News, Politics

Gambian Lawmakers Take The Fight To President Barrow

NAMS said Barrow does not have the power to sack Ya Kumba Jaiteh

Members of the Gambia’s National Assembly Monday issued a statement condemning President Adama Barrow’s decision to revoke the nomination of a member of the country’s National Assembly.

They said the revocation of Ya Kumba Jaiteh’s membership is unconstitutional and considered ‘null and void’ by the National Assembly.

Ms Jaiteh, a member of the United Democratic Party (UDP) who serve on the Foreign Affairs and the Local Government and Lands Committee of the Assembly, was hand-picked in 2017 by President Barrow to serve in the National Assembly.

No reason was given for the presidential decision but she is believed to be a victim of the ongoing feud between President Barrow and his political godfather, Lawyer Ousainou Darboe.

A letter issued on Monday to Ms Jaiteh by the Secretary General and Head of the Civil Service, Ebrima Camara said: “I write to convey executive decision to revoke your nomination as National Assembly Member with immediate effect.”

Ya Kumba Jaiteh

Reacting to the president’s decision, 31 members representing various political parties in the assembly said in a statement read to the media that Mr Barrow’s  does not have the power to sack any member of the Assembly.

“The president has no power or authority to dismiss any member of the National Assembly and that it is unconstitutional nor it is in the spirit of the constitution to revoke the nomination of any member of the National Assembly,” the members said.

“The National Assembly is therefore not recognising or accepting the purported revocation of Ya Kumba Jaiteh’s membership of the National Assembly and considers it null and void.”

Mr Barrow used to be an executive member of the UDP but resigned his membership to lead a coalition of opposition parties, which defeated Yahya Jammeh in the December 2016 election.

He was due to step down from power next year as part of the coalition agreement, which would pave the way for the possible election of Lawyer Darboe as president.

However, Mr Barrow has had a change of heart and is considering forming his own political party to contest future elections.

 

8 Comments

  1. Read the law before you act.

  2. A letter bearing no letterhead of State House Or seal of the state. An executive order that does not bear the signature of the president!
    That is pure intimidation meant to coerce Madam Jaiteh to relinquish a seat in order for the president to settle scores with people he is reluctant to openly fight with.
    Apart from the constitutional violation and the null and void significance of this order, it also sadly bring to light the state of affairs in the president’s office.
    Why can the president not stand to his intentions by using State House letterhead and seal with his signature to make his demands/decision.
    I am wondering at the inconsequence inherent in this dodgy maneuver!

  3. President Barrow should be wary of some of the advisors around him. I don’t think they are giving him the right advice at times. I know this lady was nominated to the Parliament by the president, but how could she be removed from office without any good reason/reasons? What is/are the reason/reasons for her removal? Those advising the president must understand that even though Mr. Barrow is the president, that doesn’t mean he is above the law and can do anything he wishes without regard to due process. I don’t think the people responsible for this have done their due diligence. Also suspicious about this letter is the lack of a presidential seal or state house logo as pointed out by some people. Is the letter really from the president or from some people who are trying to settle a score? In any job when you fire somebody you should give them the reason why there are fired. Those advising the president must understand that country is bigger than one person. Please leave this lady to complete her term in office as there is no indication so far that she has done anything wrong. We must not use our positions to punish those who disagree with us as long as they are not breaking the laws of the land.

    • Mr. Sawaneh, lets not shift blame. The advisers are not the problem. The president has a dark Agenda that he thinks he could achieve through secret maneuverings and using henchmen in the corridors of power.
      One example is Momodou Badgie and the incompetent Secretary General O. Camara who signed an executive order. May be he would argue in other forums that he just “conveyed” an executive decision. But Executive orders are not conveyed. Executive orders are legally based decisions allowed by the constitution or other laws of the land. they are made and there clear defined processes for them to become effective.

  4. Isn’t Ousainou a constitutional lawyer? Correct me if am wrong but he claims to have a lot of respect for the constitution and constitutionality. Probably, he was not consulted by Adama this time around? That will be a shift from the day Ousainou came out ready to sue anyone who tells Adama to step down after his three year term expired.
    Adama is ready to take up from where Yaya left off. He won’t be asking for coronation as a king when he steps down. He will demand to be beatified by the Gambian people. Or at least made an emperor. Mind boggling, as Dida would say.
    In my mind, this is not about the constitutionality or unconstitutionality of the actions of Adama. It’s about the abuse of the powers conferred on a president by the people. Suppose he can (legally) fire a nominated member of the NA. What grounds exist in this case to warrant sending the lady home? Mere criticism of the actions of the president as related to his misuse of power and his ineptitude? I mean………that’s czarist in nature. But isn’t that what we have bargained for?
    ____________________________________________
    Here is my list of people/entities he has to let go:
    1) Momodou Tangara
    2) Mamburay Njie
    3) Momodou Badjie
    4) Ask for Edward Singhateh’s vice chairmanship of Ecowas commission be rescinded.
    5) Mai Ahmed Fatty
    6) His terrible youth movement
    7) The money siphoning foundation of his wife.
    8) Sheikh Omar Faye as Ambassador (by the way there is an app in the AppStore of the embassy of Gambia in Washington still displaying photos of Yaya and Sheikh Omar, videos of Yaya and many more relics of their criminal bonding. Apps, content etc have to be paid for. Who is paying for this?)
    9) The advisers who are not advising you what and how to eat despite having all the food in the world available to you.
    10) The shameless NIA you and your cronies are trying to rebrand and reposition, albeit unsuccessfully.
    The time to act is now.

  5. Folks, take a good look at the letter signed by the Secretary General, Lamin O Camara and you’ll find that it’s short but devoid of good grammar and syntax.
    To think that people appointed to top positions cannot spell, read or write well. Yes English isn’t their mother tongue but English (Ingilishi) is indeed the official language in The Gambia!
    A signal of square pegs in round holes? Not that it matters to advocates of the Affirikkandia persuasion. Mang Mo To Fo Deh!

  6. Kumoo mu niisiringo leh ti. Nii ya abula, akaa abaa leh waling.
    Barii, nmantaa hani feng neh fola. Iya akoleyaa!
    I do agree the language is too simplistic for purpose. One could argue about syntactical coherence. There is but really, no doubt, that the language again too vague is. According to some forensic linguist, there are few reasons ambiguity is generated in any text.
    In this case, it will not be far fetched to believe it’s either because of little learning leading to a weak command of the (-) .or an attempt to deliberately cloud understanding.
    If this is not deliberate, then am happy to say it has proven that we need to move quickly to position our languages in the center of administration and our existence.

  7. Indeed yes, the executive message has no letterhead! It is like the type you’d write to a tenant in default of 6 months’ rents payments. Imagine Ebrima had mastered speaking and writing all the Affrikkandas .. Then he’d have known all the jargon and stereotypes to ‘eel’ his way easily deep down into the bog of the unscrupulous and in the process, even get Barrows’ shoes kissed as well. Affrikandians should be able to understand by now that – it has never been a foreign language problem – but the a dearth of guilelessness in the souls of a lot of Affrikandians in their capacities as leaders, senior/junior civil servants and also as private citizens. What an insult to oneself with the concept that, one is not capable of distinguishing between right from wrong simply because he or she speaks and writes in a foreign language. I’m firmly of the belief that every language on earth comes with its version of the word ‘integrity’ in it to learn, before acquiring academic credentials in a foreign languages. The Affrikkandians, we love to be like crabs in a barrel and to the detriment of our precious time in the hollow darkness, we spend our lives cursing an enemy for getting us trapped in a life we love so much. Tzzzzz! What kind of a situation is this?

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