|
Momodou
Denmark
11823 Posts |
 Posted - 20 Jan 2010 : 17:52:31
|
Daily News Editorial:A word is enough for a wise
How many times should we keep on reminding the authorities to hold-fast to the provisions of the constitution of the republic of The Gambia, which they themselves appear to so cherish?
Citizens and non citizens living in The Gambia have inalienable rights to have fair trial. This is of course one fundamental trust the people bestowed on the state. And this is apparently the trust that the government is betraying. Since the military take over, and even now considered under a fully fledged civilian rule, the government continues to act in manners contrary to the provisions of the very constitution that she has sworn to protect and safeguard.
Here let us refer the authorities to section 19 (3) which states that any person who is arrested or detained
(b) upon reasonable suspicion of his or her arrest having committed or being about to commit a criminal offence under the laws of the Gambia, and who is not released shall be brought without undue delay before a court and in any event within seventy-two hours;
Subsection 4 of the same section adds: “where any person is brought before a court in execution of the order of a court in any proceedings or upon suspicion of his or her having committed or being about to commit an offence, he or she shall not thereafter be further held in custody in connection with those proceedings or that offence save upon the order of the court.”
This section of the constitution is very clear. One needs not be a lawyer to know what it is saying, that no one under any circumstance should be arrested and detained by the state for more than a 72 hour period. This is exactly three days, mathematically speaking.
Yes, we all know that the seriousness of some offences needs thorough consultation, careful investigation and caution before making a decision. But this does not change the position of the law. Infact, Lawyer Darboe in an interview with this paper made it clear that the decision to continuously detain a person suspected of having committed a crime or about to commit a crime is not for the executive to make. This he told us should be handled by the courts.
This is confirmed in subsection 5 of section 19 which states that: if any person arrested or detained as mentioned in subsection 3b is not tried within reasonable time, then without prejudice to any further proceedings, which may be brought against him or her, he or she shall be released either unconditionally or upon reasonable condition,, including in particular such condition as are reasonably necessary to ensure that he or she appears before or at a later date for trial or proceedings preliminary to trial.
However, the situation in our dear motherland needs much to be desired. The alleged arrest and continuous detention of Lang Tombong Tamba should be well looked into. As we monitored the developments, he was removed from his position as the Chief of Defense Staff only to be later dismissed from the Army. This is not a surprise as it is now a tradition for public officials to be demy gods today and tomorrow a puppet, except for the fact that he appeared so loyal one would not have imagined such.
It was not long after his dismissal that news of his arrest broke. We talked to the Army PRO, but said they could not arrest someone who is not a serving member of the Armed Forces. We furthered the matter at the police, but to no avail. Of course, efforts were made by other media houses, notably Foroyaa, to trace his where-about, but proved futile. Infact it is not only him but some others. Bombarde as he is fondly called, also a high ranking soldier was one of them. He is also allegedly arrested for nearly a month, if not more. Buba Badjie, an Intelligence Officer is also allegedly arrested. The same is true of the Deputy Inspector General of police Modou Gaye. Kebba Touray a businessman was also arrested for weeks, before he was released. The same applied to Yankuba Touray.
What we are saying here is that people who have offended should not be arrested and detained indefinitely. But we know there are laid down procedures that must be followed. Why is it that time and time again, we have to raise concerns, which are infact in most cases not heeded? We hope as Darboe pointed out the people will soon fire back at government for any violation of their rights. But before then, Mr. Government if you have these people and even others we do not know about, take them to court or release them. That is what the law requires of you. A word is enough for the wise.
Source: Daily News
|
A clear conscience fears no accusation - proverb from Sierra Leone |
|
Topic Locked
