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Human rights organization suspends operation in Gambia
Thursday, 09 September 2010 21:24
By Jollof News staff reporterAfrica in Democracy and Good Governance (ADG) has announced it is closing its offices in Gambia in response to government order banning it from operation.
ADG’s Nigerian director, Edwin Kwakaeme Nebolisa, was sentenced to six months in prison with hard labour, last Monday, on ‘False Information’ charges. In addition to his jail term condemnation, Kwakaeme Nebolisa’s organization was barred from operating in the country.
And now the organization said with no option at its disposal, it was halting its operations temporarily.
"There's nothing we can do concerning this case. At this moment we will be closing down temporarily to see what we can do while our lawyer appeals to the high court," an official from the ADG told AFP on Wednesday.
Edwin Kwakaeme Nebolisa was accused of giving false information to the office of President Yahya Jammeh, requesting to make the Gambian leaders’ daughter a goodwill ambassador to his organization which is registered as a human rights body in a country whose leadership has had strenuous relationship with rights groups.
The letter’s description of the ADG as a non-governmental organisation (NGO), according to various reports, caused the activist his ordeal as the government considers that description untrue.
The convicted Nigerian’s mandatory jail term is accompanied by a fine of 10 000 dalasis (370 US dollars, 300 euros) failure of which would warrant an extra three years imprisonment with hard labor.
According to the Media Foundation for West Africa, Mr Kwakaeme was also ordered to surrender all his organization’s documents to the court.
AFP cited officials if ADG accusing President Yahya Jammeh's regime of having "systematically undermined all political and social institutions in the country."
But while this accusation may echo familiar description of the Yahya Jammeh government, many Gambians here remain cynical about the motive of ADG which is not known for such statement despite its human rights status. Mr Kwakaeme’s alleged attempt to use the president’s daughter points to this.
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