Foroyaa Newspaper Burning Issue
Issue No. 51/2007, 4 - 6 May, 2007
Editorial
Society, Media and Impunity
The Lessons Behind Press Freedom Day
Governments are supposed to exercise authority without fear or favour,
affection or ill will, in accordance with prescribed laws or constitutional
provisions. Impunity constitutes the exercise of power outside the guards and
fences of the law, in gross disregard of truth and justice. Press Freedom Day is
designed to remind government and people of the need to respect freedom of
expression which is the foundation of every society based on representation. In
short, representation goes hand in hand with accountability. Accountabily is
impossible without scrutiny. Scrutiny is meaningless without the right to
express or criticise what is wrong and recommend what is right. Freedom of
expressiuon should therefore be protected in every society. In a genuinely
democratic society, the Media serves as an instrument for the amplification of the
voices of the people. In an open society, there is great tolerance for
freedom of expression. Under tyrannies, there is great intolerance for freedom of
expression. This is precisely the reason why the international community
utilises Press freedom day to highlight the experiences of best and worst
practices so that our societies may learn what to avoid and what to emulate,
As we commemorate World Press Freedom Day, the Gambia Government, in
particular, and the Society, at large, should ask whether The Gambia provides a good
or bad example regarding the respect for and protection of press freedom.
Foroyaa wants the Government not to dismiss the opinion of CPJ that The
Gambia ranks among the ten countries with governments that have shown the least
respect for freedom of expression. A country which ignores criticism cannot
grow. One fact that no one can dispute is that the Gambian media has been very
evenhanded in scrutinising both the Government and the Opposition. All
Gambians who follow the comments of Gambian journalists at home and abroad would
notice that they are trying to be impartial in their scrutiny of both the
Government and the Opposition. An honest journalist cannot be partial in the
presentation of reports. The politically tolerant cannot be offended by opinions
of others; on the contrary, one must exercise one’s freedom of expression to
refute the opinions expressed by others. It is in this regard that the
opposition in the Gambia has shown greater tolerance than the ruling APRC.
It is a great tragedy that Citizen FM, SUD FM and The Independent are still
unable to function. It is unacceptable that Chief Manneh is still at large.
It is still amazing that the ruling APRC lacks the competent personnel capable
of combating opinions with opinions instead of relying on arrests and
detentions.
Any Party which can be threatened by the ball of a pen is indeed an
intellectually weak party that is not fit to govern in a knowledge based society of
the 21st century. We therefore hope that as a society, the people and the
Government will strive to know the significance and use of the Media to avoid
abuse of state authority and civic rights to the detriment of the citizenry.
It is incontrovertible that the media houses that are true to the profession
will make it their daily duty to provide outlet for the expression of the
needs and aspirations of the people. This includes opinions on how their
country is governed and how services are being delivered. These opinions enable a
government to know what needs to be addressed and what shortcomings to rectify.
In the same vein, the media enables the society to transmit values and share
experiences or practices that can enhance liberty, prosperity, recreation
and happiness. No modern society can function without a free media which
publishes truth in good faith in the interest of the members of society.
A Government which is sensitive to the needs and aspirations of a people
must rely on information to serve as raw material for policy formulation. It
must rely on information to assess the impact of the implementation of policies.
This is why the media is indispensable to a democratic government and
society.
GROUP JUBBO VS HON. SUKU SINGHATEH
COURT GIVES ULTIMATUM
Honourable Suku Singhateh the National Assembly Member for Lower Badibou,
who is also a businessman was dragged to court by a farmer’s Association in
Upper Saloum called Group Jubbo?
On Wednesday 2 May, 2007 Justice Roche issued a writ of Fife for the Sheriff’
s Division of the High Court to attach Suku’s properties. As a result of
this order on Thursday 3 May 2007, people from the Sheriff’s Division went to
(his) Suku’s compound at Old Jeshwang and attached the furniture in his
compound. He is given an ultimatum of seven (7) days to comply with the court order
failing which the Sheriff’s Division will execute the court order.
