President Adama Barrow of the Gambia Wednesday commissioned a presidential inquiry to independently look into the circumstances that led to the death of three civilians in Faraba Banta.
The membership consists of the following:
1. Emmanuel Joof, a renown human rights Lawyer as the Chairperson
2. A representative of the Ministry of Justice
3. A representative of the Gambia Bar Association
4. A representative of the Gambia Armed Forces
5. A representative of the of the State Intelligence Services
6. A Representative of Civil society from the Association of Non-Governmental Organizations – TANGO
A statement from the President’s Office said taking into account the need for a speedy dispensation of justice and accountability, the committee will starts work immediately and will submit a comprehensive report to Mr Barrow within a period of one month.
The Inquiry has been mandated to:
1. Investigate the circumstances leading to the standoff between the villagers of Faraba Banta and the Police Intervention Unit
2. Investigate the circumstances that led to the injuries and fatalities in Faraba Banta and identify the those responsible for the deaths, including those who may have ordered the firings and those who fired the shots
3. Recommend measures to prevent a recurrence of the circumstances that led to the stand-off in Faraba Banta
4. Recommend measures to prevent an occurrence of the incident in Faraba Banta and other parts of the country
Additionally, the President has given approval for the appointment of a Coroner to investigate the cause of the deaths as per the Coroners Act, Cap 7.04, Vol. 2 Laws of The Gambia. The Coroner will work with a pathologist to establish the facts before the corpses are released to their families.
Gambia police Brutality
Bloodbath Corruption
Selective justice
Security issues
Former interior without any explanation
Agri minister black market
And many more in just 2 year mandate
Mr President, it will be most appropriate if you named a citizen of the affected community as a member of the Commission of Inquiry.
Absolutely Dr I. Sarr. It’s not rocket science to figure that out. I hope that is rectified.
It would be history in the making if this enquiry was broadcast on the television and radio live,
I’m sure this would be a valuable, educational exercise for the nation plus 100% transparent.
Tilli Bo, don’t bet on that happening. It will be exposing the weaknesses of the whole “security“ apparatus and demystifying the men and women who have ridden on the power of invincibility for far too long.
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After spending the night canvassing for reliable information from Faraba, I have one more suggestion for Adama and his cabinet, in case any relevant person of authority is reading this please extend it to him and them:
Set up a Faraba Banta temporary help and assistance centre in Faraba to assess the needs of the community with immediate effect. Set up a donation account for NGos, embassies, private individuals etc. to pay contributions into.
Equip the temporal help and assistance centre with basic medical equipment and personnel to treat minor ailments resulting from the fracas.
Send in trained psychologist and psychiatrist to attend to the traumatized families and individuals.
It’s a well established fact that humans who have witnessed one conflict form or the other or are participants in it, are exposed to post traumatic stress syndrom (ptss). The coping mechanism from one individual to another, from one family to another and from one community to another differ greatly, depending on several factors. But no matter the case, the condition should not be left to fester.
Also, there are individuals who have lost proper and incur financial loss through all imaginable ways. The help and assistance centre can coordinate the distribution of the accrued funds according to need and availability.
The above idea is a rough depiction of what I believe will help the community of Faraba Banta and calm the tensions a bit. Is someone listening?
NB: Sending ECOMIG forces to this village is a very bad idea at this point in time. Why can’t the powers that be realize that militarization of every incident is counter productive to the agenda of creating a free and democratic society.
It’s just crazy how our nation is run by people who have no inkling what it means to lead with a humane heart. Dejection!
Its an independent inquiry. We are all angry and devastated.
However, naming a citizen of the affected community in the team will lead to questions of bias.
Lets hope the investigations wouldnt drag for too long.
This incident does not require the commissioning of another EXPENSIVE independent inquiry.
Imagine how much poor people’s money will be wasted in paying lawyer Emmanuelle Joof and 5 other members and for how long?
The coroner can establish the facts of death within a day. Police officers who were directly involved in the shootings are already in custody.
Therefore, all that is required now is to bring these police officers to court for shooting innocent unarmed people.
Victim’s families do not need a long drawn out bureaucratic fact-finding mission. This incident happened on a broad daylight and the culprits are identified.
Get on with the prosecution instead of installing expensive lawyers!
Once again, the facts are not in yet, but conclusions are being drawn left and right. There are some who are making argues on this incident that contradicts things they have said on other issues. Here, most are demanding an investigation and righty so, but this government has been making so many questionable decisions that required thorough investigations but some writers here who are now demanding an investigation have been mute on the other government decisions that equally required to be investigated. You cannot have it both ways. This is what happens when a person makes arguments without an underlying principle. I know this is not important to most of you, but I will put it out there anyway, can the executive branch sua sponte commissions an investigate on tax payers money without the National Assembly? I have not read anywhere that the National Assembly passed a law authorizing a Commission of Inquiry. If you want democracy, you have to follow democratic principles and processes.
