(JollofNews) – The Gambia Police Force is yet to issue a permit to enable the country’s former ruling party to commemorate the July 22 revolution, which brought former President Yahya Jammeh to power in 1994.
Mr Jammeh’s party, APRC, which governed the Gambia from January 1997 to January 2017 was booted out in power in the December 2016 election.
The administration of Adama Barrow has accused the APRC regime of committing gross right violations and corruption and has spoken out against plans to commemorate the day.
But the APRC said it wants to mark the day to celebrate its achievements for the country which includes the building of a national television, national university, schools, road networks, modern airport and other basic amenities.
The party has since applied for a police permit in accordance with the country’s public order act, which is yet to be issued.
A spokesman for the Gambia Police Force, Inspector Foday Conta, has confirmed that they have received a permit from the APRC to commemorate the birth of the party and not the July 22 Revolution
“We are looking at the application. However, the date requested for the event is July 22, and our investigations revealed that the APRC as a party was actually formed on August 23 and not July 22,” he told the Independent Standard Newspaper.
“We cannot comment or speculate on that as nothing like that is on out table so far. What is on our table so far is that an application has been received from the APRC to celebrate the birth of the party and they intend to do that on July 22. Let me make it clear again that we have not yet made a decision on the request as it is currently at management level.”
I do not see why the Gambian Police should find itself in this unfortunate position.
Where is the responsibility of government to be found? Where is any part of this government to be found? No one knows least of all this government.
Thank you Mr. Or Ms. Editor. However the Byline “Police Consider Considers Permit To Mark Jammeh’s Revolution” is Misleading and Slanted in Words and Tone. The 1994 Coup is Not a Jammeh Coup or Revolution, not an APRC Coup. It is a Coup by Junior Army Officers of the Gambia and the General Public Supported it. Without their Support, it would never have Survived for as long as it did for about 20 or 22 Years. I was just a Witness from the Distance, Abroad, where I was for both the 1981 Unduccesful and bloody Coup Attempt and the Successful 1994 Gambian Coup. These are Gambian Political Events that Affected or should have Affected All Gambians because they were Gambian Realities Then and Now. We cannot Conveniently Assign to One Person or Group any or all. Nor can we Wish them away. It is Fantasy to attempt to do so. We, all Gambians must take Ownership of the “Good, the Bad and the Ugly” that came with these Events. To come terms with them, we must Discuss them with Honesty, Painful, Blistering and Bleeding Honesty, if need be. Denial is usually a Precusor to Acceptance of Guilt and or Part of the Grieving Process. If that is the Case with Mr. President and the Police Statements and your Byline, then to the extent that APRC SUPPORTERS who want to Celebrate the July 22 Revolution or Movement or the APRC’s Achievements are not Intimidated, Harrassed or Stopped, Prevented from Celebrating Peacefully, then Gambia and it’s #Gambia Has Decided will Mean Something More Meaningful and Seen as a Change in the Right Direction of Non Marginalization and Purging instead of Words of Sloganeering on Campaign Posters and T Shirts for Profit. It’s Not and has never been Jammeh’s Revolution. Jammeh’s regime after the 1996 Elections, as it is Barrow’s “Regime” following the 2016 Elections is more accurate. Words Do Matter. Gambia is More than the Sum Total of One Ethnic Group or Region. One People, One Destiny.
Sidi, you are good at getting lousy with a lot of capital letter that don’t say a heck. Saying, ”It was a coup by the junior army officers of the Gambia and the public supported it”, is a good misinterpretation of how that illful event unfolded. It could be understood if you say- I supported the 1994 coup as an individual but in a public context I’d rather say; the public complied and the kalasnikovs wielded by those junior officers supported and enforced the coup. What is it messing up around inside your head to say something like, “without the publics support the coup would have not survived for 22 years”? It may be true to say multitudes of elements of the Gambian public helped to enabled and entrench the reign of dictatorship that followed the coup but they have had absolutely no means of stopping that act of conspiracy on July 22.
