Waa Juwara’s Sedition Trial

Lamin Waa Juwara have vehemently denied calling for a surprise demonstration
as opposed to what was published by the Independent Newspaper. He also
denied mentioning anything relating to April 10 and 11, 2000 as opposed to
what was reported by the Independent Newspaper.

Borry Touray: What are your names?

Witness: Lamin Waa Juwara.

Borry Touray: Where do you live?

Witness: In Brikama.

Borry Touray: Is it true that you are Secretary General and Party Leader for
the National Democratic Action Movement?
Witness: Yes.

Borry Touray: Is it also true that before the formation of the National
Democratic Action Movement, you were the propaganda secretary of the UDP?
Witness: Yes.

Borry Touray: Can you narrate your political history?
Witness: I went into politics as far back as 1977.

Borry Touray: How did you come into politics?

Witness: in 1977, I contested the parliamentary elections as an independent
candidate in Sabach Sanjal Constituency and lost. In 1992, I contested as an
independent candidate in Niamina Constituency and won. When the coup took
place in 1994, I denounced the coup because it was against the democratic
norms of the Gambia.

Borry Touray: What happened after that?
Witness: I was at loggerheads with the military junta and was sent to jail
several times.

Borry Touray: How many times?

Witness: During the transition twelve times. One of the detentions I was
with thirty-one others at Janjangbureh prisons and I spent two years in
prison. I was released after the National Assembly and Presidential
Elections in 1996.

Borry Touray: Why did your detention go beyond the 1996 presidential and
national assembly elections?

Witness: Basically to deny me to stand in the elections.

Borry Touray: What happened when you come out?

Witness: When I came out, I joined UDP and vigorously campaigned as
propaganda and organizing secretary of that party. My position in the party
was formalized at the congress when I was held at the Mile Two Central
Prisons with the Imam of Brikama.

Borry Touray: Were you tortured in any of your detentions?

The state counsel Emmanuel Fagbenle rose up to object to the question,
arguing that it is a leading question. The trial judge, Justice Paul urged
Touray to withdraw the question and the latter complied without challenging
the order.

Borry Touray: What was your condition of detention?

Witness: I was arrested with the Brikama Mosque Imam and tortured. I was
severely beaten until I have a broken finger.

Borry Touray: What happened after that?

Witness: I continued to be the propaganda secretary of the UDP and had
series of press conferences to sell the party’s agenda.

Borry Touray: Who was the party’s main man as far as press matters were
concerned?
Witness: I was the party’s main man as far as press matters were concerned.

Borry Touray: You continued as such until when?

Witness: Up to the last general elections.

Borry Touray: That was the time you formed the National Democratic Action
Movement?

Witness: After 2001 presidential elections, basically it was in principle
that I could not accept defeat and boycotting the parliamentary elections.

Borry Touray: Did you serve the public service?

Witness: Yes I did.

Borry Touray: Can you tell the court the various positions you held?

Witness: I served as assistant secretary at the ministry of education. That
was in 1992 and served as under secretary at the president’s office before I
was appointed commissioner to Western Division.

Borry Touray: When were you appointed commissioner?

Witness: I was appointed commissioner in 1974 and served as commissioner in
North Bank Division and Upper River Division and contested in 1977 general
elections. After the elections, there was a period, I served as commissioner
in Upper River Division. Then I served as commissioner in Central River
Division. Then I was transferred to the ministry of agriculture as senior
agricultural officer under a project. When the project was completed, I was
appointed commissioner of Lower River Division. From LRD, I then contested
the 1992 general elections.

Borry Touray: As commissioner, did you serve any other function?

Witness: Before, commissioners used to serve as ministers.

Borry Touray: NDAM as a party, did you have a party headquarters?

Witness: Yes.

Borry Touray: When you make statements how do you do them?

Witness: I call press conferences.

At this juncture, Touray gave Juwara a copy of the Independent Newspaper
dated 29th September 2003.

Borry Touray: At the time of making that interview, can you tell the court
in what capacity you made that statement?

Witness: I was talking as Secretary General of NDAM.

Borry Touray: Have you ever-organized strikes?

Witness: No.

Borry Touray: Did you ever wish to cause public disturbance in this country?

Witness: No.

Borry Touray: Did you intend to cause dissatisfaction of any kind against
the government?

Witness: No.

Borry Touray: Have you ever encouraged any religious violence in this
country?

Witness: No.

Borry Touray: Do you have an intention to cause one?

Witness: No.

Borry Touray: Can you explain to the court the spirit in which you made this
interview?