AT THE TREASON TRIAL
TAMSIR JASSEH ALLEGES TORTURE, THREATS
By Fabakary B. Ceesay and Bubacarr K. Sowe
Tamsir Jasseh, the Former Director of Immigration, and a businessman, who
currently faces charges of treason at the High Court, has testified before
Justice Anin Yeboah on Wednesday, 2 May. Mr. Jasseh alleges that he was subjected
to severe torture and threats before his statement was obtained.
According to Mr. Jasseh, he was arrested at his residence at Kotu on the
night of 24 March 2006, at around 10 to 11pm. He said that he was woken up by a
knock on his window and was told by his watchman that there are people who
wanted to see him. He said that there were lots of gunshots into the air and
banging on his door. He said that he came to the front door and saw a soldier
standing with an AK 47 and that he recognised him as Warrant Officer Tumbul
Tamba. “I then opened the door and saw my watchman screaming. He was being
beaten by soldiers.” Tamba told me that the watchman refused to obey them.
Unfortunately they were speaking to the watchman in Mandinka who is a Nigerian and
did not understand what they were saying. Tamba ordered them to stop beating
him.”
Mr. Jasseh narrated that he was told by Tumbul Tamba that he was under
arrest but that when he requested to know why he was under arrest he was told that
he would know when they reach there. He said that he was taken to Mile Two
Prison at maximum security wing at around midnight. He said that at around
2:30am he was escorted to the NIA headquarters by a group of young soldiers who
wore nets over their faces. He noted that he was handcuffed and made to lay
face up in a Land Rover pick up. Mr. Jasseh told the court that he was taken to
a room with about 25 men and was asked by Musa Jammeh what he knew about the
alleged coup and that he denied any knowledge about it. “After several que
stions they decided to tell me what I am supposed to know, questions were
coming from all angles. There was a lot of disagreement among themselves, some are
saying there was a coup and others are saying, it is only a mere suspicion.”
Mr. Jasseh explained that he was told by Mr. Hydara, an NIA Officer, that
word had reached the president that there was a coup plot. He said that Hydara
then asked the soldiers to take him after he refused to write a statement. “
As we come downstairs, we met the group that escorted me to the NIA and a
black plastic bag was put over my head and I was escorted to the back of the
building, and asked to kneel down. They were beating me and pouring very cold ice
water on me and it lasted for twenty five (25) minutes. All those moments
they were asking me who were involved. They asked if the Vice President was
involved, cabinet members and Sheriff Dibba,” he explained. Jasseh indicated
that the torturing group was being led by Musa Jammeh and including the late
Tumbul Tamba, Lance Corporal Malick Jatta, Lance Corporal Mustapha Sanneh, Lance
Corporal Michael Correa, Corporal Malick Jeng, Corporal Sana Manjang and
Corporal Nuha Badjie Mr. Jasseh said that he was later taken back to the panel
and there Lance Corporal Malick Jatta took out a 9mm gun and stuck it in his
mouth, and hold his cheeks, saying to him “Do you think you are in the United
States?”. Jasseh added “I could smell his mouth which was stinking with
Marijuana,”. Mr. Jassey said that it was then that he accepted to do what they
wanted him to write. He said that Corporal Lamin Cham then came into the place
with a piece of paper and told him that he was to write what he knew about
the coup. He said that he told Lamin Cham that the procedures are not proper
and that he needed a lawyer. He said that Lamin Cham told him “Sir, the police
are only rubber stamps, we are not the ones running the investigations.”
Jasseh noted that he wrote his statement at around 4:00am with Lamin Cham
dictating him. He added that he never knew the independent witness Tijan Bojang and
that he never saw him on that night. He said that, on several occasions, he
will be escorted to the NIA. Mr. Jasseh said on the 25 March 2006, he was
taken to his residence by a group led by the late Tumbul Tamba. He said that his
vehicle and some other properties were confiscated. He said that on 6 April
he was taken to the NIA where he found Sheriff Dibba, Mr. Jawla and Mariam
Denton, his lawyer. He noted that he did not know what Mariam Denton was doing
there but that he knew that she was under arrest. “I was asked to write about
those people but I refused. Warrant Officer Jabang and Hydara told me that if
I don’t they will step out and soldiers will step in and I knew what that
meant, I will be tortured and the last thing I would want was for the soldiers
to step in,” he explained. He said he went ahead to write in the presence of
Lamin Cham. He explained that on the 22 June 2006, he was escorted with four
other accused persons, namely, Alieu Jobe, Omar Faal Keita, Bunja Darboe and
M.A Bah. He said that he was asked to copy from another paper word for word.
