A leader can only live in peace when he/she serves and represents the wishes of his/her people.

The government of the Gambia has again done what it does best: nurture a fertile ground for fear, hopelessness and uncertainty.

A ban on Dating and Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) services by the Gambia has come at a time when the rest of the world is moving fast to make communication easier and accessible with a view to empowering their citizens and at the same time move the engines of their economies. In fact, two African countries – Kenya and South Africa – are among the 37 countries in the world that make Free Conferencing services available to their citizens.

The news of the shocking ban was relayed in a press release issued by the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority (PURA). The regulatory body’s linking of dating and VoIP services in itself is hypocritical and stupid, for the two are not intertwined or connected. This is part of the Jammeh’s calculated efforts to hoodwink the brains of Gambians who might be shunning dating services, especially if they are misinterpreted by President Jammeh’s spin doctors.

Gauging by the tone of the release that “the offering of “International and National Calling Services” within Internet Cafes using VoIP services (Viber, Skype, etc) is strictly prohibited,” one may assume that the government is privy to what most Africans are not. One is left with so many unanswered questions about the Dating and VoIP services. Are they posing threats to national security or putting the lives of Gambians in danger? Unfortunately, the  press release went blank.

The government is close to making its intention clear when it says “anyone who is engaged in this activity is depriving the country of the much needed revenue from international and national calls, required for the development of the Gambia.” Again the regime is economical with facts, which is a great disservice to Gambians whose interest it is claiming to protect.

We at Kibaaro News found the ban not only disturbing but nonsensical and provocative. It is a continuation of a broader strategy to muzzle the freedom of expression. A regime that twisted the hands of its citizens will always feel threatened by any means that provides free communication, especially the one that is out of control. We concur with a young Senegalese musician that “wah loham, def loham, bo tede’ denaye nelew [you will sleep well if you say and do the right thing].

President Macky Sall: Don’t call me a dictator! bulma wah lolu. je n’a pas d’accord!

Senegalese president Macky Sall is one African leader with a different mission and vision.

Unlike his predecessors who busy themselves consolidating their powers through whatever means – foul or fair – the Senegalese leader is determined to remain true to his election pledge to serve less than five years in office instead of the constitutionally-mandated seven years.

The former Prime Minister and Speaker of the House in the Wade government said the fight now centers around reversing a controversial extension of the president’s term. Enacted by his predecessor Abdoulaye Wade, amidst heightening political tensions, President Sall said the law is not only “undemocratic” but also put a “dent on the image of a country singled out as the jewel of African democracy, the rule of law and human rights.”

Macky Sall is not a real match with President Yahya Jammeh, one of the youngest among a bunch of Africa’s power-hungry dictators. His assurance statement at the Harvard University’s Institute of Politics last week that “although I was elected for seven years, I will serve a five-year term” has put him under a favourable spot in the civilized world. He said his preoccupation now is to “work fast and hard” in making his pledge into a reality.

For certain, President Jammeh who is not man enough to propose presidential term limit, will interpret Sall’s statement differently. Perhaps, he had already told his inner circle that “Macky is a stooge of the west.” In reality, Macky’s wise decision will allay fears among right-loving Senegalese that their country is on the right footing. These are the same people who elbowed out former President Wade for attempting to entrench himself in power or engineer succession of his son Karim Wade to the throne. Macky has also wiped the tears of Senegalese who put their lives on the firing line to elect him into office come rain or thunder.

Kibaaro News concurs with the editorial of Boston Globe that “Senegal provides an inspiring model of Africans safeguarding democracy on a continent that has seen worrisome backslide in accountable governance,” especially in the Gambia, Zimbabwe, Equatorial Guinea, Cameroon, among others. The list continues to widen.

Senegal’s political stability and functioning democracy has positive spill over on the lives of people. The country has seen decline of poverty and rise in life expectancy, a complete opposite in many African countries. It is therefore worth the struggle for the Gambia to follow in the footsteps of Senegal. A true leader is one who abandons his personal interest and do exactly what his subjects want. Unfortunately, president Jammeh has blatantly refused to be such a leader.
Ends

AS LIES OF DEMAND FOR ALTERING PUBLIC

OFFICIALS’ WORK SCHEDULE FILL THE AIR

It’s about time that you man up and tell the truth!

The abuse of presidential powers, which has become an uncontested norm in the Gambia, is once again at work.  At the center of it all is a president who crafts lies upon lies in the name of “protecting the interest of Gambians.” That belabored slogan has been replaced by “the popular demand from the general public.”

President Yahya Jammeh’s decreeing of a four-day working week for public officials has eliminated Friday from the work schedule to “give more time for prayers and agriculture.” With effect from February 1, Gambian public servants will work from 8:00 am to 6:00 Monday to Thursday.