Gambia for definite, is incomparable to the sum of your rubbish.
Just one question Bourne. Who rattled your Cage Bourne? Intolerance is the sign and indication of Fear, Ignorance and Cowardice. Hope you grow out of it.
Just one question Sidi. Who needs his cage to be rattled?
Idiots always assume they got an important status and so someone needs there attention. Bravery to you, could well mean enduring and condoning the shedding of blood of fellow citizens. The type of a sycophant crowd giggling question of yours above is a fine tuned version of Jammeh’s terribly tasteless ones. You are a praise song element who thinks he has the man in him by calling others cowards. Cowards are those who demonstrate to be arrogant and atrocious through the use of public space and funds. Why would someone ever need the attention of an idiot like you? I wish you have a brain to be able note the uselessness of your wrecked capital letters.
Bourne, Simmer Down Before You Burn Yourself with your Self-induced Rage.
I hope the Police don’t approve a permit application which is obviously deceitful and intended to deceive. How can the APRC wish to celebrate the birth of their party on a date other than its “birth date”? That’s an attempt to deceive the authorities and the nation.
The permit should be issued for 23rd August and with strict conditions that no explicit linkage is made to July 22nd. They have every right to celebrate the birth of their party and lay claims to any achievements they wish to make. It is for the rest of us to debunk their claims and to remind them of the brutalities and theft that characterised their rule.
Whether its the schools, TV, roads or terminal building, the funds utilised to build these belonged to all Gambians, be they UDP,NRP,PDOIS,GPDP, etc and no single group can claim these as their own. That is politics of deception and we need to put an end to it. Moreover, these successes were achieved because their predecessor, PPP, laid the foundations for the quick realisation of these developments.
The APRC can try to deceive the gullible, the ignorant and the young that they built an ultra modern airport, but we know that they only built a modern terminal building, and perhaps extended existing runways. There is a vast difference between an AIRPORT and a TERMINAL BUILDING.
Gambia’s little, poorly equipped and poorly staffed Yundum Airport, with a tiny runway that could only accommodate little planes, had achieved internal status and standards by 1994 and thus, its name, Banjul International Airport. It wasn’t called Banjul International Airport at independence. Serious investment and work to upgrade standards had to be undertaken by the PPP Administration before it got the status of an international airport.
They can continue their foolish sycophancy and indifference to their poor human rights record and destruction of the economy, but it would change the facts. We will always be here to remind them.
oops… “…it would not change the facts.”
Let them celebrate unfortunately is the APRC who’s bring TV and universities to the Gambia , we want to see the difference now more TVs more infrastructure more universities and more school as Jammeh build 60 or 70 /%of our schools so please less bla bla bla Jammeh is gone he’s a past let’s focus on the future of our Gambia
Inform yourself @ peace, before you start making claims. Here are some facts that you may want to know:
(1). The APRC found part of the infrastructure for a TV in place, for them to be able to speedily realise the TV project.
(2). GAMTEL, the body responsible for the TV Project, was established, funded, resourced and equipped by the PPP, well before 1994.
(3). During the AFPRC Commissions set up to probe the PPP administration, documents tendered whilst probing the activities of GAMTEL clearly showed that agreements have already been reached with the French Telecoms Company, ALCATEL, for the establishment of a TV station, and if my memory serves me right, GAMTEL had already started the first phase of that project, with the laying of fibre optic cables across the country, when the coup occurred. I remember very clearly, Sir Dawda stopping at the Brumen Bridge in Kalagi, to inspect the progress of the project during his last “Meet the farmers’ tour.” This coincided with the period when the cables were being laid along the road.
The coup may have necessicitated a re-negotiation with the French, as everything seems to have been suspended, but that doesn’t still warrant claims that APRC brought the TV. That process started well before the AFPRC.
70% of schools built by APRC, you claimed? Did you consider ALL schools in your calculation or just the middle/upper Basic Schools? If you include primary schools in your calculation, then I would urge you to reconsider your statistics, as it may not be accurate.