He said that he complained to them that he is under the remand of the court
and that he requested for his lawyer, Lamin Camara. He said that they told him
that if he does not write they will put him in the NIA Cell. Based on the
threats, he said he decided to copy directly. He complained that he never wrote
that statement voluntarily but that under force and fear for his life. He n
oted that he never knew the independent witness Babou Loum prior to his
testimony in court. He narrated that the day he was taken before GRTS he was asked
to read out his statement five (5) times. He said that on that day, he was in
the room with Tumbul Tamba, Hydara, Musa Jammeh and Harry Sambou, the then
Director of NIA.
During cross examination by state counsel, E.O Fagbenle, Jasseh said that
he was once a Deputy Inspector General of Police and Director of Immigration.
He said that he had served in the United States Marines. He said that coup d’
etat are military offences. He said that he had never heard of any coup plot
by United States soldiers. Mr. Jasseh denied that he went to see his lawyer
in the evening of 22 March 2006 to ask for advice concerning legal
implications. He denied being adviced by his lawyer to cooperate with the authorities.
He lamented that everything he wrote in connection to the alleged coup was
forced on him. He said that he does not know the names of the soldiers who wore
nets over their faces. He said that he new Tumbul Tamba at his house on the
night of his arrest when Tumbul introduced himself to him. He noted that he
does not know the names of the people at the panel room who were about twenty
five people. He said that he told the panel that he knew nothing about the
alleged coup plot. He said that he copied the statement in five (5) minutes.
When asked if he can copy the same statement within five minutes in court, he
said, “If the court can put me in the same mood, where soldiers beat me up, I
can write it in five minutes.” He asserted that all what he said over GRTS was
what they wanted him to say. He indicated that Sheriff Dibba he mentioned
was the former Speaker of the National Assembly. He said that he met Mr. Dibba
at the NIA and as he was taken back to Mile Two Prison, Mr. Dibba remained at
the NIA. Cross examination continuous at the next sitting.
OMAR NDOW DETAINED
By Bubacarr K. Sowe and Fabakary B. Ceesay
Omar Ndow, former-Managing Director of Gamtel, who is facing six economic
crime charges at the High Court, is still in Police Custody following his
arrest on Wednesday, April 25, 2007.
Police Spokesman, Assistant Superintendent of Police, Famara Jobarteh, on
Wednesday, confirmed that Mr. Ndow is re-arrested and is in detention. Mr. Ndow
was escorted to the High Court by the Police on Wednesday, May 2, but his
matter was not called. The Police Spokesman revealed that some developments
emerged in Ndow’s matter and that is why he was re-arrested.
“He is being investigated among other things, such as disobedience to
statutory duties as a civil servant,” ASP Jobarteh told Foroyaa.
He added that if their investigations are finished and it proved that Ndow
did something, he may be charged and taken to court.
Mr. Ndow is already being tried before Justice Monageng on six economic
crime charges.
Ndow is yet to take his plea.
FORMER SIBANOR STATION
OFFICER RELEASED
By Modou Jonga and Yaya Dampha
Foroyaa has been reliably informed that the former station officer of
Sibanor Police Station, in the Foni Bintang district, ASP Abdoulie Colley, has been
released by the authorities.
According to family sources, Assistant Superintendent Colley was, on Monday
1 May, 2007 released from detention at the State Central Prison where he was
reportedly held incommunicado.
ASP Colley, according to sources was initially detained after his arrest on
14 August 2006 at Janjanbureh Prison and later transferred to the State
Central Prison.
With no reason advanced by the authorities for his arrest and subsequent
incommunicado detention, sources revealed that ASP Colley’s arrest came in the
wake of intense fighting in the Senegalese region of Casamance last year, when
he was on patrol near the border.
Contrary to the law and requirement of the constitution, ASP Colley has
never been arraigned before any court of law.
When contacted, the Police PRO, ASP Jobarteh, confirmed the release of ASP
Colley but said he was yet to ascertain the condition of his release.
POEM
A Tribute to Comrade Ebou Madi Sillah
IF I COULD
Comrade Ebou, if I could, I know I can,
I will sing you the song of Baninde.
