(JollofNews) – Gentlemen of the Gambia Bar Association,
Your letter dated 13th December 2016 but delivered after it was broadcasted on the Radio sometimes around the 21st or thereabout of the same month refers.
I have taken time to look at the statutory provisions you referred to and I felt comfortable with your reference to section 141 of the Constitution of The Gambia as a legitimate avenue to join issues with you at such time and in such constitutionally guaranteed forum and by impartial referees and observers.
I have told you many times in our several meetings that I believe in the rule of law and I cherish the structures and institutions put in place in The Gambia to make the rule of law work to the advantage of those who believe in it and are ready, willing and happy to use the institutions so provided. The forum provided in section 141 of the constitution to determine grievances against the Chief Justice is sufficiently robust and safeguarding enough for me and I thank you for demonstrating your faith in that procedure and your commitment to use it.
For the avoidance of doubt, I am compelled to respond to your letter, even though the answer to each of the issues you raised lies in your bosom and among your members.
I believe that the fallouts of the December 1st 2016 elections is the reason for your letter otherwise you are witnesses to the fact that I never wrong anyone of you as you have repeatedly stated that you have nothing against me in person.
I have maintained an open door policy since I assume office as the Chief Justice and have invited you all to several meetings, seminars or workshops so that we can rob minds together to promote a more vibrant, efficient, people serving and result oriented judiciary for the Gambia.
After sharing the template of my desired goals as Chief Justice with all of you in two or three different meetings, you all commended it and expressed support for it. I have also taken time to ask your Bar Association members individually and collectively to contribute funds or electronic materials to this project and I sincerely accepted your explanation that your present drive to generate funds to build your GBA Secretariat will not allow you to divert attention to any other challenges for now.
I have individually and collectively at different times invited your members to come and join the High Court, Court of Appeal and even the Supreme Court at different times and again I accepted your diverse explanations that you have served your times and contributed diverse quotas in the past and so cannot come on board again. You rather prefer to remain in private practice and leave the space for the younger ones to do their part.
I have invited your members and Executive officers on several occasions to judiciary programs and you attended just like you invited me and I attended and we talked honestly and frankly in all such meetings about how to make more advancement in the legal sector. Your members have visited my office either personally or officially or on my invitation to resolve professional issues and you all went away satisfied that the ends of justice have been served. I cannot recall any occasion where we have unreconselled or irreconcilable differences.
We discussed and agreed to sacrifice part of our long vacation to clear old cases from the courts. We agree to formalize Pupilage and Tenancy programs for new graduates of the Gambia Law School to improve quality justice delivery in the Gambia. The proposal that resolved the enrollment of the last Gambian Law School graduates came from your members. Your draft rules for a gazetted Pupilage Rules is already submitted to the AG office with much commendation from me and is awaiting the contribution of other parties. The conclusion of our discussions where we agree to pursue the inclusion of more representatives of the Bar on the amended Legal Practitioners act has been communicated to the appropriate quarters. The correction to the judicial calendar of January to December was rectified after your inputs were sought.
Your members have been invited as guest speakers for the proposed annual Judges Conference, and also invited to contribute articles to the proposed Gambia Law Journal in the making. Your members contributed to the sensitization of the Gambia people on the just concluded access to justice program and the publication and launching of the recent 2016 Supreme Court and Sharia Court Law Reports. All these developments convinced me that we were working as true partners for the development of the legal sector of the Gambia, which I hold so dear.
Concerning your recent surprising allegations:
You accused me of interfering with judicial officials and caused them to be dismissed when they made decisions deemed to be against the state’s interest;
You did not mention which “judicial officials I interfered with or who I caused to be dismissed when they made decisions deemed to be against the state’s interest” what are these cases that are against state interest and who are these judicial officials dismissed and what decisions did they make that are deemed to be against State interest.