Witness: I gave this interview in the spirit that the government take key of
the circumstances taking place in the government sector, in the economic
sector with the view that we can save this country from the experience of
our sister republics in the sub-region.

At this juncture, Lawyer Borry Touray read the second paragraph of the
Independent Newspaper of 29th September 2003 and the last sentence of the
last paragraph of the story that triggered the sedition trial. Touray
referred to count two on the particulars of offence, and asked the witness
to explain to the court particulars in count two and the experience in the
last presidential elections.

Witness: Experience in the last two presidential elections is that, the
government had used intimidation as their main campaign weapon and went to
the extent of using soldiers. In the 1996 presidential elections, there was
an ambush at Denton Bridge against the UDP by armed soldiers who brutalized
our party supporters, some of whom were hospitalized and later died. The
assault was led by Yankuba Touray who was a cabinet member, and in the last
presidential election, one of our supporters was killed in Tallinding by
soldiers.

Borry Touray: When you made this interview, what sanity were you referring
to?

Witness: What I want is to have an election free of intimidation. That’s why
I called on the Gambian people not to be intimidated but to exercise their
democratic right and vote out the Jammeh government. That is the sanity I
was referring to, come the elections.

Borry Touray: What do you think will be the fate of the APRC visa-vis NDAM
in the 2006 elections if there is a fair level playing field?

Witness: The APRC will definitely lose.

Borry Touray: Would you subscribe to any military government?

Witness: I will not subscribe to any military government.

Borry Touray: When you talked about good governance and corruption, what do
you want?

Witness: I want to see the full restoration of the rule of law. I also want
to see an end to the constant hiring and firing of public servants. I want
to see an end to the endless arrests. I want to see that democracy in its
full form is restored.

Borry Touray: What about corruption?

Witness: I want to see an end to corruption and an explanation to the new
rich multimillionaires.

At this stage, Touray ask Juwara to read the opening statement of the
interview. The latter did as he was told.

Borry Touray: What form will the nationwide mass protest going to take?

Witness: In fact what I said is a protest march from West Field to State
House which will be a cross party affair and organize to be violent free and
this is not new because the supporters of the chairman of KMC marched to
State House to lodge a protest and nobody was arrested. I see no reason why
if they can do it as APRC supporters, why we cannot do it.

Borry Touray: Apart from this one, was there any other protest march?
Witness: the president himself made a long march himself quite recently.

Borry Touray: Can you remember how many times he had done?

Witness: This is the second time he did it. The first march was through the
streets of Serrekunda via the Serrekunda market and was followed by a large
convoy and nobody was arrested.

Borry Touray: Did you say anything like embarking on a surprise march?

Witness: I never said a surprise march. It is a cross party affair and so it
cannot be a surprise march. If the intention is to make a surprise, why say
it in a public newspaper.

Justice Paul. Journalist you hear what Juwara is saying. He is denying it.
Make it your caption.

Borry Touray: In effect those are not your words?

Witness: Yes.

Borry Touray: There is reference to April 10. Did you say anything on the
interview on April 10?

Witness: I never mentioned anything like April 10 and 11 in that interview.

Borry Touray: Having known what happened in April 10. What form will the
protest take?

Witness: This is why I say organization. April 10 was chaotic. It was not
organized. We want to have a peaceful protest march.

Borry Touray: If you see errors in government what will you do?

Witness: I will talk to the press. I have called for a national conference
several times and it was never heeded to by government.

Borry Touray: PW1 said you were responsible for the public disturbances?

Witness: Totally untrue. I live in Brikama and made the interview in
Brikama, and there was no pubic disturbance in Brikama. In fact I tried to
find out what caused the disturbance and I was told the security is trying
to chase the moneychangers.

Borry Touray: What will you say to PW1 statements that the disturbances were
caused by rumour?

Witness: It was caused by operation no compromise. It was not caused by
rumour.

Borry Touray: Normally if you attack or criticize the ruling party, what
normally are their reactions?

Witness: Normally they will reply in the press in reaction to what I say and
sometimes at rallies. I can remember in one of their rallies held at the
Buffer Zone recently, the president called members of my party maggots and
drunkards.

Editor’s note: In our last publication dealing with this sedition trial, on
the last column of the story, on page 3, it is reported that PW1 said, "I
was listening to radio at that time." It should read as follows "I was not
listening to radio at the time". Our publication of 15-18 January, it is
stated that Borry Touray, said the trial judge is oppressive and Justice
will take its course." Instead, It should read as follows, "Borry Touray
said the trial judge is oppressive and Justice will not take its course. Any
inconvenience is regretted.

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