For you have said no to oppression
For you have defied the oppressor through your work and deed.
If I could, I think I can
Praise you for putting back the honour of the meek and the pecked.
If I could,
I think I can,
Thank you for making us see that Art is change
And change is art.
If I could
I think I can
Agree with you that Art lives forever while men and women come and go.
Comrade Ebou, while we put you to rest and bid our farewells,
We thank you again for the wisdom you bequeath to us -
The knowledge that Art is for ever
And that knowledge is power!
By Baaba Sillah
FOCUS ON POLITICS
THE CULTURE OF “GET RICH QUICK”
WAS THE ORDER OF THE DAY
With Suwaibou Touray
We have been focusing on politics from pre-colonial to post independence
era. In the last issue, we have mentioned underground movements and clandestine
leaflets such as the “VOICE.”
Let us continue from were we had stopped. The year 1979 started with a
mini-cabinet reshuffle on January 10th. Mr. B.K.L Sanyang, who was Minister of
Works and Communications, was replaced with Mr. I. B. A Kelepha Samba, Former
Parliamentary Secretary of the Ministry of Health, Labour, and Social Welfare.
Honourable Mrs. Louise N. Njie, a nominated member, was made the
parliamentary Secretary, Ministry of health, Labour and Social Welfare.
The British Government which had always been pampering The Gambia with
annual aid grants had done it again. The country had been enjoying these annual
aids from its former colonial master since 1970. The PPP always attacked those
pessimists, including the British, who expressed the view in 1964 as to
whether The Gambia could be a viable independent nation. They always cited Sir
Dawda’s leadership as the fundamental reason why the country was forging ahead.
But critics also did question whether without the annual aid grants from
Britain, the country could manage its affairs. The aid grants of 10 million
pounds financed capital projects during the first and second five year Development
Plans; such as the Lady Chilel maritime vessel, Livestock Marketing Board
Cattle barge, New Abattoir at Yundum, X-ray machines for Bansang and Royal
Victoria Hospitals, New Children’s Wing, facilities upgraded at Bansang,
communication equipment, pilot programme of maternal and child health centres, rural
piped water supply project and the establishment of a depot for the then
Field Force Pioneer Unit (PU) at Farafeni, and so on and so forth. Some saw these
as Britain cleansing her conscience by bailing her former tiny helpless
colony out.
The incidence of serious crimes, that the period witnessed, also continued
unabated. The president could no longer be silent about the issue. In both the
2nd congress of the PPP at Fajara Hotel and in his annual address of the
parliament, he spoke about it and asked the police to deal strongly with it.
The then Inspector General of Police vowed to curtail the crime rate in the
country. The police started to attack known criminal hideouts. According to
the Outlook, the police un-expectedly closed in at the back of Albert Market,
commonly known as the “POOL”, and arrested all those they met there.
The country was also alarmed by the white collar crimes during the period. A
lot of theft cases were reported or uncovered in some government
departments, but mainly at the then Gambia Commercial and Development Bank. Apart from
the huge theft of 2 million CFA at the bank which was about to be smuggled to
Europe, many other cases were reported, in addition to the half a million
dalasi theft case at the GCDB. All these and more compelled the president to
condemn the perpetrators. He described them as people who wanted to get rich
quick at the expense of the people.
The situation of crime was getting out of hand. Many thought that it was an
organised crime syndicate operating in Banjul. A curfew of some sort had to
be enforced by the police in Banjul . All those moving without any justifiable
cause were to be arrested by the police. Did that quell the action of the
actors? Many thought it had infact made the situation worse. They said there
were not enough police officers to patrol the streets and with the curfew
people simply went indoors leaving only the perpetrators to terrorize property
owners.
While the police were concentrating on the petty thieves, the arsonists,
whether by design or accident, continued. A serious arson was reported at the
offices of Shell company’s fuel tanks at Dobson Street in Banjul on Wednesday
6th September 1979. The Outlook called it a mysterious fire. It was being
wondered how such a blaze could have reached the spot of the workmen which was at
quite a distance.
