Gambia:Yahya Jammeh’s countless murder, torture, exile victims - Updated List

By Mathew K Jallow, Wisconsin, USA

As Gambians remember seventeen years of unprecedented human and civil rights abuses, we endeavour to put names to the many Gambians who have lost their lives or suffered injustices under the regime of Yahya Jammeh. The updated list of the executed, murdered, disappeared, those being tried, facing charges, exiled or languishing in Yahya Jammeh’s prison system and jail houses around the country tell the story of the brutal legacy of Yahya Jammeh’s and his regime over the past seventeen years. But this list is by no means complete, since the multiple forced disappearances in the Fonis are not near completely documented yet and other crimes by the regime are still to come to light.

Prisoners execute in Mile 2 Prisons August 23, 2012

1. Lamin B. Darboe

2. Alieu Bah

3. Lamin Jarju

4. Dawda Bojang

5. Malang Sonko

7. Lamin F Jammeh

8. Gibril Bah (Senegalese)

9. Tabara Samba, raped multiple times before her execution (Senegalese, female)

Gambians recently murdered on orders of Yahya Jammeh

Abdoulie Colley, Abuko Village

Musa Badjie, collapsed and died in Mile 2 Prison, August 25, 2012

Wuyeh Colley, Kanunorr village, murdered August 22, 2012

Enor Colley, Kanunorr village, murdered August 22, 2012

Regime’s witching-hunting Kangaroo Trials

GAMCOTRAP’s Dr. Isatou Touray and Co. trials

GNOC’s Beatrice Allen and Co. trials

Suruwa Wawa B. Jaiteh and Dr. Loum’s trials

Dr. Amadou Jallow and Co. trials

Dr. Alasan Bah and Co’s trials

Recent arrest, detention and charged with treason

Amadou Scattred Janneh, former minister of Information

Ndey Tapha Sosseh, former president of the Gambia Press Union

Mathew K. Jallow

Famara Demba

Modou Keita

Ebrima Jallow

Michael C. Uche Thomas (died in prison)

Torture and Yahya Jammeh’s convoy related deaths

Demba Sibey of Numuyel village

A third grader from Saaba Primary School

A young girl killed Yahya Jammeh’s motorcade/Gunjur prayer fest

Paul Bass NIA operative killed by Jammeh’s convoy

Arab businessman dead in collided with Jammeh’s convoy

A soldier from Sintet village killed escorting Jammeh’s convoy

A little girl killed by convoy during Mauritanian President’s visit

A child killed by stampede for Jammeh’s biscuits at Sere Kunda market

In total since 1994 nearly twenty people; children and adults have died as a direct result of Yahya Jammeh’s speeding convoys and biscuit throwing to crowds.

Recent Arrests of journalists

Sports Editor Nanama Keita, facing witch-hunting/Kangaroo Trial

Ahmed Alota, arrested, detained, released

Executed and Murdered Civilian and Military

Ousman Koro Ceesay
Deyda Hydara
Sidia Sanyang
Ebrima Chief Manneh
Omar Barrow
Lamin Sanneh
Ousman Ceesay
Sarjo Kunjang
Ebrima Barry
Ousman Ceesay
Saja Kujabi
Haruna Jammeh
Yaya Jammeh
Daba Marena
Staff Sergeant Manlafi Corr
Sergeant Major Alpha Bah
Lieut. Ebou Lowe
Lieut. Alieu Ceesay
Sgt. Fafa Nyang
Lieut. Basiru Barrow
Cpt. Sadibou Hydara
Lieut. Almamo Manneh
Lieut. Abdoulie Dot Faal
Lieut. Bakary Manneh
Lieut. Buba Jammeh
Lieut. Momodou Lamin Darboe
Cadet Officer Sillah
Lieut. Basiru Camara
Corpl. Mendy
Lieut. Gibril Saye
Sergeant Dumbuya
Momodou Sowe

