state counsel, Maley Wood, is anything to go by, there are fresh charges awaiting the 94 accused persons in ongoing case on the Babylon saga.

State Counsel Wood last Tuesday hinted at this possibility before Magistrate Edrisa Mbai of the Brikama Magistrates’ Court on the resumption of the case. “The state is preparing new charges against the accused persons and therefore needed ample time to prepare or complete the said charges,” said state counsel Wood, requesting that the state be given three weeks to finalise the fresh charge sheet.

The accused persons, who were absent, had their case adjourned to August 26th 2008.

Statement of The Chief Executive Secretary During the Inauguration Period of the Alternative Dispute Resolution Secretariat on the 23/07/2008

Your Excellency the Vice President

Secretaries of State

Speaker of the National Assembly

My Lord Chief Justice

Members of the Diplomatic corps

Representatives of International Organisations

Senior Government Officials

This day is another magnanimous day simply because it turns us back to our roots. Therefore, we can say without an iota of doubt that it will go down well in the annals of Gambian history.

Alternative Dispute Resolution or African Dispute Resolution is indeed not new to our culture simply because its roots started here in African soil and its social mechanisms are alive and well entrenched in our culture and are still used in settling disputes among parties.

Nevertheless, it will be fair to say that the world in which we live is getting more and more complex because of rapid pace of development; but more complicated particularly when disputes occur. As disputes are really inevitable because nobody wants his or her interest to be threatened, we are all duty bound to jealously protect our interest. Under such circumstances inevitably, disputes will always occur but then pragmatic mechanisms must be in place in order to amicably settle these disputes. This is fundamentally one of the factors why ADR has been created and experimented particularly in the United

States and the UK and indeed is now becoming world widely utilized by most countries of which The Gambia is not an exception.

The reasons for establishing the ADR Secretariat in The Gambia are based on a combination of factors which are self explanatory within our justice system. The Gambian people have attained a stage where they have simply opted to go back to their own ways of settling disputes rather than going through the litigation process which more often than not consumes time, generates hate and is not as cost effective.

Alternative Dispute Resolution, otherwise called by the Acronym “ADR” refers to a broad range of mechanisms, methods and processes designed to assist disputing parties in resolving their disputes. In an ascending order, they include processes such as Negotiation, Conciliation, Mini Trial, early neutral evaluation, summary jury trial, Mediation and Arbitration. These alternative mechanisms are true to litigation as they are not intended to supplant court adjudication but to supplement it. These alternatives can be categorized into two broad types. The adjudicatory category where intervening third parties make the decision, and the participatory category where the parties to a dispute decide on an acceptable solution. So the Gambia Government has prominently taken the right decision in establishing the ADR Secretariat at a crucial time to help decongest the court system in seeing that justice is seen done because the advantages are unquantifiable.

The foundation of this noble initiative was laid down when one of the former Attorney General was envisioned with bringing Alternative Dispute Resolution into the frame work of our judicial reform. Consequently a committee was formed comprising experts from the Attorney General’s Chambers, the Judiciary and the Office of the Ombudsman, to look into ways of developing strategies that would create a mechanism for conflict resolution and peaceful settlement of disputes.

Following the constitution of this committee, meetings were held on a series of occasions in 2004 and participants were able to identify and contact sister institutions using Alternative Dispute Resolution as a means of conflict resolution. Research into the feasibility of incorporating ADR into The Gambia legal system was also conducted by the Attorney General’s Chambers.

As a member of the committee I also gave vivid insights in to how ADR could be utilized to decongest the courts by using arbitration, mediation, conciliation and negotiation to settle disputes tapping from my experience in the UK and USA.

The ADR Act was subsequently passed and Gambians trained abroad to develop the human resource base.

Since  studies have indicated enormously high satisfaction that ADR has an rate amongst its  beneficiaries - in part, because they have the power to shape the proceedings and determine the outcome, It is hoped and believed that it will help immensely in decongesting the courts with cases that have been awaiting trial.

Additionally, litigants, members of the civil society and people within the commercial sector, land, employment and families will benefit from expeditious and satisfactory redress to conflicts administered by ADR. I am pleased, to stand here today and inform you that the Secretariat has successfully been set up.

To conclude, I would like to seize this opportunity once again to extend our sincere gratitude to The President of The Republic, the entire Cabinet and our development partners for their untiring and invaluable support to our development and the judicial reform process. Allow me also, to commend the efforts of our abled Attorney General and Secretary of State for Justice, Mrs. Marie Saine-Firdaus who has been instrumental in establishing the Secretariat and has continuously struggled in an effective manner to mobilize support for the institution, which is a clear testimony of her unflinching commitment to the .Judicial Reform in the country. Our profound thanks also goes to Mrs. Awa Bah, Mrs Mowoe, Mrs Jainaba Bah-Sambou and Mr. Fansu Jatta who have worked tirelessly in the process of establishing the ADR Secretariat particularly during the recruitment process of our staff and all those members of staff of the Department of State for Justice who have, in one way of the other, contributed to the establishment of the new Secretariat.