As you can see, the country in 1979 was experiencing the upsurge of petty
crimes up to the extent of imposing a night curfew in Banjul. On the other
hand, white collar crimes also intensified within the civil service by people
wanting to get rich quick. But the year also experienced the increase in school
enrolment with the new education policy. According to the Gambia Outlook,
Parents and guardians of school children in the Kombos became desperate and
protested vigorously when they learnt that their newly admitted children in the
schools had no furniture at their disposal. They saw it as a shame to see
children sitting on the classroom floors. Little did they know that such a
situation was the order of the day in the provinces. Many who could afford it
simply bought furniture for their children leaving the poor to sit on the floor.
It was what was called “Education with tears.”
1979 was crowned with a big hope. Chevron Oil Company, with a subsidiary of
the Standard oil company of California in the USA, sought permission from the
Government for oil drilling speculation in the Gambia. License was issued
out to them with the realization that they were willing to undertake the
exploration at their exclusive expense. According to records, the total sum for the
operation was D18 million dalasis but they would be operating at a minimum
cost of D250,000 per day. This was the first time that an oil drilling company
visited the Gambia. The ship, the MV Pellerin had 101 berths in single, twin
and 4 berth cabin including 4 in hospital. So it was a huge ship, a BP which
located its drills at Farafenni and Kanifing. A huge rumour began to spread
that oil had been discovered in the county and Americans have come to drill
it. The rumour intensified when the president, with a team, left Banjul in a
British helicopter for on the spot inspection check of the “Liquid Gold.”
Some said this company could not leave all the way from America to come to
the Gambia without having evidence of oil in the Gambia. They did not know the
difference between prospecting and drilling.
How Did The Economy Fare In 1979?
Mr. Langley’s banner said everybody was tired. What was the economic
situation in 1978?
According to a booklet published by the National Executive Committee of the
ruling PPP, “A BETTER LIFE FOR OUR PEOPLE,” with a sub-title “Achievements
of the People’s Progressive Party 1962-1979" The total revenue in the
financial year, ending in June 1977 amounted to D60.5 million dalasis; that indirect
taxes (mainly taxes on international trade) accounted for almost two-thirds
of total revenue and direct taxes for about 14%. According to this booklet, a
special tax, National Development Levy, was introduced for the first time in
1976/77. It imposed a levy of 10% on salaried workers, public or private
would be required to pay. Only farmers and pensioners were exempted.
Secondly the second five year plan suffered from a low level of domestic
savings as well as heavy reliance on external resources. According to this PPP
booklet, 85% of the total investment was to be financed by foreign capital
assistance.
So as you can see, due to the low income level of The Gambia, the potential
for generating domestic savings has been limited and therefore the country
relied heavily on foreign assistance for the implementation of its development
programmes. This acceleration in foreign aid inflows in the recent past, the
booklet said, has had important consequences for the hitherto limited
indebtedness of the country. According to records, the total public debt outstanding
increased from D11 million in 1972 to D66 million in March 1979. Records
also showed that the foreign loans had been mainly contracted on concessionary
terms thereby making the debt servicing burden to continue to be relative to
current government expenditure, export receipts and national income.
According to the PPP, the expectation was that other donor countries would
convert their loans to the least developed countries into grants like it was
done by the United Kingdom. This was what tempted the government to take more
loans not only from European countries but also from the Middle East who did
not do as anticipated.
The other bottleneck was the fact that financing of future development
programmes and projects constituted the mobilization of the necessary
complementary domestic resources.
The average, from 15% to 20% of development project investments had to be
financed by Local funds but as shown by the records, the traditional sources of
these counter-part funds, were transfers from the accumulated GPMB reserves
and Central Government savings which the experts said could not make
substantial contributions to the development fund.
What option did this summary leave for the Government? The only option was
to take more and more foreign loans even for the local contributions to
projects, thereby steadily reducing the small resource-less country from least
developed country status to the status of HIPC (Highly Indebted Poor Country)
status.
JUDGMENT DATE SET FOR SENEGALESE CUSTOM OFFICIALS’ CASE
By Yaya Bajo
The Kanifing Magistrate Court will on Monday deliver judgment on the
protracted criminal trial involving the five Senegalese custom officials who are
charged with possession and importation of fire arms in The Gambia.
The submission that the court lacks jurisdiction to hear the matter was
overruled by the court.