Gambians detained, released in Jail or murdered between 1994-2012

RSM Alpha Bah (exected
Major Ebrima Bah
Lt Momodou Alieu Ba
Corporal Samba Bah
Tijan Bahoum: Power Supply Director NAWEC
Kemo Balajo: ex-National Intelligence Agency
Foday Barry: ex-NIA; director of Intelligence
Ourani Barry: ex-Senior Civil Servant
Lamin Bojang: Medical Research Council
Ebrima Camara: ex-police officer
Omar Barru Camara: ex-MP APRC
Captain Wassa Camara
2nd Lt Alieu Ceesay
Lamin Ceesay: Politician
Madi Ceesay: President, Gambia Press Union
Awa Darboe Cham: wife of alleged coup leader Ndure Cham
Lamin Cham: ex-Daily Observer, BBC correspondent
Lamin Cham: Politician
Momat Cham: former minister
Momodou Cadi Cham: former politician
Superintendent Abdoulie Colley: ex-police officer
Retired Colonel Abdoulie Conteh: former KMC Mayor
Staff Sergeant Manlafi Corr
Captain Bunja Darboe
Lamin R. Darboe: Politician
Lamin Saiba Darboe
Captain Yaya Darboe
Adama Deen: former Managing Director Gambia Ports Authority
Demba Dem: ex-MP APRC
Momodou Demba: Politician
Mariam Denton: Human Rights Lawyer
Raif Diab: Businessman
Ramzia Diab: former nominated MP, APRC
Musa Dibba: ex-NIA Director of Finance
Sheriff Mustapha Dibba: ex-Assembly Speaker
Baba Drammeh: ex-Independent Electoral
Commission (IEC) officer
Omar Faal: Marabout
Ansumana Fadera: ex-Senior Civil Servant
Jerreh Fatty: Politician
Lamin Fatty: journalist, The Independent newspaper
Mariama Fatty: Politician
Kebba Faye: ex-Senior Civil Servant
Tamba Fofana: Head Master
Abdou Gafar: journalist, Daily Express newspaper
Lamin Gassama: Security Manager, Banjul International Airport
Antouman Gaye: Lawyer
Pa Njie Guirigara: General Manager, VM
Sarane Hydara: ex-Senior Civil Servant
Captain Abdoukarim Jah
Karamo Jaiteh: former Managing Director, Gambia Roads Authority
Suruwa Wawa B Jaiteh: former Permanent Secretary
Staff Sergeant Buba Jammeh
Haruna Jammeh. Villager
Kebbaringo Jammeh: Councilor
Marcel Jammeh. Villager
Lance Corporal Babou Janha
Amie Jarju. Villager
Cherno Ndure Jarju: Politician
Lamin Jarsey: Politician
Tamsir Jassey: ex-Deputy Inspector General Police, Director of Immigration
Dudu Kassa Jatta: Politician
Ousman Rambo Jatta: Councilor
Colonel Vincent Jatta: ex-Chief of Defense Staff (deceased)
Momodou Jaw: ex-IEC officer
Abdoulie Kanaji Jawla: MP, APRC
Baboucarr Jobarteh: ex-Protocol Officer
Maimuna Jobarteh: Politician
Abdou Jobe: Managing Director, NAWEC
Alieu Jobe: ex-Accountant General
Duta Kamaso: ex-MP, APRC
Kanyiba Kanyi: Politician
Lamin Keita: ex-Senior Civil Servant
Nato Keita: Politician
Abdoulie Kujabi: ex-Director General, NIA
Jasaji Kujabi
Dr. Badara Loum: ex-Permanent Secretary
Lt Ebou Lowe
Mustapha Lowe: College student
Bamba Manneh: ex-NIA operative
Chief Ebrima B. Manneh: journalist, Daily Observer newspaper
Fatou Jaw Manneh: journalist
Kebba Yorro Manneh: Politician
Daba Marena: ex-Director General, NIA
Malick M’boob: ex-Daily Observer, RV
Sulayman Sait M’boob: ex-Minister, IEC Commissioner
Sergeant Buba Mendy
Captain Pierre Mendy
Omar Ndow: former Managing Director of Gamtel/Gamcel
Ndondi S.Z. Njie: former Chairman of IEC
Alhagie Nyabally: ex-President, Gambia Student Union
Alassan Nyassi
Balla Nyassi

Dr. Badara Loum: Former Permanent Secretary, Agriculture
Private Alagie Nying: Gambia National Army
Sam Obi: Daily Express, RFI correspondent
Baba Saho: ex-NIA director, External Security
Musa Saidykhan: former Editor-In-Chief, The Independent newspaper
Betrand Sambou
Dodou Sanneh: former journalist, GRTS
Ebrima Sillah Sanneh: ex-IEC officer
Lamin Sanneh: former Permanent Secretary
Sergeant Abdoulie Sanyang
2nd Lt Pharing Sanyang: Gambia National Army
Commander MB Sarr: Gambia National Army
Lt M. Savage: Gambia National Army
Ebou Secka: ex-Senior Civil Servant
Nourou Secka: ex-NIA operative
Momodou Senghore: ex-Senior Civil Servant
Ousman Sey: Marabout
Musa Sheriff: journalist, Gambia News & Report magazine
Amie Sillah: journalist, women activist
Alieu Singhateh: ex-NIA operative
Kebba Singhateh: Politician
Modou Sonko: journalist, Daily Observer newspaper
Private Ebrima Sonko
Juldeh Sowe: journalist, The Independent newspaper
Issac Success: journalist, Daily Express newspaper
Azziz Tamba: Politician
Ebou Waggeh

Arrest and Detention of Journalists

October 2005: Abdoulie Sey
2005: Musa Saidykhan
March 2006: Musa Saidykhan
March 2006: Madi Ceesay
April 2006: Lamin Fatty

Journalists on Exile in Senegal, Europe and the US

Pa Ousman Darboe
Alieu Badara Sowe
Pa Ousman Darboe
Musa Saidykhan
Sulayman Makalo
Omar Bah
Alhagie Mbye
Ebrima Sillah
Augustus Mendy
Bankole Thompson
Papa Colley
Sulayman Darboe
Fatou Jaw Manneh
Pa Omar Jatta
Momodou Thomas
Musa Saidykhan
Ansumana Badjie
Pa Samba Jaw
Sarjo Bayang
Pa Nderry Mbai
Cherno Baba Jallow
Ebrima Ceesay
Baba Galleh Jallow
Ebrima G. Sankareh
Yankuba Jambang
Mathew K. Jallow