Why not consult with members of the Judicial Service Commission without whose knowledge a judicial officer cannot be employed or terminated if they can be helpful to provide the details that may be of assistance to you. Gentlemen, these allegations are as untrue as they are baseless. I cannot recall any complaint from you against any judge but your complaints against the young magistrates are the reasons for the relentless training workshops and seminars we organized for their development.
You accused me of accelerating the trial of OusainouDarboe& Co:
The case of State Vs Ousainou Darboe & Ors, started with a team of about sixteen defence lawyers who took dates together with the trial judge without any protest. You all worked hard with me during my tenure to put an end to all form of delays in the trial of cases because the constitution demanded for prompt trial of cases and the accused persons themselves took dates agreeable to them and the trial court. I was not there and you know it. How then could you accuse me of accelerating the trial?
Your team of lawyers led by barrister Antouman Gaye and Mrs. Bensouda came to my office to protest the transfer of the case of State Vs Lamin Sonko & Ors from the High Court in Banjul to the High Court in Mansakonko, and they were duly informed and were also aware that the only other judge who has experience to handle criminal cases, other than the trial judge whom you asked to recuse himself, is the judge in Mansakonko.
You conceded that I have no power to transfer a case filed in the High Court to the Magistrate Court. They were also aware and were duly informed that public transporters were already avoiding coming to Banjul because of security check points and traffic congestion that developed on the Banjul road during that period. Mansakonko has brand new grade A road and is less than two hours drive from the Greater Banjul Area. I cannot understand why lawyers would say Mansakonko is far when litigants and witnesses have been coming to Banjul from Basse or Bansang or Janjangbureh over the years before we started the current decentralization program which you have been participating in until this allegation. Why do you now think that the accused persons will not get fair trial because their case was transferred by the exigencies of the time to a distance of less than two hours drive and all of you have cars?
Regarding the amended rules of the Supreme Court:
The amended New Rules requires that leave be obtained before a decision of the Supreme Court Bench of Five Justices is subjected to Review by a panel of Seven Supreme Court Justices, this amendment has its origin in the spate of decisions delivered by the 2014 sessions of the Supreme Court under Chief Justice Chowhan. The then President of the Bar, with others, was part of the process that led to the relevant Gazette that was forwarded by the then Director of Legal Drafting to Justice Chowhan for his endorsement before his sudden departure and before I assume office.
How has that amendment become my cross? If the agitation for “leave”, that started from your members and the discussions, deliberations and decision taken, even before my appointment, have been overtaken by events or the amendment is no longer desirable, why is the Gazette not taken before the court for it to be quashed or for ultra vires reason?. Why raking up allegations against me simply because the Bar has a political difference with the Government of the day when all civil servants are required to serve the government on seat and transfer the same loyalty and allegiance to any successor government?
You also alleged that I was attending all APRC Political Rallies:
You all know that I am not a member of the APRC or any other political party in the Gambia. You all know that I ascended to each of the offices I was appointed into from State Counsel to DPP and from Judge of the High Court to the Office of Chief Justice of The Gambia not based on party patronage or any other extraneous basis. My records and my colleagues including yourselves are alive to attest to that.
You all also know that I enjoy the privacy of simply being a judge even though by the circumstances of my office, I must as a matter of protocol attend all state functions as the head of an arm of Government you have not listed all the Political Rallies and dates and venues for the world to see. You were certainly not correct to call State Functions political rallies of the APRC.
You accused me of being “in front of the court premises waving and dancing in support of the incumbent President” on his nomination date. Should I not have been at the IEC Nomination Centre if I am indeed a member of the APRC?
You alleged that I was distributing and wearing APRC materials;
Even though your allegations after it was read on the radio led to a spate of repeated telephone and text messages insults and death threats to me and my family members, you did not mention any name of the “several members of the Bar” who allegedly saw me “wearing APRC apparel on the court premises” or list any name of “Court staff I distributed APRC apparel to” or the details of the “victory celebration preparations I was making for the incumbent President” as alleged. I never wore or distributed APRC materials because that is not one of my functions.