I also say this much for now. Mr. Madi Jobarteh’s article “Bring Back Gambia Has Decided”and some of the things he enumerated in there undercuts a recent position he took. And Mr. Dr. Baba Galleh Jallow’s recent article on this issue demonstrate that he is clueless as the Chairperson of the TRRC. He appears to be more concerned about his reputation than the injustices all around him. If he knew what he is up against, he would not have taken that position or should resign now, but I do not see that happening because of love of praise and of position. What amazes me and I do not know the answer is why many so-called “highly educated” Gambians not recognize a sinking ship when one is right before them? Have a bless day everyone and may the Most Holy Trinity bless us all.
Kemo and Mwalimu you’re both on point with your observations.
The bigger picture here is to do with the structural and human deficiencies that exist within the security services and government in general.
When Gambians in the diaspora use the word, mediocrity in their commentary, it goes to buttress the fact that the trait is palpable everywhere. It’s not for the object of offering disparaging remarks about our own government but an expression of fact.
Good leadership can save The Gambia a lot of good resources. Particularly where a leader is able to put together a good management team that he is able to motivate folks well enough to buy into his ideals. Here’s what’s really missing in The Gambia and instead we have the cult of personality everywhere on top of the fake Insha Allah and Marsha’Allah!
I bet you Mwalimu that someone is gonna try to create a Faraba Banta rehabilitation “project” out of this mess with the sole intent of defrauding the residents once again!
The business of ineptitude and corruption are at all levels in The Gambia and it’s disheartening!
Samba, you can’t label Baba Galleh Jallow a clueless Chairperson. That’s far fetched in my book.
Point me to anyone of Baba’s standing in The Gambia that will write an open letter to the President under the circumstances. They’d rather cower under the table to save their skins and jobs!
Say what you will about the USA but this fitting dose of confidence that Baba demonstrated is what one gets in the quest for growth and development in the US!
Hold that torch high up BABA!!
Baba‘s stance is unprecedented in The Gambia and I personally commend him for that.
@ Samba: I would like you to help me with examples on where Madi and the many commentators here have contradicted themselves.
Thanks in advance.
Andrew. First, Dr. Baba Galleh’s job will be to gather evidence which is one thing and having that evidence admitted into a court of law is another. Second, the way he has been writing about the TRRC, it appears as if whatever recommendations they make will be admitted in court and this will not be the case at all. I can tell you that defense lawyers are clicking their chops waiting for the TRRC to begin making recommendations for prosecution. Third, to make recommendations for prosecution is one thing but whether the evidence is admitted is another. I can tell you that not all relevant evidence is admitted in court. Please talk to a lawyer you know about this topic.
Mwalimu, Mr. Madi Jobarteh’s article in response to Mr. Lamin J. Darbo was not based on any principle whatsoever. He tried to poke holes in Mr. Lamin J. Darbo’s article about the CRC and had a little success but it was not on principle. I suggest you please read that article again and see for yourself whether he argued for any principle. Mr. Lamin J. Darbo, on the other hand, argued for a principle. One of the points that Mr. Madi Jobarteh attacked Mr. Lamin J. Darbo is a point that he is advocating in his article “Bring Back Gambia Has Decided”whether he realized it or not. I will give you a short version of things without making this long. In Mr. Lamin J. Darbo’s article, Mr. Darbo questioned how the Attorney General went about selecting the members of the CRC. To quote Mr. Lamin J. Darbo ” It is regrettable that the AG gathered about himself powers that are not his to project and without offering any evidence of donation. This constitutes a glaring disregard of the Act by the AG. He simply sat in his office, picked the phone and spread the pork …” The underlying argument being lack of principles and procedures. Mr. Jobarteh attacked that line of thinking. Now, sir, that lack of or not following principles and procedures is present in the current incident at Faraba. Look at some of the questions you and others have rightly raised: Who gave orders, whether there was consultation among the different authorities etc. While Mr Lamin J. Darbo argued for the doctrine of delegation of power and separation of power, Mr. Jobarteh attacked him on that, but offered no principle of his argument. What is Mr. Jobarteh demanding from his article I quoted above? Some of the things he enumerated in that article cannot be achieved without some type of a process and procedure. The lack of clear procedure is part of the problem at Faraba. I do not know Mr. Lamin J. Darbo and I have never met him in my life. So let me make that clear. By the way, I did not get into the logical absurdities of Mr. Jobarteh’s article in which he attacked Mr. Lamin J. Darbo. I can recalled at least three logical absurdities and I believe there are more. Have a blessed evening! Sorry for any typos I write this in a hurry.
Samba I have to go back to your post at least five times before I could finally understand what you getting at. Or at least before I thought I finally understand your point(s). Are you a legical practitioner because you express yourself in a very convoluted style? lol…..I like teasing lawyers.
I surmise Madi’s rebuttal of LJD’s piece was weak in substance. Having said that, I believe Madi has been very consistent with his stance on human rights issues, the environment, good governance, gender equity, political pluralism and the list goes on.
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I suspect you are a person who follows very much rules, regulations, protocols and time tested proven procedures and processes. I have a lot of respect and admiration for that. On the other hand, under a governance climate like ours where democratic administrative culture in institutions equals to Chinese, because no one seems to care about that, activist like Madi have no choice but to advocate for lesser evils.