Defence counsel, Antouman Gaye told the court that he had filed two
applications at the High Court concerning the application for bail for his clients
and the fact that the court lacks jurisdiction to hear the matter. Merley Wood,
the prosecutor reacted to the defence counsel’s applications by noting that
the application for the bail was rejected because the accused persons did not
fulfill the bail condition despite the fact that they have been in custody
since 26th March, 2007. “All the evidence has been given, so I would urge my
learned friend to address the court,” she adduced.
The presiding Magistrate, Pa Harry Jammeh ruled that the fact that there is
a bail application at the High Court would not delay the matter. He therefore
overruled the defence counsel’s applications and asked the prosecutor to
proceed. Merley Wood then submitted her address in written form which was
accepted by the presiding Magistrate. The case was therefore adjourned to 7th May,
2007 at 4pm for judgment.
ALLEGED HUSBAND MURDERER TO BE MENTALLY EXAMINED
By Fabakary B. Ceesay
Modou Lamin Drammeh, the counsel for Tabara Samba, who is facing a charge of
murder, has made an application before the Kanifing Magistrate Court for the
accused to be taken for a psychiatric examination. Mr. Drammeh made this
application, on Wednesday 2 May. before Magistrate Pa Harry Jammeh.
Mr. Drammeh said that the accused had suffered from shock in the past and
that may have led her to be mentally sick. Magistrate Jammeh upheld the
application and ordered the accused to be brought back to court on 7 May 2007. Prior
to the defence’s application, the prosecution had called four witnesses to
testify. PW 4, Ousman Jarjue, who is said to be a neighbour of the deceased
(Ebrima Nyan) told the court that on the 7 March, at around 2:15am, he heard
the deceased shouting. He said he rushed to find out what was going on. He said
he saw the deceased rushing to the bath room and that he (Jarjue) called him
(Nyan) and asked him why he was shouting. Jarjue indicated that the deceased
told him that they poured hot water on him. Jarjue said that he advised the
victim to go to the hospital but that the accused person (Tabara) told him
that it was not a problem, and that may be the victim was dreaming. He said
that he could not get inside to help the victim.
PW5-Lamin Conteh said that in the month of March at around 2:00am, he heard
a knock on his door and that he opened. He said he found the deceased
standing by the door. Mr. Conteh said that the accused (Tabara) told him that the
deceased was accusing her of pouring hot water on him. He added that he heard
the deceased telling his mother that the accused poured hot water on him while
he was sleeping. He said that the deceased demanded the keys to the house
from the accused and that she threw the keys on the ground. He testified that
the accused picked up the keys herself and said that she wanted to take her
dress from the house. Conteh asserted that while they board a car to go to the
hospital, the accused left for home. He noted that upon their return to the
house, they found out that the accused has already wiped out some stains and
left some unwiped. He added that she also overturned the bed mattress (sponge)
and that when they lifted it, it was stained with oil.
PW6-Jikiba Sanneh a police detective attached to the Serious Crime Unit at
Banjul, said he was responsible for taking photographs. He said that he took
five (5) pictures of the deceased at the mortuary in Banjul. At this juncture,
the photos were shown to the accused person and she started shedding tears.
The photos were tendered as exhibits. PW7 first class 1855 Modou Lamin
Jabang, said that he was assigned to interview the victim on his hospital bed at
the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of the RVTH. Mr. Jabang told the court that the
deceased told him that on the 7 March while he and the accused were watching
TV, he requested for them to go to bed, but that the accused said she was
watching TV. He said the deceased told him that he left the accused watching TV
while he went to bed. Jabang indicated that the deceased told him that while
he was in bed, he saw the accused coming in and out of the room, watching him.
Jabang said that he was told by the deceased that the accused came with some
liquid but that he (deceased) thought that it was hot water. Jabang said
that the deceased told him that he went into the shower to change his clothes
and later went to Lamtoro Clinic.
Mrs. Tabara Samba is standing trial for allegedly pouring hot oil on her
husband, which led to his untimely death. She pleaded not guilty to the
charges.
COURT TO RULE ON MAIMUNA TAAL’S “NO CASE SUBMISSION”
By Bubacarr K. Sowe and Fabakary B. Ceesay
Justice Sanji Monageng is expected to make a ruling on the reply made by the
state on Maimuna Taal’s submission of no case to answer.