Military/Security mysterious deaths

Captain Tumbul Tamba
Captain Musa Jammeh
Colonel Vincent Jatta
Lieut. Solomon Jammeh
Pa M. Jallow
Manlafi Sanyang
Boye Bah
Momodou Bah
Illo Jallow

Military/Security/Civilian recently detained

Lang Tombong Tamba
Bore Badjie
Omar Bun Mbye
Demba Njie
Lamin Fatty
Yankuba Drammeh
Malamin Jarju
Kawsu (Bombardier) Camara
Ngorr Secka, NIA
Ensa Badjie
Bun Sanneh
Sarjo Fofana

Military/Security/Civilians: detained, released, fled

Captain Bunja Darboe
Capt Yahya Darboe
Capt. Wassa Camara
2nd Lt Pharing Sanyang
Alieu Jobe
Tamsir Jasseh
Omar Faal
Demba Dem,
Col. Ndure Cham
Abdoulie Kujabi
Kemo Balajo
Alieu Singhateh
Foday Barry
Landing Sanneh

Executed Military and Security officers 2006
Alieu Ceesay
Alpha Bah
Manlafi Corr
Ebou Lowe

Daba Marenah

Students Massacred April 11th. 2000

Reginald Carrol
Karamo Barrow
Lamin A. Bojang
Ousman Sabally
Sainey Nyabally
Ousman Sembene
Bakary Njie
Claesco Pierra
Momodou Lamin Njie
Ebrima Barry
Wuyea Foday Mansareh
Bamba Jobarteh
Momodou Lamin Chune
Abdoulie Sanyang
Omar Barrow
Burama Badjie

Gambians Missing and Disappeared Since 2005

Ebrima (Chief) Manneh: arrested July 2006
Kanyiba Kanyi arrested September 2006
Haruna Jammeh arrested in 2005
Marcie Jammeh arrested in 2005
Alfusainey Jammeh arrested in 2005
Momodou Lamin Nyassi arrested in 2005
Ndongo M’boob arrested in 2006
Buba Sanyang arrested in 2006
Alieu Lowe arrested in March 2006,
Sgt. Sam Kambai arrested in 2006
Bakary Gassama arrested in 2007
Kebba Secka arrested in 2007
Ebrima Dibba arrested in May 2008,
Ebrima Kunchi Jammeh arrested in May 2008

Cases of Regime ordered Arsons against media personals.

August 8th. 2001, Radio Station 1 FM, was set ablaze around 2 a.m. in the morning, after proprietor George Christensen and his watchman were doused with hazardous chemicals in the hope of incinerating them. The two victims survived the ordeal, but the station was a total loss.

August 10th. 2001, the home of Alieu Bah, Radio I FM journalist, who moderated debates and discussions between prominent personalities, was set ablaze around 3 a.m. while he, his wife and children were asleep. The family narrowly escaped death, but the house was gutted to the ground.

October 17th. 2003, The Independent Newspaper premises were set on fire around 3 a.m in the morning when three unidentified masked men stormed the building, assaulted the night watchman and then sprayed him with fire hazard chemical in the hope he would burn to death. But he luckily survived the assault. The premises were destroyed beyond recognition.

April 13th. 2004, the Kanifing printing facilities of the Independent Newspaper was set on fire around 2 a.m. by six individuals dressed in military fatigue. The printing machinery and other hardware equipment were completely destroyed.

August 15th. 2004, the home of B.B.C reporter, Ebrima Sillah was set on fire as he slept. He narrowly escaped.

Arrests and Detentions of Journalists

September 19th. 2003, around 6 p.m. Abdoulie Sey, the Editor-in-Chief, The Independent Newspaper was arrested from his office by intelligence agents and held incommunicado. He was released four days later.

September 2005, Musa Saidykhan, Editor-in-Chief, The Independent Newspaper, was detained for interrogation for a brief period of time shortly after returning from a South African journalist conference.

March 27th. 2006, Musa Saidykhan, Editor-in-Chief, The Independent Newspaper, was arrested again by security agents a few days after publishing an article critical of Yahya Jammeh’s reactions in the wake of an alleged coup attempt on March 21, 2007. He was released after three weeks in detention.

March 2006, Madi Ceesay, The Independent General Manager, arrested by the regime’s agents, was released after three weeks of detention.

April 10th. 2006, Independent reporter, Lamin Fatty was arrested from his home by NIA agents and released after two months in detention and charged with false publication.

April 25th. 2006, Independent receptionist, Juldeh Sowe, was arrested and released after several hours.

July 7th. 2006, Daily Observer journalist, Ebrima Chief Manneh, was arrested by NIA officials from the Observer premises, was seen in public once after two years detention, at the Royal Victoria Hospital, sick and emaciated. Six powerful U.S Senators; Edward Kennedy, Richard (Dick) Durbin, Russell (Russ) Feingold and Joe Lieberman among others wrote to Yahya Jammeh asking him to release Journalist Manneh after being held for nearly three years. Manneh has since been confirmed murdered by Jammeh’s agents.