As for the middle schools, particularly those built during the two year transition, I would urge you to find out the sources of funding. You may realise that the PPP actually accumulated and left those resources behind for the AFPRC to play with.
Also, think about the resources needed to run those schools and manage the education system, starting from the Ministry of Education, it’s various departments and qualified personnel in 1994 onwards, up to a decade or so afterwards. You may realise that the PPP has a bigger say than APRC sycophants and apologists are willing to acknowledge.
I can go on and on….So inform yourself a bit.
How can you help a brick-headed idiot get informed. Some are real fast learners, some are slow, some would be dedicated learners but some brains are naturally dumb and impermeable like a sheet of metal.
I will Not Stoop as low as some would like me to. I let my words represent me without resorting to foul mouth Elementary School play ground Kneejerk response or Behavior with the likes of Bourne. When you hit the bottom, come up for air.
The problem with elementary school playground knee jerks like you is your lack of ability to write legible, simple and straightforward English. Instead, you love to be poetic in order to impress. Don’t stoop low! Keep up your good-mouthind, stretch your neck up firm and hold your head up high, but please dedicate some of your plentiful time on major newspapers and notice how they write in crystal clear English without going Biblical. I wish I had ever been in the school playgrounds. In that case, you might not have sounded this boring and meaningless to me.
Sidi Bojang
Let your hubris represent you because that is what you write and that is what you are…..hubris! Who have time to read all these crap? Lower the dosage village idiot before you go completely bonkers.
“Yalla Yala Bayal Sa Too”, says the Wolof neighbor. Meaning, God, God, but please Plough and Sow your Seeds and Land, (least you end up Starving for calling on God while doing nothing). All the Subterfuge of the Phantom and Mirage like “PPP PLANS or Infrastructure Plans” that Supposedly were “Dusted off” and put to our more Infrastructural Reality that is Far better than the Second Republic under Former President Yaya Jammeh’s regime found it. Well, if PPP as a Party as well as Individuals lived near my Wolof neighbor, he would have advised them to Plough, Till, Sow the Seeds or Land to make sure that they would have some thing to Harvest and Eat the end of the Planting Season. He would tell them that having the Land, Plough, and Seeds, does Nothing, except when Utilized and or put to use. Letting them gather Dust and Rust, is a Dereliction of Duty. It is irresponsible and a Sign of Negligence at the Highest Office, the Presidency, the Cabinet or Head of a Family Engaging in such Nocturnal Dreams. In a Nutshell, in the Real World, nothing gets done unless someone gets it done. APRC did. It’s irrelevant that “Plans” were Supposedly developed by PPP for building a TV. Station, may be an AirPort in the Five Former Provinces, Four Lane Highways and Connecting Lesser Ones Crisscrossing the Entire Gambia, A University in every Province of the Former Five Provinces, Schools and Hospitals etc. Honest Hard working Gambians Know and Understand that This was and is not the Case. It is Pure Contempt and Nonsense. For 32 years None of these were Undertaken. Period. If wishes were horses, beggars might ride. Keep on Wishing, may be in another 32 years, UDP Led Regime may manage to get half of what The Second Republic Accomplished in 20 or 22 Years. I am not an APRC NCP PDOIS, PPP or UDP Member. I am a Gambian and a Realist. I am Not a Fantasy inclined Partisan. It is Rainy Season, the Planting Season in the Gambia. To those who Still want to believe in the Fantasy and Nocturnal Dreams of Whatever tickles them, my Wolof neighbor’s advise is, it is not too late to Plough and Sow your Seeds. Storing them for 32 years, is not advised by my Wolof neighbor. That is, unless you want to Starve yourself and your family. As for Gambians and Gambia, Pre 1994 and Post 1994 to 2016 Infracstructural Development Undertaken by the Second Republic is Clear as Day and Night when compared to Pre 1994 Era. Get over it or Face Reality and Move on. A life worth living is a life of no Sleep Walking while Awake.