Defence lawyers normally make a submission of no case to answer when they
are of the opinion that the prosecution has not adduced sufficient evidence to
warrant a defendant to enter the witness box.
On Wednesday, defence counsel Antouman Gaye argued at the High Court that
the reply made by the state counsel is full of misrepresentations of the
evidence.
State counsel, Marie Saine, told the court that her address is based on her
record.
Gaye said that the address should be based on the court’s records; and that
is what should prevail.
Mr. Gaye again urged the court to acquit and discharge the accused person.
Taal, who was Directress General of the Gambia Civil Aviation Authority
(GCAA) is facing seven charges. The date for the ruling is not known. Mr. Gaye
has informed Foroyaa that the judge will serve a notice of the date to both
parties.
DUDU KASSA JAATA AND CO. ARRAIGNED IN COURT
By Modou Jonga
Mr. Dudu Kassa Jaata and Natoma Conteh, both supporters of the United
Democratic Party (UDP), were arraigned at the Brikama Magistrate Court, before
Magistrate Martins on assault charges.
The accused persons who pleaded not guilty, are jointly charged for
assaulting one Hawa Jatta, thereby causing the complainant actual bodily harm. The
alleged joint assault is said to have been committed on 15 May, 2006 at Pirang
village, in the Kombo East District.
On Wednesday 2 May, 2007 the said case could not proceed due to the absence
of the presiding Magistrate, Assan Martins. The case was thus adjourned to
Monday 21 May.
Our readers could recall, that the first accused person, Dudu Kassa Jaata,
is currently standing trial with seven others before Magistrate Abdoulie
Mbacke, of the Kanifing Magistrates’ Court, on charges of arming themselves in
public and obstructing Police Officers while executing their duties.
FEATURE
On Oppression and the Oppressed
By Baba Galleh Jallow
Clearly, one of the most intractable problems facing Africa today is the
problem of oppression. The continent is littered with an ugly coterie of
oppressive political regimes as well as a critical mass of people trying to resist
this oppression, getting stigmatized, jailed, maimed, exiled, and killed in
the process. One of the means at the disposal of this critical mass of
oppressed “freedom fighters” is the acquisition of knowledge and a greater
understanding of the nature of the oppressor in relation to themselves, the oppressed.
For it is not enough that we know the oppressor; we also need to know
ourselves as people trying to bring about an end to oppression. This short essay is
meant as a modest contribution to that self-knowledge and knowledge of the
nature of oppression.
The oppressor, whatever his motivations, seeks to distort the humanity of
the oppressed. He seeks to retard the growth of the people, chops off any
emerging buds of popular progress, plucks out any spots of light and sight, seals
tight any outlets of enlightenment, and menacingly hovers over the heads of
the oppressed in order to instill maximum terror and compliance through a
regime of actual or potential violence, physical and psychological. Oppression
manifests itself as a form of violence because it constitutes a denial of full
humanity to the oppressed; because it denies people the possibility of
self-affirmation, the pursuit of one’s right to self-fulfillment as a full human
being. Oppression is violence because the oppressor appropriates to himself all
rights of being, of self-fulfillment, of the enjoyment of unrestricted
freedoms, of a certain state of exception in which he stands outside the law,
while engaging the law to impose an unquestionable regime of hegemony on the
people. As the Brazilian writer Paulo Freire puts it, “The oppressor
consciousness tends to transform everything surrounding it into an object of its
domination. The earth, property, production, the creation of people, people
themselves, time – everything is reduced to the status of objects at its disposal.”
Everything within its territory, in effect, is considered the personal
property of the oppressor and everything within its territory that refuses to be
owned, domesticated, and controlled must either be eliminated or neutralized.
Any individual or institution within this space that refuses to be turned into
a dehumanized, passive, and unquestioning object is regarded as a subversive
entity.