May 24th. 2006, following the hacking of the online, Freedom Newspaper, five Gambian journalists whose names appeared on the paper’s readers list were arrested and detained for different lengths of time. After several months they were released. They are:

Musa Sheriff
Pa Modou Faal
Lamin Cham
Sam Obi
Malick M’boob

Other arbitrary arrests against journalistSeptember 2006, a Gambia Radio and Television Services reporter, Dodou Sanneh, was arrested and detained, and later fired, rehired and fired again from his job government job.

March 28th. 2007, Fatou Jaw Manneh, a U.S. based Gambian journalist, was arrested at the airport, her traveling documents seized and charged with sedition. Her Kangaroo trial lasted more than a year. Her heavy fine was paid with donations from family and friends from all around the world.

December 16th. 2005, police ruffed Ramatoulie Charreh up after the participants in a conference she attended, attempted to visit the spot where journalist Deyda Hydara was gunned down.

2006, Njaimeh Bah, Point Newspaper reporter, attacked by unknown assailants, was severely beaten.

December 12. 2006, Baron Eloagou, reporter for the Daily Express, was severely beaten by unknown assailants.

December 2006, Abdougafar Olademinji, reporter for the Daily Express, was attacked by unknown assailants and beaten severely.

June 14th. 2009, seven journalists and members of the Gambia Press Union (GPU), were rounded up from various locations by heavily armed paramilitary agents and detained at NIA headquarters before being transferred to the notorious Mile 2 prison outside Banjul. The group listed below, were granted bail and charged with publishing seditious material and their case is ongoing despite protestations of regional and international organizations such as Media Foundation for West Africa, Amnesty International, Community to Protect Journalists.
Emil Touray, Secretary General Gambia Press Union
Sarata Jabbi Dibba, Vice President, Gambia Press Union
Pa Modou Faal, Treasurer, Gambia Press Union
Pap Saine, Managing Director, The Point Newspaper
Ebou Sawaneh, Editor, The Point Newspaper
Sam Sarr, Managing Editor, The Foroyaa Newspaper
Abubakr Saidy-Khan, journalist, Foroyaa newspaper.

June 16th. 2009, Abdulhamid Adiamoh, Publisher of Today Newspaper, was arrested for false publication and detained at National Intelligence headquarters. Forced to plead guilty or face deportation back to Nigeria, he was fine an extortive amount of money or face six months jail time.
June 22nd. 2009, Augustine Kanja, a reporter for The Point Newspaper, was arrested and detained by security agents. He was released June 25th, 2009.

Attempted Murders: Fled Gambia
Ousman Sillah: Attorney/Lawyer
Mai Fatty: Attorney (Attorney/Lawyer

Foreign nationals executed in Gambia
44 Ghanaians
2 Senegalese
1 Togolese
2 Nigerians

72 Ministers: Appointed and Fired

Mass Axi Gai
Angela Colley
Kanja Sanneh
Neneh Macdoual-Gaye
Therese Ndong-Jatta (resigned)
Maba Jobe (hired & fired before taking office)
Momodou Lamin Sedat Jobe (resigned)
Joseph Henry Joof (resigned)
Satang Jow (retired)
Yankuba Kassama
Margaret Keita
Ousman Badjie
Samba Bah
Lamin Kaba Bajo
Musa Bittaye
Amie Bensouda
Fatou Bom Bensouda
John P. Bojang
Momodou Bojang
Nyimasata Sanneh
Bojang Mamat Cham
Ebrima Ceesay
Momodou Nai Ceesay
Ousman Koro Ceesay (murdered)
Sulayman Massaneh Ceesay
Bakary Bunja Dabo
Fasainey Dumbuya
Samba Faal
Omar Faye
Sadibou Haidara (murdered)
Sheikh Tijan Hydara
Blaise Jagne
Balla Garba Jahumpa
Momodou Sarjo Jallow
Dr Amadou Scattred Janneh
Manlafi Jarju
Tamsir Mbowe
Dominic Mendy
Alieu Ngum
Bakary Njie
Omar Njie
Susan Waffa-Ogoo
Hawa Sisay Sabally
Sana B. Sabally
Abdoulie Sallah
Hassan Sallah
Momodou Sallah
Sidy Morro Sanneh
Kebba Sanyang
Samsudeen Sarr
Cheyassin Secka
Musa Sillah
Edward Singhatey
Raymond Sock
Amina Faal Sonko
Baboucarr Jatta
Famara Jatta
Kumba Ceesay-Marenah
Mustapha Marong
Fafa Mbai
Musa Mbenga
Sulayman Mboob
Bolong Sonko
Bai Mass Taal
Fatoumatta Tambajang
Bemba Tambedou
Yankuba Touray
Crispin Grey Johnson
Antouman Saho
Lamin Bojang
Marie Saine Firdaus

Edward Gomez

Mamburay Njie

Compiled by Mathew K Jallow

Gambia News: Update: The detention of Professor Dr. Amadou Scattred Janneh and others

