Mr. Sallah, we are glad that once again you have detected the moves of this
arnachist government and have made attempts to redress the situation. We
realize that your letter did not directly answer Sankung's letter point by
point. Instead, it addresses the big picture about the unconstitutionality
of such permits. The contents of Sankung's letter is clearly repugnant to
natural justice and the provisions of our Constitution. As you said, it
could even be argued that the whole process of applying for licenses to Yaya
supporters stinks. My rationalization of your letter is that you are perhaps
leaving it up to Darboe to directly attack Sankung's letter and not just
talk about the big picture. It is very important that politicians make it
very clear to the Sankungs of The Gambia that they cannot censure political
speech. What do APRC supporters expect to hear from opposition party members
at rallies? Rival politicians can abuse each other if they feel like it.
Anyone that breaks the law by slandering someone at a political rally should
be dealt with in a defamation suit. If Darboe stands up and call Yaya a
thief, murderer, rapist, liar etc., all Yaya can do is bring suit against
Darboe or file a criminal complaint to be dealt with by the AG. You do not
solve the problem by issuing exparte gag orders. Sankung's letter is very
irresponsible, to say the least. It should be withdrawn forthwith and the
whole issue about the issuance of permits should be revisited. The only
input that need to come from the police regarding this process, is a law and
order one. Can the police dispatch personnel to go and ensure an orderly
rally? That is all. Their job is to make sure that when there is a UDP rally
for instance, APRC supporters are kept away from the vicinity if their
continued presence would have the potential of sparking violence. If Darboe
is among his supporters alone and insult Yaya, no one will fight with him.
At most, he will lose some of his supporters that do not appreciate the use
of foul language or the making of unsubstantiated allegations. So the police
should focus on the avoidance of another ambush by preventing rival
political operatives from crashing each others rallies. We also hope that
Darboe will address the issue Sankung raised about the pending murder
charges against him (Darboe). Why did Sankung bring that up in this letter?
Although Sankung was not quite explicit as to whether these charges
disqualify Darboe from participating in coming rallies, nevertheless,
Sankung is trying to use that fact as further justification for denying the
license. This is ridiculous and clearly contradictory to the presumption of
innocence accorded to everyone that faces criminal charges. Sankung would be
punishing Darboe for acts that the law (at this stage) says Darboe is
innocent of committing. That issue also needs to be addressed. In short,
neither Sankung nor Yaya have the right to censure what people can say at
political rallies. That right belong to the courts that hear defamation
suits. So Sankung should spare us this nonsense about UDP using abusive
language against Yaya and his supporters. Like we said before, if the system
does not provide redress for ordinary folks, they take the law into their
own hands. That simple.
Once again, we are glad that you detected the lawlessness this government is
engaged in and have made your point to them. We hope that UDP will also
continue their fight against this latest undemocratic and illegal move.
KB
Ps: I have sent you mails regarding the commission of inquiry looking into
the massacre of April 10 and 11 and the the appointment of a private
prosecutor to look into that matter. Am yet to receive a response from you.
I know you are a very busy man which is why I let one month to pass after my
first mail before sending another one a few weeks ago. Please join us in
calling for the AG to appoint an independent prosecutor forthwith. Rather
than making Wowo a VIP in Gambia nowadays, giving him an official car and
armed escot everywhere, the AG should be busying himself getting us a
prosecutor to look into the murder of our children on April 10 and 11. An
ordinary prosecutor like Wowo should not be rewarded for harassing Gambian
citizens. Why is it necessary for him to have an armed escot? God knows that
am not xenophobic. But foreigners like Wowo and some of those foreign judges
in The Gambia should not be tolerated. How can the AG reward someone for
harassing his friend and fellow citizen?
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