We contest the president’s web of lies that his decision to squeeze the work schedule in the public service was borne out of public demand. The question that needs to be asked is: how can this become a public demand when the Central Statistics Department or any independent polling agency in the country has not sampled public opinion? Even a mere sampling of the public opinion should not give the President the leverage to arrive at a conclusion.

In a real democracy [unfortunately the Gambia under Jammeh is a fake one] such an important issue cannot be enforced without allowing elected lawmakers to debate on it thoroughly and put it to vote . Since Jammeh owns our lawmakers and their mind, they would not hesitate to pass anything into law without raising eyebrows. They would not stop at enacting such a bill but will go extra-mile to praise-sing President Jammeh for “being a leader who is concerned about the interest of Gambians.”

For God and Heaven sake, give us a break because the only person who benefits from the new decree is Yahya Jammeh. By bullying the European Union, Mr. Jammeh knows he has shut the doors of potential source of revenue to bankroll his government’s projects, and has since been on a thinking spree, strategizing on how to tap into funding sources elsewhere. We are certain that President Jammeh will use his so-called decree to source funding from Arab nations that he had fallen apart with the West for “executing criminals” and that his government “respects Islam” to the extent of removing Friday from official work schedule.

What the president needs to understand is that the Arabs cannot rain money on his government when they are threatened by the West. This is because the Arabs by far need the West more than the Gambia. So the best bet for Jammeh is to reconcile with the EU if he wants to live in peace instead of in pieces. All that he needs to do is to swallow his pride and resume political dialogue with the EU and succumb to its 17-point demands. Only a dictator that wants to rule with iron fist will make an issue of the EU demands.

After 18 years in power, it is foolhardy and bizarre for Mr. Jammeh to consider Friday as a sacred day and that Gambians need more time for agriculture and social activities. In fact, a small fraction of his civil servants are farmers in a country where the president has been engaging on endless land grabbing. Where do civil servants have the land for agriculture? Mr. President, did you think about the plight of struggling civil servants who commute to work daily in the face of transportation difficulties? In such a scenario, civil servants who live 30 km from Banjul will live in misery.

Ends

Chief Manneh – Where are you?

By Musa Saidykhan

They have come and gone all year around! I mean the days that leave Gambians reeling with agony, insecurity, uncertainty and so many unanswered questions.

The days that shatter innocent families’ hopes, steal their lovely breadwinners, some of them expecting to marry and reproduce so their image will remain when they join ancestors. These are the days that water down the dreams of patriotic and hardworking Gambians, including brothers and sisters fighting to give voice to voiceless communities. Their high level of patriotism pushes them to surrender their entire heart and mind to their country’s service. In so doing, most of them sacrifice their personal goals.

These sacrificial lambs will never shy away to hold the sword and fight for their motherland when the need arises.  God creates them to add value or meaning to lives, which is why communities are devastated by their disappearance or death, usually in mysterious circumstances, for crossing the lines of the powers-that-be. The fact of the matter is that these gallant sons and daughters are fixed in all walks of life.  Many more emerge when one dies or disappears.

Yes, July 7^th is one of these terrible days – a day that demeans our noble profession and changes its color forever. The day gives us “kidnapping, disappearance and missing.” Yes, we feed on words and use them in whatever way possible; they are our arms and ammunition or better put it tools of our trade. But until the Chief Ebrima Manneh debacle, Gambian pen pushers hardly use the three above words in their day-to-day assignments.

The Gambia government’s naked lies about Chief’s disappearance and unwillingness to investigate Deyda Hydara’s callous murder are both demeaning and insulting to our profession, replacing our passion with sorrow and our hopes with despair.

We are still struggling to stomach what these days have brought to us. The days are devastating in magnitude for journalists in a country with little past problems.  Who does not remember the belabored “Gambia no problem” slogan? This phrase belongs to the sweet days of Papa Jawara when we would swim in the pool of freedom and go to bed with hope and certainty of not being harmed for calling spade a spade.

Of course, this does not mean Papa Jawara’s regime has not bumped on our rights. I respect the ousted Jawara regime for not creating families like those of Chief Manneh and Deyda Hydara who are left to chase the air, in search of answers about how and why their loved ones disappeared or murdered.

In reality, our military-turned-civilian regime contains bunch of cowards who do not muster the courage to tell us what happens to those they have arrested. How long do we have to ride with a system in which no one dares tell the truth?

Exactly six years ago, Chief Manneh was arrested in the presence of his Daily Observer colleagues yet the government is diving around the simple truth.

We are desperately waiting for a day when truth will shine over falsehood. This day will reveal the skeleton hidden in our government’s cupboard. It might take some time but we will get there. Until then, our heart of sympathy goes to all the families coping with fear, uncertainty and shattered hopes. Your tears will not surely be wasted!