Three days after his arrest, Dr. Amadou Scattred Janneh was this afternoon seen in public our reliable sources from Banjul have intimated. Dr. Janneh under the escort of plain- clothes police officers, was driven back to his Commit office building in an unmarked white police pickup truck. After spending a considerable amount of time in the building, the security officers left again with Dr. Janneh. It is not clear why they were there or what they took from the premises.
Meanwhile, one of the three legal counsels retained to handle the case, was alerted of the arrival and presence of the plain-clothes officers with Dr. Janneh at the Commit office building. The counsel rushed to the location just as the plain-clothes officers were exiting with Dr. Janneh. Our source intimated that the police have handed back the keys to the Commit office building to an employee who is also a relative of Dr. Janneh and the employees were asked to resume normal work again.
The legal counsel, however, could not speak to Dr. Janneh and, therefore, could not ascertain the condition of his health and wellbeing. It can be recalled that since his unceremonious arrest three days ago, Dr. Janneh has not had the privilege of seeing family members or consulting legal counsel; a clear violation of the law. Additionally, three days after his arrest, no charges have been brought against Dr. Janneh, yet he continues to be held in detention again in clear violation of the 72 hours maximum detention time allowed by law. As we receive more information, we will be forthright in sharing with the Gambian public, friends of The Gambia around the world, and the international community.

Gambians Condemn the Unlawful Arrest and Detention of Dr. Amadou Scattred Janneh (#Gambia)

Press Release :The Unlawful Arrest and Detention of Dr. Amadou Scattred Janneh

We the undersigned Gambian civil society organizations learnt of the arrest and detention of Dr. Amadou Scattred Janneh, which occurred on the morning of Tuesday June 7 2011, with consternation and regret.

We were also reliably informed that in the process his unlawful arrest, his home was ransacked by agents of the notorious National Intelligence Agency (NIA). We members of the Gambian civil society fraternity condemn in the strongest terms, this dastardly abuse of the civil rights and denial of our fellow citizens the inalienable right to free association and assembly for purposes of legitimately opposing and petitioning the regime as enshrined in our Constitution.

Dr. Janneh, a high profile member of the civil society community in The Gambia, has a history of opposition to the regime of Yahya Jammeh, where he briefly worked as member of cabinet. Dr. Janneh's political inclinations are not the issue at this point, but his rights to express his views and his right to freely associate in furtherance of this aspiration for our country are.

Consequently, the Executive committee members of the Coalition for Change Gambia, in collaboration with the undersigned Gambian civil society organizations, call on all Gambians, friends of The Gambia and Human Rights groups around the world to join us condemning the unlawful arrest of Dr. Amadou Scattred Janneh, and others and we further declare as follows:

A. that Dr.Janneh and everyone associate with his arrest, be unconditionally released with immediate effect or be charged within the 72 hours provision as stipulated in The Gambian Constitution.
B. that Dr. Janneh and others linked to his arrest be accessible to legal counsel without delay
C. that they be treated humanely and with dignity and not be subjected to torture or any other form physical trauma to their bodies
D. that their families members be allowed unfettered access to them
E. that the spirit of the law and the Constitution be jealously followed allow their immediate release
F. that this matter be handled transparently and judiciously by the Gambian authorities, and in a speedy manner

We the undersigned Gambian civil society organizations jointly condemn the unlawful arrest and detention of Dr. Amadou Scattred Janneh, and others falsely associated with him and are urging their release with immediate effect. We will monitor progress on this matter in conjunction with partners in Human Rights work and friends of the Gambia worldwide.

Signed
Ndey Tapha Sosseh; Coalition for Change-Gambia (Gambia)
Amie Joof; Coalition for Human Rights-Gambia (Senegal)
Alieu B. Ceesay; Gambia Campaign to Fight Human Rights Violations (Scotland)
Banka Manneh; Save The Gambia Democracy Project (US)
Abdoulie Jobe; Coalition for Human Rights The Gambia (UK)
Yaya Dampha; Human Rights for All (Sweden )
Saihou Mballow; Movement For Democracy and Development (US)
Mathew K. Jallow; National Movement for Restoration of Democracy Gambia (US)
Bubacarr Baldeh; United Gambia for Democracy and Freedom (Senegal)

Gambia News: What democracy denies its people the right to vote? (#Gambia)