It is not part of me to join issues with my friends because two wrongs will never make a right, but for expediency purposes, seeing that one of your grievances is that I did not respond to a letter written to me even after you have come in person and the issues have been resolved to the satisfaction of all the parties, I am inclined to respond and to let you know that I have nor reason to resign as demanded by you or for the reasons alleged in your letter because your allegations are untrue and baseless.
I have also been encouraged to reply to your letter in the hope the prayers for effective dialogue, unity and peace of the Gambia will have a place in your hearts. The rest I leave in the hand of the Almighty God, who is the just rewarder of all the actions and intents of every man and woman, to reward each and every one of you and me for our different roles and works. Amen.
Thank you.
Emmanuel O. Fagbenle
Chief Justice – Republic of The Gambia
I believe Justice Emmanuel O. Fagbenle when he says “I believe in the rule of law and I cherish the structures and institutions put in place in The Gambia to make the rule of law work to the advantage of those who believe in it and are ready, willing and happy to use the institutions so provided”
I think he was a great Chief Justice for Gambia despite the situation as evidenced by the fact without him having this sets of believes, we would still be having Jammeh as President despite the election results!
I don’t believe the petty and unproductive accusations of the Gambian Bar association when the say such unprincipled things as : the Chief Justice was distributing and wearing APRC materials, attending all APRC Political Rallies; accelerating the trial of Ousainou Darboe& Co etc.
Where is your proof? Your allegations sound more like an adolescence attempt at mud-slinging – throw enough and the stuff some of it is bound to stick, rather than a serious attempt to highlight serious malfeasance by people in high places. This is wrong. It is also extremely silly, and highly unprofessional. You have presented no tangible proof for any of your allegations against the Chief Justice, but instead, you appear to have largely based your accusations against the right Justice Emmanuel O. Fagbenle on unsubstantiated populist media trawls. Further , by lashing out at persons whom, rightly, or most likely wrongly, are current out of favour in the public domain, and for whom you obviously hold some disdain, you come across as cheap, opportunistic, and predatory , rather than professional , in the eyes of fair minded people – because you have not presented any objective evidence to back any of the accusations of malfeasance you make against the right Justice Emmanuel O. Fagbenle. You also come across as vindictive. This is wrong as it does not make for good neighbourliness. And by forcing him to resign his post without any serious reason that anyone outside your little circle can see, you are doing no better than Jammeh has done all these years, and this bring us to the point of my comments which is that, you own Justice Emmanuel O. Fagbenle an apology, and I think you should be able to stand up like a man and give it. Emmanuel O. Fagbenle, even without being chief justice is an African person, and he is not, in my opinion a barbaric one at that, nor is he callous as you have tried to portray him. And he is clearly on top of his game too and, perhaps, that is the real issue. I have never dealt with Justice Emmanuel O. Fagbenle in person myself, but I have been following his every move in recent months very closely, and have formed the impression of him as a private man who is not easily impressionable, nor easily swayed, manipulated, or dominated, and I think these are the very traits that liked in him (whether that in itself a recommendation or not is besides the point) Dictator don’t normally like those whom they can easily dominate, sway, impress, or manipulate. They soon get bored with you a want to replace you with more powerful characters.
To cut a long story short. Of course Justice Emmanuel O. Fagbenle he did not speed up the Ousainou Darboe & Co case and it is wicked to make such allegations without tangible proof. Moreover, we all know who it was that did the dirty on Lawyer Daboe &co! Heaping the blame on the
Stay-behind Chief Justice is plain wrong, much like in the Mandinka, saying “One is afraid of attacking the life snake directly, so one quickly gets out of the way as the snake slides past so as to avoid contact, but immediately hits the ground on which the snake had left its mark.
So leave this man alone – he is one of us, but importantly, he is only one individual, who cannot be made responsible for everything that has gone wrong in The Gambia, or with its justice system.