Sidi N Bojang…
Firstly, Let me make it clear to you that I am not an apologist for the PPP and I think they could have done more than they did, if only they had pursued policies that aim to develop the productive bases of our economy, rather than seek to become an attractor of foreign investments alone (the neoliberal model of development for “third world” countries) and unwittingly, the tax and debt collectors of international finance. APRC has not fared any better in that respect, hence the trebbling of the national debt under them from what they inherited 1994.
Secondly, my interest on the subject of PPP and AFPRC/APRC records, contrary to what you may think, is to debunk the lies that have been “sold” to the Gambian people and unfortunately, “bought” by many gullible and ignorant people that the PPP did nothing and everything worthy of note today, is to be credited to Yaya Jammeh. Nothing could be further from the truth than this cheap attempt to distort the history of our nation’s development, from independence to date. I am completely baffled why any educated, I mean truly educated individual, can accept this nonsense, never mind regurgitate it ever so often, like a trained, conditioned parrot.
You may notice that I have not talked about “plans”, but rather pointed to some noticeable achievements of the PPP Administration which provided the foundations upon which the AFPRC/APRC registered their own successes. Your Wollof proverb, unfortunately, is misplaced and irrelevant, as far as your response to my comment is concerned.
Thirdly, isn’t it the ultimate demonstration of ignorance to believe that development, even the simplest form, can be achieved without planning ahead, especially in national development, when planning had to be much more detailed and extensively assessed to cater for all eventualities?
Fourthly, you may notice that the bulk of APRC projects were mostly initiated during the Transition period (1994-1996) and completed during the APRC period. Whether it’s the hospitals, TV, schools, UTG and the roads, these were mostly initiated during that period. The major projects that were initiated post 1996 are very few. Ever wonder why? Sensible people will know that this is not a coincidence.
I will stop here for time constraints, but we must continue this conversation to expose the real dreamer.
The ridicule joke’s (at the expense of/) on the pathetic aprc who are being the laughingstock here as being portrayed by what the police have stated so far…
Aprc sought to celebrate “their (23rd Aug) birthday to glorify the advent of the EVIL kanilai KILLER DEVIL (22nd July) ascension who preyed on the general “Gambian (naive) civility” & thieved, vandalised, barbarized, tortured, maimed, raped & killed innocent humans for more than 22 years; majority of them Gambians who are still nursing the open-wounds…?
The police are just playing along in lip-service here by according the DEVIL-ADVOCATES the FOOLS-PARADISE…??
The government, needless, have indicated the National Position by setting the records straight…
The Equator-hiding kanilai DEVIL will hopefully have it’s day in the courts; whether in Gambia &/ anywhere else in the world OR HEREAFTER; Insha Allah…
what about the victims and their Familys… how would they feel about it if the Followers of this dictator would raising their Banners with the Picture of the man who killed your husband your wife your child and mom.. Hitler was Building Highways too… but nobody in this world would celebrate his reign of Terror that would be just one of the enablers or a pitty fool!!! Let bygones be bygones and and try to forgive but never Forget!!!
Why would WHOSOEVER in their (his/her) RIGHTFUL (state of mind) thinking, thoughts &/ orientation won’t have asked themselves (his &/herself) (that) IF that thing called itself yaya jammeh has been (ACTUALLY & FACTUALLY) up to ANYTHING good &/ REALISTICALLY meaningful developmentally, it would CERTAINLY not have been into forceful fleeing away &/ hiding in Guinea Equator with some mercenaries on-hire; given the fact that it’s democratic election & NOT an illegal illegitimate coup that oust the EVIL MURDEROUS kanilai syndola FIEFDOM, after some 22 BARBARIC years of Tire & Devour of the Gambia & Her Innocent Children, & their friends & neighbours in this our global village…???
