Mansour, I respect your intervention and that of Saul the other day. In fact
I would have refrained from commenting on this issue again had you not
copied a portion of my message. However, I will just make a few comments
without propogating what I wrote earlier on. If you follow most of what I
write, you will realize that I try very hard not to slander people. I take
my contributions very seriously. Ousman Jammeh happens to be someone that I
sincerely hope does not become an AG under this regime. I harbor no
resentment for him. To be quite frank, I like him. If you review my postings
on the April massacre, you will realize that I did not make any unjustified
attacks on the coroner.`However, one can be my blood brother, but the moment
one becomes a Yaya supporter, that is it. Reports that we heard said that
Ousman was with Yaya. I had no reason to doubt those reports. That is why I
wrote what I wrote. Everything I said about Ousman on Friday was known to me
previously. But I never brought it up eventhough I did not agree with some
of his moves as the coroner in the massacre saga. The simple reason being, I
did not want to speak about Ousman in a negative light in a context that
what I was saying was irrelevant. Having said that, there are rules and
regulations governing the appointment of AGs. To be an AG in The Gambia, you
do not just have to be a Barrister/Solicitor/Attorney licensed to practise
before a court of law in certain jurisdictions, you also have to have a
certain amount of post-call experience i.e. you should have practised your
profession for a certain number of years. In Gambia you do not just become a
lawyer by getting a law degree. You need to take the Bar if you want to
practise as a Barrister and you also need to take the solicitor's finals if
that is the route you want to take (if my recollection serves me right that
also takes a year). All I was trying to point out was that if Ousman Jammeh
did not regularize his situation by sitting for the Bar somewhere, he should
not accept the position because he is not qualified to accept the position.
Truth can never be slanderous. If I had known that Ousman took the Bar and
then delibrately lied about it, then that would be slander. I said in my
piece that I would be more than happy to learn that Ousman did that. The
focus of my piece was really to show why Ousman (like Marong) should not
even be considered for, let alone appointed as AG. It was also meant to give
Ousman a valid reason (based on the law) to turn down any offer given to
him. I realized that some of the things I said might hurt someone. That
realization prompted me to be very frank with Ousman because I knew close
friends of his will not bring that topic up. Again, I hope Ousman does not
accept the position and taint his good name with the illegal activities of
this government. I meant no personal harm to him. I also did not mean to
tarnish his image. He might not have taken the Bar, but that certainly does
not mean that he is dumb. He is a smart young man that do not need the the
garbage that comes with this illegal government. Mansour, thanks for giving
me an opportunity to set the record straight on an issue I have privately
lamented about. I hope Ousman Jammeh and his family and friends will also
take my posting in the spirit I wrote it.
KB

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