Published in FOROYAA of 27-31 May, 1999

WHERE IS SHYNGLE NYASSI?


Section 19 of the Constitution states categorically that:

+ACI-(1) Every person shall have the right to liberty and security of person. No
one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest or detention. No one shall be
deprived of his or her liberty except on such grounds and in accordance with
such procedures as are established by law.

+ACI-(2) Any person who is arrested or detained shall be informed as soon as is
reasonably practicable and in any case within three hours, in a language
that he or she understands, of the reasons for his or her arrest or
detention and of his or her right to consult a legal practitioner.

Subsection (3) adds that if the person is arrested and detained and is not
released  he or she +ACI-shall be brought without undue delay before a court
and, in any event, within seventy-two hours.+ACI-

If Shyngle Nyassi is in custody, he should have been given opportunity to
receive advice from his counsel within three hours of his arrest.

FOROYAA received information from Shyngle Nyassi's family, which is further
corroborated by the statements of the UDP leadership at a press conference
held on 26 May 1999, that a group of men who did not identify themselves
raided Shyngle after midnight, in the early hours of the money of 26 May,
abducted him and  carried him away barefooted in a vehicle with the
registration number BJL 5424A.

The state has a duty to either acknowledge Shyngle Nyassi's arrest and
provide him with the legal protection or declare him missing to take a
leading role in the search for his abductors. As Malcolm X once said: the
chickens do come home to roost.

Countries which condone thuggery can only reap instability and national
disintegration. Guinea Bissau is in turmoil+ADs- Sierra Leone is in turmoil+ADs-
Casamance is in turmoil. The cheapest form of political violence is
thuggery. It is meant to instil fear and that fear only breeds insecurity.
Thuggery is self induced instability. At the end it yields contempt and
defiance, not fear and servility.

This is the lesson of history and it is irrevocable. The government is best
advised to take an active role in searching for Mr Nyassi and ensure that
this type of practice is nipped in the bud.

The Gambia has a judicial system. People who are suspected of committing any
offence can be taken to court for  proper hearing. No human being should
take the law into his or her own hands.

FOROYAA has been condemning all political behaviour that is inimical to the
empowerment of the people, liberty, justice and national unity. All just
Gambians should be consistent in promoting the empowerment, liberty, dignity
and national unity of the Gambian people. We should condemn, without
reservation, any encroachment on such fundamental principles. We must not
play with the stability of this country. We should not cultivate a
revengeful spirit which leads to mutual plots for the destruction of
opponents.

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