Thank you all for your kind attention.

The event is scheduled to take place at the National Theatre (Room DH2) from 1.30pm to 2.30pm. It is expected that speakers will include: Professor Kwame Karikari, Executive Director, Media Foundation for West Africa, Mr. Korsah Brown of CELD, Dr Steve Manteaw of the ISODEC and a Representative from NETRIGHT. 

 The speakers will raise issues related to Freedom of Information (FOI) from various perspectives in light of the Civil Society Forum’s general theme: Addressing the Opportunities and Challenges of Globalization for Development. 

Various contributions will be made on the critical question of access to information against the background of Ghana’s search for a comprehensive FOI legislation, highlighting its value to the development aspirations of the nation as well as developing countries as a whole and specifically analysing how FOI, as an instrument for the empowerment of the people, contributes to sustainable development. 

The outcome of the discussions will be contained in a statement on FOI which will be incorporated into the Civil Society Organisations’ Declaration to be presented for the UNCTAD Conference.

All interested stakeholders are invited to attend.    

Issued by Ghana Coalition on Right to Information, April 16, 2008.

Mr Femi Peters, the UDP Campaign Manager who contested the BCC mayoral election for UDP in the last Local Government elections, has reacted to President Jammeh’s recent call for Gambians to disregard their political differences for national development purposes.

In an interview with this paper over the weekend, Mr Peters stated that “We need more than disregarding of party affiliation and coming together to work for the interest of this country like President Jammeh said. My doubt is how far serious it is. And I think we need more than that from him in concrete terms. He must give us good governance. He must give us justice and respect for human rights,” he remarked.

Mr Peters acknowledged that though the call per se is very positive as far as he was concerned, he lacks confidence in the sincerity of the statement. “It is true we all have to sink our political differences, but we have our reservations. If President Jammeh wants us to disregard our political affiliations, let him give us the respect due to us. Let him accept that we are also a government in the waiting. In the absence of that, we shall always go back to square one,” he stated.

He added: “The best the government has ever given us is to arrest us, detain us, torture us, which to my mind is not part of nation building at all. We need some attitudinal change from the government.”
 
Mr Peters’ statement is in response to a call in President Jammeh’s 43rd Independence Day statement wherein he argued that no nation could become great if its citizens were indolent, indifferent, divided and destructive.

In the view of the UDP Campaign Manager, it behoves government to be in consultation with the opposition parties in the country. He indicated that they in the opposition parties are quite aware of the fact that whether they are in the opposition or ruling party, they have a part to play in nation building, affirming that they as well have the interest of the country at heart.

Asked as to whether he would consider taking up appointment with the government if the opportunity arises, Mr Peters indicated that that scenario would depend on what the circumstances are like. “You don’t just jump and take up appointment, it should depend on the circumstances. With a president who can sack more than twenty ministers in less than one year, if you are to take appointment with him, you have to be very careful,” he said.

Further questioned as to why his party’s executive did not attend the county’s 43rd independence anniversary, he revealed that they have not been formally invited to attend. “We have to be accorded the respect due to us. We don’t expect the party leadership to be hanging around the July 22nd Square as ordinary spectators,” he argued. 
      

The trial of the former Permanent Secretary at the Department of State for Foreign Affairs, Willy Joof, continued on Thursday before Magistrate Kayoidy of the Banjul Magistrates’ Court.

In his testimony, Prosecution Witness (PW)1, Moses Benjamin Jallow, informed the court that when the accused left the offices, he received a trunk of letters from UNESCO addressed to the accused, Mr. Joof, at the permanent delegation which was housed at the business premises of Mr. Coencas. He said when he received the trunk of letters he called the attention of the financial attachee after realising that a bank account was opened in the name of The Gambia government. He said he and the financial attaché were both signatories to all official bank accounts in France in the name of The Gambia, the accused being the alternative signatory to same. PW1 adduced that he was surprised that such bank accounts existed without his knowledge. He said all bank accounts of the government are opened with his signature and that of the financial attaché.