Credit: Radio Netherlands

By Musa Saidykhan

The continued detention of the Imam of Sanchaba Sulay Jobe without explanation or charge is an outright testimony of the Gambia government’s flagrant disregard of the 1997 constitution and international instruments it has ratified.

This persistent sad state of affair leaves Gambians lingering with so many unanswered questions: are we still a democratic society? If so, who the heck anoints our sick democracy? What is the difference between democracy and dictatorship? Should the world sit back until all of us become victims of injustice and start hissing at  our government?

The human rights situation in the Gambia has become so rotten that citizens can’t engage in any intellectual discourse with a view to finding solutions to our problems or shaping better future for the future generation. Every uttered word is carefully analyzed or misinterpreted by the National Intelligence Agency (NIA) whose officers are mired in confusion. Though paid by Gambian taxpayer, NIA agents have become more loyal to President Yahya Jammeh than the country.

By the way, majority of Gambian security officers are toeing along the same line. For them, there is no distinction between the president and the Gambia, which makes it all the more necessary for them to protect his presidential crown even if it means caging, disappearing or killing anyone who opposes him or questions his misguided policies.

But their decision to keep mute over their actions is an act of cowardice. We have many a times seen security officers arrest Gambians only to deny ever arresting them. Many innocent Gambians, including Chief Ebrima Manneh and Kanyiba Kanyie, a journalist and political activist, respectively, had become victims of such an act.  In the midst of this horrible scenario, who would blame Gambians for being stressed out? Yes, this fear of disappearance by security officers has pushed Bakawsu’s family to go public with their concerns.

Our message to the government is loud and clear:  immediately release Imam Fofana and all other illegal detainees without condition. The Gambia government must also understand that they will be held responsible for whatever happens to Imam Fofana. Gone are the days when governments get away with impunity. The world’s camera is flashing over the Gambia.

Justice Minister Lamin Jobarteh

It’s clear that the Gambia’s opposition parties have left the country’s Attorney General’s office reeling in a dilemma between defending the law, breaking or ignoring it altogether.

How the office tackles the ruckus over the electoral commission boss’ illegal holding of office is of utmost importance to defenders of rule of law, justice and democracy.

The world is anxiously waiting to see how the people who swear to uphold the constitution of the land and advise the government on its spirit and letter will respond to this development.

The fundamental question that needs to be asked is whether the Attorney General’s office has the courage to advice the government to remain true to the constitution and get rid of the Independent Electoral Chairman, Mustapha Carayol should he overstayed his mandate. It will not be surprising that the legal adviser’s office follow the usual tradition of remaining tight-lipped over mind-boggling legal affairs so their dust settles with time.

The world is watching to see how the Attorney General is going to roll the ball in its backyard. It’s a difficult decision that has to be made, no matter the consequence.

The move, though a tactical one, would have caused more brouhaha before the presidential and parliamentary elections were held. Its lateness has left critics describing it as nothing short of the “last kick of a dying horse.”

For defenders of democracy, the move is neither late, nor inappropriate as it sends signals to the Gambia government that opposition parties have embarked on a scrutiny mission, though they refused to contest the just concluded legislative election. A move of this kind is an absolute necessity in a real democracy, as it clears deliberate mess created by the executive.

This has come in the wake of widespread fears that the Gambia’s judiciary has long since lost its independence, which raises further question as to whether the judiciary will entertain a lawsuit should the opposition seek redress in the courts. In the face of judicial interference the opposition’s chance of being heard or secured impartial judgment is slim.

President Yahya Jammeh’s call on all Gambians to grace the fund-raising gala of Social Security and Housing Finance Corporation (SSHFC) raises more questions than answers. It’s simply a desperate call to bail out SSHFC.

Formerly one of the best managed corporations in the country, SSHFC today is reported to be mired in mountains of problems, resulting to frequent firing of managers and subsequent court action against them.

Mr. Jammeh, who marked his 47^th birthday anniversary with the usual razzmatazz, urged Gambians to put away their differences to promote the investment in education, agriculture and health.

President Jammeh described the significance of the fund-raising gala, which is why “every Gambian should come out and contribute a butut to complement efforts of my administration.” Jammeh said the fund-raising gala featuring prominent Senegalese singers – Vivian Ndour, Mbaye Gaye Faye and other Gambian artists at Kairaba, Duplex Night Club and Dream Park – is aimed at help the country excel well in education, agriculture and health.

“My administration attaches great emphasis in promoting the above mentioned sectors as this are very vital in any administration’s agenda,” Jammeh brags on GRTS.

Meanwhile, Jammeh on Wednesday showered D573, 000 to St. Therese’s Youth Square, University Science Club and three Gambians to perform hajj in Israel.

The vice president Isatou Njie-Saidy, who deputized on Gambian leader, described Jammeh as a “leader who always cares for the well-being of his people.”