We do not need to look far to see the manifestation of this oppressive
reality. We do not need to look far to see oppressors turning on the oppressed and
calling them evil beings, subversive liars, unpatriotic and envious demons,
enemies of progress and other negative imaginaries because they refuse to be
turned into lifeless objects and possessions of the oppressor to be exploited
and discarded at will. The oppressor does not see that he is the source of
the resistance he is confronted with, that the oppressed are merely reacting
to his untenable claims to their ownership and the ownership of the collective
property that is the nation-state, that they are simply following the
natural and healthy course of reaffirming and pursuing their inalienable right to
remain fully human, to refuse to be dehumanized, objectified and relegated to
the status of nonentities who must live the rest of their lives in a state of
tortured nothingness.
Faced with the prospect of being rendered null and void as human beings even
as they live the one and only single life they have, it is the natural
vocation of a conscious people to resist oppression, to refuse to be terrorized
and dehumanized through engagement in an uncompromising regime of
self-humanization, self-expression, and the total rejection of the unjust oppressive order
bolstered by a regime of violence and intimidation. While the goal of the
oppressed must never be the counter-oppression of the oppressor, the message to
the oppressor must be couched in no uncertain terms. It must be made loud
and clear to the oppressor that the oppressed refuses to be dehumanized and
objectified and that the oppressed insists on the enjoyment of their right to
full humanity – all those rights that come with the reality of being fully
human. But while the possibility of becoming human and ending oppression must
always be made implicit in the message to the oppressor, the person who seeks to
end oppression must never fall to the temptation of trying to pacify the
oppressor because this, as Freire tells us again, makes the person who seeks
justice a dispenser of false generosity, an adherent to a regime of circular
self-truths who grows strangely agitated whenever any of those self-truths are
challenged or questioned.
History is replete with examples of “freedom fighters” who become
oppressors as soon as they assume positions of power. This is because at the critical
moment of their fight against oppression, they had conceived a fear of
freedom itself. They had wavered between their initial principled positions of
uncompromising opponents of oppression and a newly assumed position of a fake
perception of pacification as a more viable alternative and line of defense
against oppression. They tend to edge closer to the oppressor, granting him a
certain veiled acceptance through a lame regime of rationalizations and
apologetics, through a lame appeal to reason and fairness, and by citing lame
pointers to the reality of an unalterable imperfection of being, of life, the
necessity of compromise in the service of the exigencies of daily life. They are
caught between the desire for freedom and a cold, belly-numbing fear of freedom
or its possibility. They swing and waver with dizzying uncertainty and tend,
to quote Freire again, “to prefer the security of conformity . . . to the
creative communion produced by freedom and even the pursuit of freedom.” They
experience this dilemma because from the very beginning, what they really “
fought” for was not the full liberation and full humanization of society, but
the privilege, perhaps subconscious, of identifying with the oppressor, of
enjoying the privileges enjoyed by the oppressor, of the opportunity to rise to
the level of the oppressor and share in the glittering trappings of the
oppressor’s perceived high station. This freedom-fighter-turned-oppressor started
out really focusing on the pursuit of individual or class interests rather
than the interests of the social collectivity. Such a pursuit inevitably
distorts and corrupts his mission so that he becomes an oppressor as soon as he
becomes powerful enough. It is an absolute prerequisite for one who desires to
resist oppressive dehumanization that he must lose sight of individual and
class interests and set his sights upon the interests of the popular
collectivity. One cannot be free from the “oppressor consciousness” so long as one is
obsessed with the protection or preservation of individual or class interests.
While seeking to preserve individual or class interests might appear the
sensible thing to do in an environment of oppression, it is in reality a
dangerous path to perdition. The ancient African aphorism that you cannot dance and
dig at the same time exemplifies the folly of trying to rationalize
oppression even as we pose as enemies of oppression and injustice.
The person who desires freedom from oppression must therefore assume a
principled and uncompromising posture of rejection of oppression. Short of
engaging in physical violence, the person who seeks liberation must relentlessly
shove bitter doses of truth medicine down the throat of the oppressor. And
equally important, such a person must see the current oppressive situation not as
a hopeless permanent situation, or a situation that has to be endured at all
costs, but as a situation that, like all others, is located within the
ever-rotating wheel of life and must therefore one day pass from actuality to
potentiality or non-being. The person who seeks liberation must therefore engage
in a regime of resistance perpetually inspired by an unshakeable conviction
that oppression is to be rejected without qualification, and that what comes
next must be carefully and constantly contemplated and visualized every step of
the way.
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