The Verdict
By Adama Hawa
I agree with Mathew Jallow and Plarke M. Caneckouteh, and indeed everyone else that the arrest of Fatou Jaw Manneh by Yahya Jammeh's thugs has instead achieved a boomerang effect on the regime contrary to what they had intended it to be.
Rather than portray Fatou like an irresponsible journalist whose sole preoccupation had been to write malicious things about Yahya Jammeh and his administration, their unmitigated actions against her have instead turned her into a heroine of the struggle against the most repressive regime in Africa today.
Therefore, the Jammeh administration has once again succeeded in turning the international searchlights on itself by engaging in its usual repressive measures against the forces of justice and progress.
Indeed, while a few people have ever heard about the name Fatou Jaw Manneh, however, after this unwise decision by the Jammeh regime to detain her for merely exercising her civic rights to subject the regime to some criticism, she has now become a household name throughout the world. It is yet again another manifestation of the poor judgements associated with this regime.
Obviously, regardless of whatever the outcome of this kangaroo trial she is being subjected to, Fatou will end up being the winner, and the regime will earn even more castigation and continue to be seen as one of the world' s most repressive pariah states.
Indeed, while the West seems to be focusing on Zimbabwe and Robert Mugabe as being one of the most repressive African dictators, I agree with Plarke M. Caneckouteh that the focus on Zimbabwe is driven by the fact that Robert Mugabe seized some white owned farms, but by whatever angle one looks at it, Mugabe is by far more mature and reasonable than Yahya Jammeh. It is quite obvious that the Zimbabwean opposition is much freer than the Gambian opposition, who are not only denied the right to canvass freely for votes and hold meetings as and when they want, but its leadership and supporters are also subjected to frequent arbitrary arrests and physical torture by the security forces, who have unashamedly allowed themselves to be transformed into Yahya's thugs and bullies instead of national security agents, paid and maintained by the Gambian tax payers.
I am in particular agreement with Plarke M. Caneckouteh when he said that Mugabe, "with all his craziness, has not yet started claiming to have possessed spiritual powers or the mandate to cure HIV/AIDS, Asthma and Diabetes in Zimbabwe. He has not paraded his countrys HIV/AIDS patients before national television. He has not forced his Health Minister to publicly lie to support him that he can cure AIDS."
This is indeed quite true. Yahya Jammeh is not only a brute who subjects the people of this country to all sorts of harassment and intimidation, including arbitrary arrests and frequent systematic torture sessions at the National Intelligence Agency headquarters and numerous other unauthorized places of detention throughout the country, but he also displays symptoms of mental deraignment.
Therefore, while The Gambia does not have strategic importance to attract the sort of attention being given to such places like Zimbabwe and Darfur, certainly, Gambians deserve more international attention if they are to be rescued from the clutches of this megalomaniac.
It is extremely urgent that the international community does something about the Gambia situation in order to prevent conflict rather than wait until conflict breaks out before going in. It would then be too late. Indeed, it is already too late for many people, who have either been extra-judicially executed or made to "disappear" like the former Director General of the NIA, Daba Marena and five other security forces detained with him, as well as Chief Ebrima Manneh of the Daily Observer, who was abducted by Jammeh's agents from the premises of the Daily Observer in the full view of many of his colleagues, including the Managing Director, Dr. Sajar Taal, and not seen ever since.
It was indeed a shame to recently hear Yahya Jammeh threatening the Gambian judiciary with unspecified action if it failed to expedite court cases. It appears that he cannot still forgive the judiciary for acquitting and discharging Ousainou Darboe, the leader of the United Democratic Party (UDP) of the trumped up charges of murder against him in 2001.
However, when we consider how Yahya Jammeh and his regime have not only been subjecting the Constitution to almost complete disregard when it suits them, but also the numerous occasions when the regime has disregarded court orders, we will not fail to see who is responsible for the judiciary's present predicament. The most recent cases in which the state ignored court orders include the order for the release of Tamba Fofana, a school principal detained since last year and "Rambo" Jatta, the Bakau UDP councillor, detained for several months now. There have also been several other examples of the regime ignoring court orders, including the order to re-instate the Mayor of Banjul, Pa Sallah Jeng.
Therefore, as long as the regime continues to treat court orders with such contempt, and appoint mediocre people like the present Chief Justice, Abdou Karim Savage and mercenary judges and prosecutors from Nigeria like Justice Madabauchi Paul and Akomaye Agim, then no amount of threats or cajoling will make our judiciary serve the interest of the people of this country.
It is obvious that the regime only wants the judiciary to do what it dictates, and anything to the contrary is regarded by Yahya Jammeh as "unacceptable".