Justice, News, Politics

Gambia: Jammeh Seeks Court Injunction Against Barrow’s Inauguration

President Yahya Jammeh

(JollofNews) – President Yahya Jammeh Thursday made a desperate bid at the supreme court to stop President-elect Adama Barrow from being sworn-in pending the outcome of his election petition.

Mr Barrow is due to be sworn-in next Friday  as the Gambia’s third president after he was declared winner of last month’s presidential election by the country’s electoral commission.

Mr Jammeh had initially conceded defeat and praised the electoral system as rigged proof. He changed his mind a week later and declared the results null and void citing huge and unacceptable mistakes by the electoral commission.

He later filed a suit at the supreme court asking judges to determine that Adama Barrow was not duly elected or returned as president, and that the said election was void.

But the court is unable to hold a hearing until May – as most of the judges come from neighbouring countries – and Mr Jammeh’s mandates ends on January 18th.

He has since filed another motion asking the supreme court to issue an order  restraining Mr Barrow from presenting himself before the chief justice of the Gambia or any judicial or quasi-judicial officer or any person in whatever capacity whatsoever for swearing-in or inauguration as president of the Gambia on January 19th 2017 or any other date pending the determination of the election petition.

He also wants the court to make an order of interlocutory injunction restraining the Chief Justice of the Gambia, his agents, servants, workers, employees, or any person acting in judicial or quasi-judicial capacity from swearing-in and or inaugurating Adama Barrow as president of the Gambia on January 19th 2017 or any other date pending the determination of the election petition.

Lawyer Edu Gomez is representing Mr Jammeh

The suit which was prepared by Mr Jammeh’s lawyer, Edward Gomez and supported with the sworn affidavit of  Seedy Njie, a nominated member of the National Assembly, minister of Information and spokesman for Mr Jammeh’s APRC party, also wants the court to make an order of interlocutory injunction restraining Mr Jammeh, his government, agents, servants, workers, employees or any person acting in whatever capacity from preparing, arranging, organising, conducting, partaking or participating in any manner or form in the swearing-in and/inaugurating of Mr Barrow.

Mr Jammeh further asked the court to issue an order restraining the National Assembly of the Gambia, its speaker, deputy speaker, members, Clarke, agents, servants, employees or any person acting in whatever capacity from preparing, arranging, organising, conducting, partaking or participating in any manner or form in the swearing-in and/or inaugurating Mr Barrow.

He also asked the court to issue an order restraining any organ of the government, any domestic, regional or international body, group or organisation, their agents, servants, workers, employees or any person acting in whatever capacity from preparing, arranging, organising, conducting, partaking or participating in any manner or form in the swearing-in and/or inaugurating Mr Barrow.

The Gambia’s supreme court has not been properly constituted since May 2015 following the unexplained dismissal of two justices by Mr Jammeh. And it is not clear whether a single justice of the supreme court, Chief Justice Emmanuel Fagbenle, will be able to hear Mr Jammeh’s motion.

8 Comments

  1. Adama Barrow fraudulently President elect

    Hello Fellow Gambians,

    I, Adama Barrow Independent Candidate representing the Coalition of eight parties hereby declare that the planned innaugration schuled for 19th January be postponed until when the ruling can be made on Petition filed by the APRC Party.

    The reason is, i want to go into office with a clean sheet. If i had known that the self exiled Gambians in the Diaspora had bribed the corrupt IEC Chairman Alieu Momar Njie before December 1st election i would have withdrawn my candidature. Democracy is not about cheating its all about being clean and to clean the mess other people left. On that note i am declaring the scheduled innaugration be halted until further notice. No urge for ascending to the presidency when the peace and tranquility of our beloved Gambia can be endangered.

    Many thanks for your cooperarion.

    Yours
    ADAMA BARROW
    Candidate Independent Coalition.

    • Ha! ha! ha! you are funny… not. Jammeh must be desperate to take out an injunction against himself. Well if he thinks that will change the fact that he is a sore looser and that his time is up then he is more deluded than I first thought. He is offered asylum in Nigeria, let him jump on Buhari’s plane Friday and not be a fool. Come the 19th January 2017 he will be a rebel without a cause if he tries to subvert the will of the Gambian people and that’s a very bad position to be in. It’s better to leave with a bit of dignity than the humiliation of being hounded out. The APRC still has support in the country as he has polled over 200000 votes. If he steps down now he will be giving the APRC a chance to regroup and participate in the parliamentary elections and the next presidential elections. He is deceiving himself if he thinks for a second that he can violate the constitution and get away with it. He has only two options, (1) step down and let the constitution prevail or (2) try to cling onto power and face the consequences. The outcome will stunned him far more than the elections results did.

  2. You shouldnt be publishing that idiot claiming to be Adama Barrow

  3. Luntango Suun Gann Gi

    Desperate Stuff from Jammeh and Co. If one acts insane for years, one ends up being insane! Jammeh has no sanity left.

  4. A renowned African author once said, “When the madness of an entire nation disturbs a solitary mind, its not enough to say the man is mad”. Lets give Jammeh the benefit of doubt in his peculiar, futile attempts to override the constitution. For clarity to him, the Judiciary however manipulative it may be cannot armtwist what the constitution explictly defines in order to serve personal interests. Brace up yourself for the ‘weaning’ session and fighting bare knuckles. Your case is as good as gone.

    • Luntango Suun Gann Gi

      Mzee, it is the reverse! It is the madness of a solitary mind that disturbs an entire nation!

    • Luntango Suun Gann Gi

      In the case of The Gambia, please note that it is the individual who is mad – not the nation!

  5. Jammeh is the laughting stuck of africa he is just making a movie, this will no doubt help writer and comedian make huge money on jammehs dramma. Is just like a big child jumping on a bed.

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