Mr. Jallow further disclosed that among the trunk of letters they received, one contained a statement that a Peugeot 607 vehicle was purchased in the name of the accused. He added that in his capacity as Officer-in-Charge of the mission, he contacted the bank where the said account was opened and found evidence that a bank account was once opened and closed by the accused. He said the account was opened in the name of Gambian Permanent Delegation to UNESCO in Paris, noting that the Director of the bank told him that there were two payments made to the account- two cheques for 5000 and 10,000 euros. He stated that five withdrawals were made from that account, adding that it was overdrawn and subsequently closed. He disclosed that on contacting the garage from where the vehicle was purchase, it was confirmed to him that the vehicle was then in the name of Mechel Coencas but that initially it was in the name of the accused, adding that he himself had never seen the car. He testified that the office of the Gambian Permanent Delegation to UNESCO was first housed in the same premises as the Gambia Embassy but was later moved by the accused to the business premises of Mr. Coencas. He further disclosed that the President of the appointing state is the one responsible for appointment of Permanent Delegation to UNESCO.

Still testifying PW1 revealed that he did not know who appointed Mr. Meachel Coencas as part of the Gambian Permanent Delegation to UNESCO but that at a certain time the accused informed them that he had appointed Mr. Coencas as the Deputy in the Gambia Permanent Delegation to UNESCO. He said he had worked with three ambassadors in France including the accused, but that it was only during the accused’s tenure that they had a deputy in the Permanent Delegation. He said there is no payment for the appointment of honorary consul.

It could be recalled that the accused, Willy Joof, is standing trial on eight counts of official corruption, obtaining goods by false pretence, conspiracy to commit felony and abuse of office.

Hearing continues today.

Fatou Saho, who allegedly lacerated one Kaddy Manga with a cutlass, had been charged.

Fatou was last week formally charged with assault, occasioning actual bodily harm.

According to the statement of the offence, Fatou in October of last year, cut Kaddy with a cutlass but she’d pleaded not guilty to the charge when the charge sheet was read to her. She would undergo trial soon.

The Banjul Magistrates’ Court, presided over by Magistrate B.Y. Camara, on Thursday overruled the objection raised by the third and eighth accused persons in the trial of the nine suspected MDFC rebels.

The two suspects, Nuha Jammeh and Abdou Salam Jammeh, earlier objected to the tendering of their cautionary statements on the grounds that they were obtained under duress.

Delivering the ruling, Magistrate Camara elucidated that if the prosecution attempted to tender cautionary statements and it was objected to by the accused on the grounds that it was obtained under duress, it became the duty of the prosecution to prove beyond reasonable doubt that the intended confessional statements were made voluntarily.

He said that if such an allegation is raised, it was the duty of the tribunal to weigh up the evidence, adding that both the prosecution and the accused must convince the court of the evidence presented before it.

Magistrate Camara further stated that the prosecution witnesses were all cross-examined by the accused persons, just as the accused persons were in turn cross-examined by the prosecution.

He said that during cross-examination by the prosecution, the third accused person, Nuha Jammeh, admitted that he spoke the truth at the time of giving his statement. He further said that the eighth accused, Abdou Salam Jammeh, claimed that he was tortured at the time of making the statement at the NIA but failed to show the court any indications on his body.

He said claims by the accused persons had to be corroborated for the court to be convinced of the veracity of any assertion, noting that such was lacking from the evidence of the accused persons.

He said that the court was satisfied that the prosecution had proven their case on the voir-dire trial and therefore admitted the cautionary statements in court as exhibits.

The case was then adjourned to 23rd January 2008. 

Tamsir Jasseh, former Immigration Director General who is currently serving a 20-year prison term at the state central prisons for his involvement in the 21st March 2006 abortive coup, on Monday appeared at the Banjul Magistrates Court under the escort of prison wardens. Mr Jasseh’s appearance before Magistrate Kayoidy was in respect of a civil suit filed against him by Timber & Furniture Company Limited.

According to the statement of claim, by an agreement made on or about December 2004, the plaintiff had let out to Mr Jasseh (the defendant) premises situated at 62 Gloucester Street in Banjul at an annual rent of US $12,000.

It added that the defendant, Tamsir Jasseh, had paid two years rent in advance.

The statement continued that though the said agreement expired at the end of December 2006, the defendant continued to occupy the premises in spite of a notice to quit issued to him to vacate. It added that he refused to pay the rent despite a demand to do so. The defendant, according to the statement, is therefore deemed to be in illegal occupation of the premises thus causing loss to the plaintiff.

The plaintiff therefore seek possession of the premises situated at 62 Gloucester Street, as well as the sum of D316, 000.00 being arrears of rent from January to December 2006.

The case was adjourned to 14th February for continuation.

We at The Gambia News and Report Weekly Magazine are both saddened and outraged by the murder of Deyda Hydara, a dear colleague and one of the most gentle and kind-hearted of men in our profession. We are saddened by the murder which removed him from family and friends and which denied us all his companionship and presence up to the end of his natural life.