Finally, with attitudes like those on display here by some in the leadership of the Gambian Bar Association , we should wait and see the courts and justice system will stack up compared to Justice them under the now departed Justice Emmanuel O. Fagbenle.
Scary,you knew all the facts judges in any political platform can bring doubts in the justice system. No need to explain that to you.bottom line is,this types of behavior will undermine the process of carrying justice. Period.
Sacred you have said it all,people like the blame game and cheap popularity too much.
Justice Emmanuel did his quota to the country and instead of commending him for a job well done,some resort to degrading him………………..too sad.
Africans should learn to be each others keeper, so that we can attain the A.U objectives.
my brother he never stand for justice for gambians he as chief justice for monster jammeh. How could he justify sentencing political leaders who were just protesting peacefully after one of their prominent member got killed. The guy was there for his pocket and monster jammeh. He is a disgrace cos all he was doing is enabling jammeh to his crimes. Why he never resign cos everyone knows that he was just doing what jammeh wanted him to do until recently during the recent political impasse that he did something ltitle bit cheerful. We all brothers and Africans, if the guy was thatgood and he did a good job I think a lot of gambians would give him his due and the praise and respect he deserves, the guy is been in the job for a while now and a lot happened but I don’t see any justice in that country while he was chief justice period. we very sorry but the guy does deserve all the blame if u ask me.
what Justice Emmanuel O. Fagbenle has put across here as his defense is all full of lies, deceit and technically trying to defend his actions during his stay at the office as the chief justice. i am a journalist and over the years i have seen Liar Fagbenle on APRC T-shirts as well as attending meetings and functions. All Nigerians Lawyers are criminal and liars who bent the law to only serve Jammeh, Gambian are witness to this. Amongst them is Justice Dada, this corrupt liar Fagbenle you name them. how can you say Mansakonko is only 2 hrs drive? you ass hole, bastard son !!!!! a chief justice who seized someones land to run it as a school and the person decided to sell their property you threaten to lock them up….you ass better shut up your stinky mouth, ass hole. you and dada are lucky that the nearly planned attack on Nigerians in Gambia was thwarted due to the recent victory in the election. your hands are filthy dirty with blood and death and no blood of Jesus can wipe it…..rot and rest in hell, ass holes
Why would you say: “All Nigerians Lawyers are criminal and liars” Isn’t Nigeria one of the leading forces that liberated you from Jammeh’s bondage at the expense of its resources?
Would you have been saying this if Nigeria has not taken leadership role in getting Jammeh out? You are either an ingrate or uneducated to be saying: “All Nigerians Lawyers are criminal and liars” If Nigeria gives you an invoice of the military expenditure of kicking Jammeh out…Gambia will go into bankruptcy….Nevertheless, I realize that not all Gambians are like you and we pray for a prosperous and friendly Gambian and the wonderful and friendly people of Gambia
You said that you’re a journalist whom one would have considered enlighten or educated and you are advocating violence by saying that: “You and dada are lucky that the nearly planned attack on Nigerians in Gambia was thwarted due to the recent victory in the election”. You can always “attack” but you will have to face the consequence of your heinous primitive instincts. We now live in global village don’t forget that there are also Gambians in Nigeria and elsewhere and here Nigeria is trying to assist Gambia reach its full potentials and you are planning an attack on Nigerians? Good luck? Without Nigeria and Senegal help you’re so called “the recent victory in the election” would have been nothing but an illusion and a mirage
You have said it all mr bay.Not all Gambians are like him.I am a Gambian but commended the effort of the Nigerian government.
Thanks Janko,
We pray for a very prosperous Gambia and with visionary leaders like your Vice President that calculated a mathematical way of getting that bully called Jammey out; via getting the opposition together into a formidable coalition we know that Gambia will do well!!!
It will also be a good lesson for these African tyrants that bully their citizens and populations with a national army that they have converted into their private security guards to oppress their own people. How I wish that they can start coming to US so that we may do citizen arrest on them and get the Swiss to take them to Hague