If not the seem less utopian euphoria, (futampaff-jamurai-syndola) fanfare on wasteful State resources manipulative tendencies clandestinely to ENSLAVE the pathetic aprc following & rest of Gambia & associates for continued SELFISH AUTOCRATIC aggrandizement…
“Wishful thinking” are bygone in Gambia lately; REALITY’s yaya KILLER DEVIL jammeh will never ever stroll the streets of Gambia again in peace; NEVER; meanwhile the aprc can continue to spend the stash of the ILLEGALLY obtained funds which were part of the general Loot thieved from the Gambia public coffers until the Commissions comments; to recover anything recoverable…
Long live the Gambia…
Sometimes you have to ignore the constitution to establish democracy and peace.July 22 is illegal emediately Yaya
Jammed was booted out of country. If the police give permit to the so call revolution or July 22 what ever they call it.Then give permit to KUKOI SAMBA SAYANG too for his July 31 1981 coup.Stop them who cares about the regime of a dictator.
MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING ABOUT THE TAPE AND THE TAMBEDU BROTHERS VS. MAI FATTY AND UDP SUPPORTERS.
Those who applied for a Permit to Celebrate the Achievements of their Party Care and Should be given the Permit to Celebrate. I am not an advocate for the Suspension of the Constitution. However, to be on an Equal Playing Field, the Referee, Mr. Barrow and his Lines men, Mr. Ousainou Darbo and Mai Fatty Plus the Overseer of the Vice Presidency might as well Declare a State of Emergency and Rule by Decree. I happen to believe that at the moment, Certain Communities and fellow Gambians are being treated as if they are in a State of Emergency and that they are the “Culprits”. Do we as Gambians really want to send out the message to all Gambians and the World that One Ethnic Group’s Blood and Lives are more Precious and Valuable than the rest of the other Gambians’ Blood and Lives? Do we, Gambians mean to send the message that Solo Sandeng’s, (May his soul rest in peace as Should others before and after him who died in Gambian by natural or non natural causes), death is more Significant than all others in the Gambia? Who is Speaking for them? Those Unlike the Chosen Solo Sandeng need to be given Equal Treatment by the Authorities in the Gambia and their Supporters. We are as a Nation State gravitating ever so Delibrately toward the Abyss in a Collective “Burial Wish Basket” of Half-Truths and Deceit of the Lowest and Highest Order. Unfortunately, the Deceit is coming from those who ought to know better, but they choose Not to. At what Price, Gambia? The Fast and Loose talk about the Alleged Tape where of One Tambedu, the brother of the JUSTICE MINISTER with one of the NIA Nine’s wife has been made into a “Crown Jewel” just like the Hyped up Case of One Ms. Badjie who was Posted at the Gambian UN Mission in New York generating Dust of Incomprehensible Opposition. The only thing Significant or “Peculiar” about her was the fact that she is Jola. Period. She is Gambian, a Qualified Civil Servant in the Foreign Service, yet because of her Ethnic Affliation and little of all else, she was Set Upon by the UDP SUPPORTERS. The most over whelming reason why she was maligned, dragged into the mud and called all names and Insults in ways Civilized Society would not allow itself to engage in. It Forced the Semi-reclusive Foreign Affairs Minister, Ousainou Darbo to Address his UDP Party Base that had “Turned” Nasty against him. The disappointing aspect of that 2:00 AM Address Mr. Darbo made is that the Minister of Foreign Affairs decided to Address a Sub-section of the Gambian People. Mr. Foreign Affairs Minister Made Plea to The UDP PARTY FAITHFUL LOCALLY AND INTERNATIONALLY by Directing, Focusing and Tailoring his Message in a Manner Apologetic to the Agrieved Party or Club Members, (UDP FAITHFUL), Not to All Gambians. If the Message was intended for the Gambian Citizens as a Whole, it would have been made in English or in the Local Gambian Languages the Minister of Foreign Affairs is Well Versed in, that is, he is known to Speak well. BUT that was not to be. Why, that was not the Case. He Spoke in Mandinka only as if Everyone in the Gambia Speaks and Understands Mandinka. Which is not the Case. Mr. Foreign