(Daily News)As Gambians at home register for the 2011 presidential election; Gambians abroad remain disenfranchised, despite fifteen years of empty promises and artificial obstacles by the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC). The official quotes below say it all:
 “The Commission has been mandated by the Elections Decree (Section 11) to provide a register of voters in foreign countries. Such a mandate is being looked into,” (IEC Website).
“Presently, Gambians living abroad have the option of returning to the Gambia during registration periods and register within their Constituencies of origin. This will mean that it is only in this type of registration that they can vote during National or Local Elections, until such a time that a register of voters in foreign countries become feasible,” (IEC Website).
At this snail-pace, Diaspora Gambians will never have the right to vote in Gambian national elections, because fifteen years after the 1996 presidential polls, the Commission is “still looking into it.”
This is not a case of bad faith on my part- far from it. It is the realization that the words of The Commission are official spin, empty rhetoric intended to satisfy donors, while denying Diaspora Gambians their rights in order to maintain the status-quo.
The Commission and the Jammeh regime have no intention, nor are they interested, in extending the franchise to Diaspora Gambians. This is so, despite readily available funds from the Commonwealth and other donor countries.
In this day of sophisticated computer software registering less than 300, 000 Gambians resident abroad should not be as daunting as it was even ten years ago. Many countries in Africa, and neighboring Senegal, in particular, have extended the vote to their citizens abroad, recognizing among other things, their collective contribution to national development through remittances and investments in land and businesses.
It is laughable to expect Gambians in their thousands to return home to cast a ballot in their “constituencies of origin.”
What an utter waste of valuable resources that could, otherwise, be spent to benefit Gambians at home. Why make it so difficult for Diaspora Gambians to exercise such a fundamental right?
The answer is simple—they need our monthly remittances, not our vote, out of fear that Jammeh would be flushed out; even though he now enjoys considerable support among pockets of Gambians abroad.
What democracy denies its people the right to vote?
The IEC and Jammeh are not entirely at fault. The Opposition political party aficionados are just as complicit. Their parties remain disorganized, splintered and bututless; and for the most part are themselves paralyzed by fear— never attempting to challenge the constitutionality of this illegal state of affairs.
Rather than compromise, which is the art of politics, they are consumed by distrust, as they wallow in trite recrimination against one another- all hoping against all odds that they too shall become president someday.
This is at best delusional grandstanding even though all it takes to win is to form a united front against Jammeh. This is not rocket science but a simple strategy. Get the rascals out and then duke it out amongst yourselves.
Thus, the 2011 presidential election results are a foregone conclusion! You do not have to be a political scientist or bantaba pundit to figure this one out.
It seems all Gambians know this except the party leaders that plan to run and be humiliated. Jammeh and his APRC party will trounce any and all who dare stand his way. He has the money, arms and threatens to use them, which he will, if cornered.
Did he not arrest and imprison Femi Peters with impunity, without a whimper? Does Jammeh not use state media, while denying Opposition political heads their right to do so? Does he not have the IEC in his pocket and hires and fires at will its members? Does the Constitution not favor him and his kind? Need I go on?
How can Gambians at home and those in the Diaspora salvage the 2011 presidential election? If you cannot vote; vote with your wallet, and threaten to withhold the monthly “fish-money.”  Demand that relatives vote and vote for the candidate that stands the best chance of winning.
That happens to be Ousainou Darboe. Demand that all Opposition parties and aficionados rally behind Darboe, this once and see what happens. Darboe must now take a bold move, take the bull by its horns and make deals with the other party leaders- promise them the moon and get them on his side. Once in office, establish a union government to run the country for a one five-year term, while putting the necessary instruments and environment in place for a free and fair presidential poll.
This may well be the antidote to the political impasse that currently grips the country. With this strategy, Jammeh can have all the money, media, IEC and arms on his side and still be flushed out of office. Will the PPP, NRP, PDOIS leadership rally behind Darboe or would they rather see Jammeh be handed a fourth five-year term? This is the question and the choice is clear to all.

An Open Letter Ms Reine Alapini Gansou, Chairperson of the African Commission

Balangbaa: The Campaign for Civil Disobedience in The Gambia.

An Open Letter
Ms Reine Alapini Gansou,
Chairperson of the African Commission
C/o Kairaba Beach Hotel
April 26, 2011

Dear Ms Gansou,
This no-confidence protest letter is addressed you in your capacity as Chairperson of the African Commission. The aim is bring the spotlight on the African Centre for Democracy and Human Rights Studies (ACDHRS), which is located in Banjul. And the intent is for you bring the concerns of the citizens of the host country of the 49th Ordinary Session, The Gambia, to the African Union (AU) body in order to educate policy-makers and the powers-that-be about what a sham the ACDHRS has become. First, allow me to diverge into another important area of concern to Africans all across the continent. As passive observers of the shenanigans that have dominated the operations of the African Union and its predecessor, the Organization of African Union (OAU), Africans have become frustrated with the redundancy, wastefulness and utter uselessness of the continental body and regional institutions such as the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). The picture that has emerged is that the African Union and its predecessor the OAU have existed solely to serve the interests of the leaders of its member states. To that effect, these institutions have become white-elephants where millions of dollars are wasted each year for the purpose of preserving the selfish interests of corrupt leaders and brutal regimes. The past five decades have seen African leaders and their corrupt regimes squander the goodwill and economic fortunes of African countries and reduced their people to devastating poverty far worst than the one left behind by our colonial experience.
It is an absolutely disgraceful paradox that the continent with the largest share of the world’s natural resources, also shamefully boasts its poorest people. After fifty years of political independence, this lunacy and the political conundrum our continent is plunged into by the cruel machinations of greedy and self-centered despots and wayward bureaucracies, defies human imagination. This selfishness and greed, which cuts across Africa’s failed regimes is inexplicable in any rational way. Each year, for the past fifty years, the United States and European powers have transferred billions of dollars to regimes all across the continent, yet we have noting to show for it. Instead, Africa’s ever worsening poverty, which has generated civil wars and created civil strife in countries across the continent, will continue to fester and claim the lives of millions more Africans. And this is just the beginning. In the 1960s and 1970s, Africa was generally better off economically than the vast majority of Asian and Latin American countries such as China, India, Vietnam, South Korea, but today, African leaders visit these countries with their hands tucked between their legs shamefully begging for charity aid. Even today, almost every country in African is dependent on foreign aid to survive, and some, like The Gambia, depend on foreign aid from the United States and Europe for up to 80% of annual national budgets. Institutions like the AU and ECOWAS are still funded directly by benevolent Western governments and the United Nations. Despite this incredible transfer of wealth to the abjectly poor African countries, a World Bank study found that in 2005 alone, African politicians and bureaucrats looted $148 billion from their countries and stashed these funds in foreign bank accounts. This amount was more than the total foreign aid transfer to African countries for that year. This staggering amount of money is absolutely mind-bugling, yet it is true.
Now back to the African Centre for Democracy and Human Rights Studies (ACDHRS), an organization which has been in existence for nearly a quarter century, but which has done nothing to challenge the incredible human rights violations of Africa’s misanthropic  despots, in particular, the idiot we have in The Gambia; Yahya Jammeh. The ACDHRS has never issued a press release to condemn any one of the more than one hundred and thirty murders and executions of Gambians, Senegalese, Nigerians and Ghanaians, all of who met their sad fates at the hands of Yahya Jammeh’s agents of death. Never once has the ACDHRS made a public pronouncement or produced a document that challenges Yahya Jammeh’s criminal regime for its gross human rights violations. Meanwhile, the murders, executions, tortures, arbitrary arrests and detentions, and other serious violations perpetrated by Yahya Jammeh’s regime continue unabated. And now, the ACDHRS has turned into a white-elephant despite the inconsequential forums the organization is involved in, such the 49th Ordinary Session, taking place in Banjul right now. Each year, millions of dollars are being wasted in holding these meaningless meetings which have never produced any worthwhile results as far as we African are concerned. It would appear people who attend these useless meetings do so for the money and other perks they receive. Given its history of uselessness and inefficiency in the face of the ongoing human rights violations in The Gambia, which includes extra-judicial executions, forced disappearances, tortures and incarcerations in Africa’s worst prison, Mile 2 Prisons, The Gambia no longer deserves the privilege to host the African Centre for Democracy and Human Rights Studies (ACDHRS). As a result, Gambians demand that the ACDHRS be moved to another country that deserves the unique honour of hosting the Center. As it is, the African Centre for Democracy and Human Rights Studies (ACDHRS) exists to throw millions of dollars down a bottomless pit. The money wasted to pay unearned salaries and other perks could be better utilized to serve other useful purposes. Since Yahya Jammeh uses the ACDHRS to project an unreal image of The Gambia, Gambians demand that the ACDHRS be defunded and relocated elsewhere.