We are outraged that up to this day, the perpetrators of this heinous crime, which is so uncharacteristic of our dear land, have so far gotten away with impunity and are actually walking our streets as free men when they should have been behind bars under the punishment of the law.

As we observe the third anniversary of Deyda’s murder and grief over his brutal killing, we are once more obliged to join all law-abiding citizens of this country in calling on the Inspector General of Police and the Government of The Gambia to more diligently and deliberately pursue the criminals who murdered him. We shall never relent in our pursuit of justice in this case to ensure that the culprits are brought to book in accordance with the constitution and other laws of the land.

We sympathise with Maria and the other members of the Deyda family and join them at this solemn occasion to pray for the departed soul to rest in eternal peace. Amen.

Swaebou Conateh, Editor/Publisher Gambia News and Report

Barely 72 hours after the National Assembly Member for Foni Kansala, Hon. Sheriff Abba Sanyang, lamented the supposed poor performance of the Public Utility and Regulatory Authority (PURA), the latter in a statement sent to this paper yesterday expressed shock and dismay at the statement, making particularly reference to an instant when Hon. Sanyang and his colleague who attended the Accra meeting expressed thanks and gratitude to PURA, as contained in a letter addressed to them. Below is the unedited version signed by PURA’s Senior Communication Manager, Mr. Alex Dacosta.

It is with great disappointment, reading from The Point Newspaper of Wednesday 12th December, 2007, comments from the NAM for Foni Kansala, Honourable Sheriff Abba Sanyang, with the caption “Foni Kansala NAM Laments Poor Performance at PURA”. As an institution, PURA has high regards for the National Assembly as a key stakeholder in national development and we respect the Office of the National Assembly Member for Foni Kansala. It is on the basis of this recognition that we have endeavoured to engage the National Assembly with a view to enhancing their awareness about the importance of utility regulation in national development.

Following the submission of our 2006 annual report to the National Assembly and the subsequent presentation of the report to the Assembly in August, 2007, it was mutually agreed that we need to have a sensitization workshop for NAMs to give them an insight into all aspects of the operations of PURA, covering its mandate, functions, accomplishments and challenges. Emanating from the workshop, which was graced by the Honourable Speaker of the National Assembly, was the consensus that it served its purpose of raising the awareness of NAMs on utility regulation in The Gambia. It was mutually pledged that PURA and the National Assembly will work together to promote the development of utility service provision in the telecoms, electricity and water sectors, currently regulated by PURA.

Subsequent to that, we received an invitation from NetTel Africa, an ICT capacity building initiative, and WATRA (West African Telecoms Regulatory Assembly) of which PURA is a member, to nominate senior members of staff from PURA, the sector Department of State and the Members of the National Assembly for an executive development programme on ICT in Accra. To this executive development programme, the Honourable National Assembly Member and another NAM colleague were nominated to represent the National Assembly. The programme was thus attended by two NAMs and two Directors from PURA. En route to Accra the delegation had some travel logistical problems due to communication problems between the sponsors and the Airline in The Gambia, which resulted in PURA making alternative arrangements with another travel agency to ensure that the delegation arrive in Accra on time for the programme.

Despite their travel ordeal, members of the delegation expressed their satisfaction with the programme as it exposed them to the comparative status of regulation in the various West African countries, namely Nigeria, Ghana, Sierra Leone and Liberia with respect to the successes, failures and challenges of utility regulation in West Africa. Honourable Sanyang together with his colleague also expressed their gratitude to PURA for extending an invitation to the National Assembly to participate in the Executive Development Programme. Below, we reproduce their letter dated December 7th, 2007, which we received on Tuesday, 11th December, 2007 addressed to the Director General, copied to the relevant authorities and jointly signed by Honourable Sanyang and his NAM colleague. PURA was yet to reply to the letter when we saw the story on the Point Newspaper on December 12, 2007:

“Dear Sir,
I wish to extend my profound gratitude to your office for having the foresight in inviting the National Assembly to participate in the Executive Development Program Accra, Ghana from the 26th – 30th November 2007.
This occasion has great impacts in our lives as legislators for it has offered us the opportunity to realize the significance of regulatory Agencies in a State.

PURA we realised is unique with very competent staff particularly ones we’ve traveled with. It was indeed pleasing to note that PURA was the only organization in the sub-region with such diversified responsibility. I really commend you for shouldering such a tedious task.

By the way, in the letter of invitation we were supposed to receive $75 per diem but only to receive $40 at arrival in Accra. So putting this to the notice of your management, we would want you to consider meeting the deficit of $35 per day to enable us refund incurred incidental cost.

As we await your keen consideration I once again commend you for the services you are rendering to the Gambian people.

We shall always work together as partners. Please do not hesitate to call on us anytime the need arises.”