Affairs Minister was more Concerned with Repairing his Image and Character with the UDP PARTY BASE, and Not with the General Citizenry and Voters of the Gambia. Back to the NIA NINE’S CASE. I am not Surprised the Case hit a Road Block in a manner of Speaking. From The Initial Arrest and Detention of What is now known as the NIA NINE, Legal and Due Process Issues were Raised as they should have been raised by many but Significantly the Minister of Justice, Baa Tambedu. The NIA NINE were Ordered Arrested and Detained Not by the POLICE OR MINISTER OF JUSTICE after an investigation and gathering of Evidence for Prosecution. On the Contrary, NIA NINE were Ordered Arrested by the Minister of the Interior, Mai Fatty, with the Self-serving Contention that “he acted inorder to Prevent the Accused from Fleeing from Gambia”. These are people who could have left the Gambia with former President Yaya Jammeh or by themselves if they had any intention of Fleeing, but they did not. Infact, Yankuba Badjie and some of the others Arrested and Detained under the Order of Mai Fatty were under the employment of the UDP Led Government when Mai Fatty took the Law into his Hands and Ordered their Arrest without Consultation with the Relevant and Designated Authorities, the Minister of Justice, Baa Tambedu and Yankuba Sonko the then CDS of Police (an individual not unlike CDS Kinteh of the Army who both Served in the Jammeh Government for Years at Top Positions of Decision Making and are still in the UDP LED REGIME). Why no Outrage Directed at this Clear and Ongoing Miscarriage of Justice?That is for another time. For now, it is important that Gambians be reminded that the Unconstitutional and Lack of Due Process that was Unilaterally exercised by the Minister of the Interior, Mai Fatty Compromised and Virtually Rendered the NIA NINE’S CASE, A POSTER CHILD AND PRECEDENT SETTING CASE OF “FRUITS OF THE POINSONOUS TREE DOCTRINE.” Under this Rule Evidence that is the direct result or Immediate product of Ilegal conduct on the part of an official is Inadmissible in a Criminal Trial Against the Victim of the Conduct (or other person in Standing). The Culprit (s) Responsible for this State of Affairs is Non other than the Minister of Interior, Mai Fatty’s Unilateral Behavior which Aggrevated and Continued to Bedevil the Justice Minister and Jurisprudence in this Case and others. If anything, Baa Tambedu and his brother have been attempting to Salvage the “Fruits of the Poisonous Tree Doctrine” or Rule that the Minister of the Interior Mai Fatty Set in Motion when he as usual took the Law into his Hand. The allegations of a Crime is Not Proof of Guilt and yet most Commentary and Statements about the NIA NINE’S CASE were and are made in a Manner as if they are Guilty and Needs to Proof their Innocence. As a matter of Principle and more Significantly Due Process, the Tambedu brothers are not Guilty of anything, Except the “Appearance of Misconduct”. If the Younger Tambedu takes the High Road of Integrity and Ethics and resigns, what more does the Detractors and “Head hunters” want from Baa Tambedu? He is a Jurist who has Stood for Justice, Not Just the Appearance of Justice. Baa Tambedu has demonstrated an Ability and Willingness to be Transparent and Accountable. He also demonstrated to the Gambian Citizens as a Jurist that he is willing to Confront those in Power just as he would the average Gambian. He and his brother are the least of the Gambias’ Current Regime of Ousainou Darbo, Mai Fatty and Adama Barrow Should loose Sleep over. A Compromised and Tainted Case was Thrusted Upon Baa Tambedu and later his Brother and Co-Counsels by One Mai Fatty, the Minister of the Interior, yet No Outrage Directed at The Minister of the Interior the Culprit of “the Fruits of the Poinsonous Tree”. No Calls for his Resignation or Charges have been made Against Mai Fatty Engaging in Similar Unlateral Acts or Behavior Since been appointed as a Member of the UDP LED REGIME OF ADAMA BARROW. LET’S HOPE MAI FATTY WOULD NOT “BITE” INTO ANOTHER HIGH PROFILE CASE AND CREATE ANOTHER LEGAL DILEMMA FOR THE PROSECUTION AND THE GAMBIAN PEOPLE. LET THE TAMBEDU BROTHERS SALVAGE WHAT MAI FATTY “POINSONED”, SO THAT THE GUILTY ARE PUNISHED AND THE INNOCENT FREED.
MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING ABOUT THE TAPE AND THE TAMBEDU BROTHERS VS. MAI FATTY AND UDP SUPPORTERS.
Those who applied for a Permit to Celebrate the Achievements of their Party Care and Should be given the Permit to Celebrate. I am not an advocate for the Suspension of the Constitution. However, to be on an Equal Playing Field, the Referee, Mr. Barrow and his Lines men, Mr. Ousainou Darbo and Mai Fatty Plus the Overseer of the Vice Presidency might as well Declare a State of Emergency and Rule by Decree. I happen to believe that at the moment, Certain Communities and fellow Gambians are being treated as if they are in a State of Emergency and that they are the “Culprits”. Do we as Gambians really want to send out the message to all Gambians and the World that One Ethnic Group’s Blood and Lives are more Precious and Valuable than the rest of the other Gambians’ Blood and Lives? Do we, Gambians mean to send the message that Solo Sandeng’s, (May his soul rest in peace as Should others before and after him who died in Gambian by natural or non natural causes), death is more Significant than all others in the Gambia? Who is Speaking for them? Those Unlike the Chosen Solo Sandeng need to be given Equal Treatment by the Authorities in the Gambia and their Supporters. We are as a Nation State gravitating ever so Delibrately toward the Abyss in a Collective “Burial Wish Basket” of Half-Truths and Deceit of the Lowest and Highest Order. Unfortunately, the Deceit is coming from those who ought to know better, but they choose Not to. At what Price, Gambia? The Fast and Loose talk about the Alleged Tape where of One Tambedu, the brother of the JUSTICE MINISTER with one of the NIA Nine’s wife has been made into a “Crown Jewel” just like the Hyped up Case of One Ms. Badjie who was Posted at the Gambian UN Mission in New York generating Dust of Incomprehensible Opposition. The only thing Significant or “Peculiar” about her was the fact that she is Jola. Period. She is Gambian, a Qualified Civil Servant in the Foreign Service, yet because of her Ethnic Affliation and little of all else, she was Set Upon by the UDP SUPPORTERS. The most over whelming reason why she was maligned, dragged into the mud and called all names and Insults in ways Civilized Society would not allow itself to engage in. It Forced the Semi-reclusive Foreign Affairs Minister, Ousainou Darbo to Address his UDP Party Base that had “Turned” Nasty against him. The disappointing aspect of that 2:00 AM Address Mr. Darbo made is that the Minister of Foreign Affairs decided to Address a Sub-section of the Gambian People. Mr. Foreign Affairs Minister Made Plea to The UDP PARTY FAITHFUL LOCALLY AND INTERNATIONALLY by Directing, Focusing and Tailoring his Message in a Manner Apologetic to the Agrieved Party or Club Members, (UDP FAITHFUL), Not to All Gambians. If the Message was intended for the Gambian Citizens as a Whole, it would have been made in English or in the Local Gambian Languages the Minister of Foreign Affairs is Well Versed in, that is, he is known to Speak well. BUT that was not to be. Why, that was not the Case. He Spoke in Mandinka only as if Everyone in the Gambia Speaks and Understands Mandinka. Which is not the Case. Mr. Foreign Affairs Minister was more Concerned with Repairing his Image and Character with the UDP PARTY BASE, and Not with the General Citizenry and Voters of the Gambia. Back to the NIA NINE’S CASE. I am not Surprised the Case hit a Road Block in a manner of Speaking. From The Initial Arrest and Detention of What is now known as the NIA NINE, Legal and Due Process Issues were Raised as they should have been raised by many but Significantly the Minister of Justice, Baa Tambedu. The NIA NINE were Ordered