By Mathew K Jallow: Balangbaa: The campaign for Civil Disobedience in The Gambia.

Zimbabwe:Thou shalt not criticise Comrade Mugabe!

By KITSEPILE NYATHI

A Zimbabwean minister and a Roman Catholic priest who were arrested for criticising President Robert Mugabe were released on Wednesday after spending six days in police cells.

Moses Mzila Ndlovu - a co-minister in the Organ of National Healing and Reconciliation - and Father Marko Mnkandla were detained after attending mass in memory of victims of a 1980s army massacre in Western parts of the country.

On Tuesday they were granted $500 bail each and ordered to surrender their passports.

But their freedom was delayed because they did not have the travel documents with them.

Leg irons

The duo’s lawyers complained that they were denied access to their clients. They said Ndlovu and Mnkandla were also denied food during their detention.

The two were brought in leg irons amid tight security in a small town south-west of the capital Harare.

Ndlovu, who is also the deputy secretary general of the smaller faction of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), is charged under the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act for allegedly saying the police, intelligence service and the army were being used by President Mugabe to violate human rights.

The killings that occurred in Matabeleland soon after Zimbabwe’s independence in 1980 have remained a hot issue because the perpetrators have never been brought to book and Mugabe has defied pressure to apologise.

Police have also stepped up the arrest of Mugabe’s opponents ahead of elections planned for this year

Source:africa review

Africa defies gloom to spend $30bn on arms

By LEE MWIT

                                                                                  Photo:AFP

Africa Review --In defiance of a global recession that halved Africa’s growth, military spending on the continent rose by 5.2 per cent, a new study shows.

The region's total military expenditure in 2010 in real terms was an estimated $30.1 billion, according to new analysis from the Stockhom International Peace Research Institute.

Angola, recovering from three decades of civil war, set the pace with a 19 per cent increase in real terms, or $600 million in 2009 prices. This figure is 4.2 per cent of its gross domestic product. During the civil war, its vast oil wealth and diamonds paid for arms.

Figures for Cote d’Ivoire are missing, but in 2008 the West African country spent 1.5 per cent of its GDP on its military. The effect of the five-month unrest in the country on new spending is unlikely to be known, while the United Nations also placed an arms embargo on it.

Four of the continent’s five top spenders—Angola, Morocco, Algeria and Nigeria—provided for the bulk of the spending increase, mainly influenced by gas and oil revenues.

Protracted war

Spending in the fifth, South Africa, which went into recession in 2009, fell slightly. Chad, mired in internal strife, recorded a bigger dip in its military spending after the oil-fuelled highs of 2008.

SIPRI, an independent organisation, tracks conflict armament and disarmament and also researches arms control.

The report, however, adds that figures for Africa may be uncertain as data for some countries such as Sudan, Libya and Eritrea are missing.

SIPRI last month said there had been a rush to sell arms to Libya, which has seen protracted war between Col Muammar Gaddafi loyalist and rebels based in the east.

