Letter From Birmingham: Lawyer Mbodge Was Out of Order

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Letter From Birmingham: Lawyer Mbodge Was Out of Order

Wednesday, 12 October 2011 21:58

(Column) - Lawyer Lamin K Mbodge was bang out of order in his recent criticisms of the Gambia Bar Association for boycotting the courts as part of their protest over the jailing of Lawyer Moses Richards.
The jailing of Mr Richards for merely executing his duties as a lawyer was an assault on the legal profession. And as a pressure group, the Bar Association has every right to stand up and defend the rights of its members. PK_Jarju

The action of the Bar Association was not selfish or disheartening. Rather it was a selfless, bold and courageous one which is aimed at ending government’s attack on our private legal practitioners and I commend its president Sheriff Tambedou for coming out strongly against the conviction of Mr Richards.
While I respect Lawyer Mbodge’s right to freely speak his mind, I think his comments are very unfortunate and unexpected from a so-called human rights defender, who have spent many years trying to defend many people who were victims of the very administration he is trying to stick up for.
Hmmm, while I will not be forced to comment on speculations, but whatever may have prompted Mr Mbodge to make such ill comments about his colleagues is very worrying.
As I stated earlier, the jailing of Mr Richards by the Banjul Magistrates Court was an assault on the Gambian legal profession and exposes the inability of the Jammeh regime to disassociate lawyers from the causes of their clients.
Richards arrest, prosecution and conviction is severely detrimental to the effective functioning of the justice system and to the ability of our lawyers to carry out their professional duties freely.
Lawyer Mbodge must be completely daydreaming when he said the Jammeh regime “has shown its respect for law and order by allowing the security agencies and indeed the courts to deal will all legal situations normally without interference.” Hello, what planet is he living on? Gracious Lord, help me!
LAWYER_MBODGE

For many years now, all Gambians are aware of the dark atmosphere of fear and uncertainty under which our hardworking lawyers are operating. The Jammeh regime has been exhibiting hostility and suspicion in its dealings with our lawyers, whom it regards as enemies of the country.
The shooting of Lawyer Ousman Sillah by suspected state agents, the persecution and assassination attempt on my friend Mai Ahmed Fatty and several other incidents of harassment and intimidation of lawyers are just some of the examples. Does Mbodge think that such incidences of harassment and intimidation are normal or should be happening in a democratic country?
Yes, I agree with Lawyer Mbodge that it will be counterproductive and chaotic 'if every decision from a court of law is met with a strike and boycott” by the Bar Association. But we must not get carried away here with such cheesy statements. What was Moses Richards arrested and convicted for is the question we should be asking ourselves. And we should bear in mind that the Bar Association would not have made a fuss had Mr Richards been convicted for assault or something unrelated to his work as a legal representative.
To conclude, I challenge Lawyer Mbodge to show me proof or give me names of Gambian lawyers who have in their personal affairs practice atrocious acts of unfairness, oppression, dishonesty and clandestine immoral behaviour.
Still on the same topic of Moses Richards, I was shocked to be honest when I read his letter of apology to President Jammeh. Mr Richards’ apology to the president can be seen as an admission of guilt for an offence he had always denied.
He has completely let down his legal team, colleagues and thousands of supporters-myself include, who have for the past months stood by him.
The question everyone is asking is: what happens now if Richards’ appeal for clemency is ignored by President Jammeh? How is he going to appeal against his conviction? Will he be able to count on the support of the Bar Association whose support he said had not helped his cause from the beginning? Honestly, I don’t know the answers to all these questions. But whatever the outcome of the case is, Mr Richards can be assured that he is now a lone wolf and it will take him many years to win back the confidence of the Gambian public.

Comments

-1 #1 2011-10-14 15:23

Mbodge has let down the BAR! How about the BAR it self? They have let down the people of the country. How many have been imprisoned by the law being used on Richards. One Sajo Bayang said this before. That the same law will get each of them one day and this is just the beginning.

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