Arrested and Detained Not by the POLICE OR MINISTER OF JUSTICE after an investigation and gathering of Evidence for Prosecution. On the Contrary, NIA NINE were Ordered Arrested by the Minister of the Interior, Mai Fatty, with the Self-serving Contention that “he acted inorder to Prevent the Accused from Fleeing from Gambia”. These are people who could have left the Gambia with former President Yaya Jammeh or by themselves if they had any intention of Fleeing, but they did not. Infact, Yankuba Badjie and some of the others Arrested and Detained under the Order of Mai Fatty were under the employment of the UDP Led Government when Mai Fatty took the Law into his Hands and Ordered their Arrest without Consultation with the Relevant and Designated Authorities, the Minister of Justice, Baa Tambedu and Yankuba Sonko the then CDS of Police (an individual not unlike CDS Kinteh of the Army who both Served in the Jammeh Government for Years at Top Positions of Decision Making and are still in the UDP LED REGIME). Why no Outrage Directed at this Clear and Ongoing Miscarriage of Justice?That is for another time. For now, it is important that Gambians be reminded that the Unconstitutional and Lack of Due Process that was Unilaterally exercised by the Minister of the Interior, Mai Fatty Compromised and Virtually Rendered the NIA NINE’S CASE, A POSTER CHILD AND PRECEDENT SETTING CASE OF “FRUITS OF THE POINSONOUS TREE DOCTRINE.” Under this Rule Evidence that is the direct result or Immediate product of Ilegal conduct on the part of an official is Inadmissible in a Criminal Trial Against the Victim of the Conduct (or other person in Standing). The Culprit (s) Responsible for this State of Affairs is Non other than the Minister of Interior, Mai Fatty’s Unilateral Behavior which Aggrevated and Continued to Bedevil the Justice Minister and Jurisprudence in this Case and others. If anything, Baa Tambedu and his brother have been attempting to Salvage the “Fruits of the Poisonous Tree Doctrine” or Rule that the Minister of the Interior Mai Fatty Set in Motion when he as usual took the Law into his Hand. The allegations of a Crime is Not Proof of Guilt and yet most Commentary and Statements about the NIA NINE’S CASE were and are made in a Manner as if they are Guilty and Needs to Proof their Innocence. As a matter of Principle and more Significantly Due Process, the Tambedu brothers are not Guilty of anything, Except the “Appearance of Misconduct”. If the Younger Tambedu takes the High Road of Integrity and Ethics and resigns, what more does the Detractors and “Head hunters” want from Baa Tambedu? He is a Jurist who has Stood for Justice, Not Just the Appearance of Justice. Baa Tambedu has demonstrated an Ability and Willingness to be Transparent and Accountable. He also demonstrated to the Gambian Citizens as a Jurist that he is willing to Confront those in Power just as he would the average Gambian. He and his brother are the least of the Gambias’ Current Regime of Ousainou Darbo, Mai Fatty and Adama Barrow Should loose Sleep over. A Compromised and Tainted Case was Thrusted Upon Baa Tambedu and later his Brother and Co-Counsels by One Mai Fatty, the Minister of the Interior, yet No Outrage Directed at The Minister of the Interior the Culprit of “the Fruits of the Poinsonous Tree”. No Calls for his Resignation or Charges have been made Against Mai Fatty Engaging in Similar Unlateral Acts or Behavior Since been appointed as a Member of the UDP LED REGIME OF ADAMA BARROW. LET’S HOPE MAI FATTY WOULD NOT “BITE” INTO ANOTHER HIGH PROFILE CASE AND CREATE ANOTHER LEGAL DILEMMA FOR THE PROSECUTION AND THE GAMBIAN PEOPLE. LET THE TAMBEDU BROTHERS SALVAGE WHAT MAI FATTY “POINSONED”, SO THAT THE GUILTY ARE PUNISHED AND THE INNOCENT FREED.