"Although Libya placed only limited orders for major conventional weapons following the lifting of the UN arms embargo in 2003, in recent years, it has served as an excellent illustration of the competition between major suppliers France, Italy, Russia and Britain for orders," Pieter Wezeman of the SIPRI Arms Transfers Programme said last month.

The UN also has a broad embargo out on Libya, which in 2008 spent an equivalent of 1.2 per cent of its GDP on its military.

The data showed that world military spending reached $1.63 trillion in 2010 an increase of 1.3 per cent over the year before. However, this represented the slowest increase since 2001, when the current surge in military spending begun.

Economic crisis

The US, which accounts for 48 per cent of total world military spending, accounted for the vast majority of this rise-- $19.6 billion of the $20.6 billion real terms increase.

This means that the rest of the world barely made a dent on global military spend, increasing by only 0.1 per cent.

“In many cases, the falls or slower increases represent a delayed reaction to the global financial and economic crisis that broke in 2008,” said the institute in its analysis.

Many countries sought to rebalance their books after budget deficits widened due to the stimulus packages rolled out, while in others growth was slower than expected. The study notes that China, the second largest spender, specifically linked its reduced spending on weaker economic growth in 2009.

Last month, the institute said that India was the world’s largest net importer of arms over the past five years. The US is the world’s largest exporter of weapons, accounting for 30 per cent of global trade.

African Union and The Economic Community Of West African States

By Nnamdi Frank Akwada

Recent events in Cote d'Ivoire and Libya have exposed the ineffectiveness and obscurity of the African Union (AU) and the Economic Community Of West African States (ECOWAS). Both organizations have remained on the sidelines while uncertainty, insecurity, and authoritarians have held the African continent ransom. Indeed Pan-Africanist leaders like George Padmore, W. E. B. Du Bois, Marcus Garvey, Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, and Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe would be mortified by the paralysis and ineptitude in the most natural endowed continent of the world. So called rulers in sub-Saharan African nations have indolently sat by while Black and Brown Africans are murdered in Libya. In Cote d'Ivoire the situation is at best pathetic and at worse criminal negligence. 

Due to the dictatorial tendencies of our heads of governments who do not seem to be constrained by constitutions and/or term limits, ECOWAS and AU have tacitly allowed Mr. Laurent Gbagbo in Abidjan to continue clinging on to power. While stubbornly refusing to handover power after occupying the presidency of Cote d'Ivoire for ten years, Mr. Gbagbo has spearheaded the mass murder of innocent civilians including unarmed women protesters. Sadly this same individual who was once incarcerated and forced out on exile is now the conduit of undue hardship to his people. The Ivorian army has derogated their responsibilities to their citizens while clamoring to maintain the hegemony of a particular sect in the country. Streams of Ivorians are now forced to flee their beloved country to become refugees, paupers, and prostitutes in neighboring countries. 

However, in response to the crisis in Abidjan the ECOWAS countries have allowed their threat to use force with installing President Alassane Ouattara the legitimate winner of the November 28 2010 elections, fall on deaf ears. The African Union (AU) has also been shameful in dealing with contemporary situations in the continent. When they met in Addis Ababa Ethiopia for the just concluded African Union Summit, the AU enshrined Dictator Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo of Equatorial Guinea as the next chairman of the organization. The aforementioned tyrant and fraudster who has been in power since 1979 after he executed a bloody coup was charged with the task of resolving the impasse in Cote d'Ivoire. In a continent that is at the precipice of holding elections in one-third of her 55countries, no better choice was made for the chairperson of the AU. As a testament to how out of touch with reality the African Union and our so-called leaders are, they literally rolled out the proverbial red carpet for Dictator Obiang Mbasogo. 

Furthermore, the AU banded together with their opaque notion of solidarity and ignoring other pressing issues in the continent. Ironically, people in Sudan, Tunisia, and Egypt were voting and protesting against the “recolonialization” of their nations by rulers and systems who view their countries as personal properties and wealth mines. As Egypt was burning and true peoples' democracy attempted to wrestle power from Dictator Hosni Mubarak, our dear AU kept mute and instead accepted his delegates to the summit in neighboring Ethiopia. This deafening silence and apathy have continued with the developments in Tripoli Libya. The AU and ECOWAS have stood by as sub-Saharan Black African have been stereotyped, brutalized, and murdered by both Dictator Muammar Gaddafi and some in the pro-democracy movement of this North Africa nation.

Press reports indicate that there are thousands of Black Africans stranded in the Libyan-Tunisia, Libyan-Egyptian, and Libyan-Algerian borders. Individuals and families with children have been relatively abandoned as refugees in faraway lands to fend for themselves. There does not appear to be any progressive (proactive) logistic plans to get the Nigerians, Ghanaians, and Malians who are the majority of strained Black African refugees back home. The powers that be in ECOWAS and by extension sub-Saharan Africa have not thought it wise to send out their presidential jet fleets to liberate their people. The governments in Abuja and Accra appear to be incognito in regional and global affairs that demand accelerated response from them. Until now no statements and/or ultimatums have been issued to the Libyan government and people to protect and preserve the lives of Black Africans who are victims, caught up in these ongoing North African disputes. Neither has transparent diplomatic channels and pressures been brought to bear on the mad Dictator in Tripoli.