By Musa Saidykhan

May 3rd was yet another cold celebration for Gambian journalists who are preoccupied with fighting to get their lost freedom. It symbolizes December 16^th, a day that a resourceful hero and humanist was assassinated in cold blood.

The callous murder of Deyda Hydara – a leading newspaper editor – was an attack on press freedom and human rights, hallmarks of democracy. It was for the sake of people like Mr. Hydara that the world paused a moment to appreciate journalists for putting their lives on the firing line to spread news. This memorable day reminds us about the harsh reality of fear, censorship, threats and persecutions hanging over our colleagues back home.

It’s typical of dictatorial regimes like the one in the Gambia to hound, censor, persecute and even kill journalists to cover their dirty linen from going public. A journalist is simply a thorn in their flesh.

As processors and carriers of information, journalists are proud of not only giving voice to voiceless communities but also fighting to uphold press freedom and human rights, despite the risks involved. It’s in this regard that we take bullets for refusing to be silenced, which is tantamount to burying the truth. Cold-blooded murders of journalists across the world support this evidence. Gallant sons of ink who stood their ground, in defense of truth and justice, would be immortalized and honored; their memories and good works remain with us forever.

After 19 years of Windhoek declaration, we are delighted that barriers to press freedom are fading in most African countries, a progress worth jubilating. Sadly, our own Gambia, the home of the continental human rights commission, continues to treat journalists with scorn, suppress press and academic freedoms and even spy on citizens. It’s for these reasons why it would be foolhardy for us to celebrate our own day with peace of mind.

Censorship has damaged the very foundation of our society’s ability to observe, describe, and understand our own problems, let alone report on them. This disturbing development has wiped away our ability to detect, confront, and solve our real problems. Yet we call ourselves civilized and democratic people when yokes of government imposed restrictions and fears are dangling around our neck.

History has offered us many stories of how governments that deprive their citizens the most basic right to be heard or means to improve their own situation had perished.

Truth be told, we need a government that’s ready for a sea change in attitudes toward freedom, human rights, rule of law and justice. All it takes for the Jammeh government to win back our confidence is to investigate and prosecute Deyda Hydara’s killers, stop footballing on Chief Manneh’s disappearance, cease attacks on press and allow journalists access to information and report freely.

In case our government refuses to budge, as a society we can remedy our situation by defying its orders and start writing and speaking freely, questioning government officials in public forums and rejecting the government’s filtered news. Then we can be considered a civilized and democratic country.

IGP's bull & cock story

By Musa Saidykhan

The case of Chief Ebrima Manneh, a newspaper journalist who disappeared since July 2006, is once again on the spotlight, with the Gambia’s Inspector General of Police joining other government officials to slant the truth.

Mr. Yankuba Sonko’s assertions that Manneh has been spotted in the United States are far fetch.

“As far as we are concerned, the latest information we received from Interpol is that he was seen in America and that is it,” AFP quoted Mr. Sonko as saying.

“Interpol said he was seen in America and he entered there; the information is reliable,” he said, without providing details.

Since his arrest by secret police in the presence of his Daily Observer colleagues, a lot has been reported about the whereabouts of Chief Manneh to the extent that his survival is doubted. He was discovered in a secret government detention center before being moved to Mile II prisons. Chief was also reportedly hospitalized for hypertension.

His story is one that’s still shrouded in mystery, with government holding its lips tight. Once in a while its officials would reinvigorate their fabrication and propagation machine – all meant to cover the government’s already messy issue. It’s hard to fathom why no one in a whole government was man enough to call spade a spade,

Both President Yahya Jammeh and his former Justice Minister Edward Gomez had not done justice to Manneh’s grieving family when they raved and ranted on the issue. They simply spoke baloney, purposely to divert public attention. It is now Yankuba Sonko’s turn to add salt to the injury of Manneh’s already traumatized family. Does he share this “lead” with Chief’s aging father whose search for his arrested breadwinner son bites the dust? Please Mr. Police Chief look before you leap [think before you say]. Simply bury your cock and bull story under the carpet.

We will never introduce dictatorship in this country, how he has forgotten this pledge!!

The government of Gambia is hellbent on violating  both national and international laws on detention without trial, and therefore continues to hold detainees for more than more than 72 hours, a flagrant violation of the West African country’s constitution.

The Gambian constitution states that a person shall be informed at his or her point of arrest: 1. the name of the person arresting him or her. 2. where they are taking him to. 3. and within three hours of his or her arrest,  be informed in the language he or she understands, as to the reason(s) for his or her arrest; 4. he or she must also be brought before a court of law within 72 hours or release with or without condition. These provisions are entrenched in the Gambian constitution. The Gambia government further entered into and ratified many sub-regional and international conventions committing itself to the provisions of those conventions, which require it to respect the fundamental values of  human rights.

However, in reality the government of Yahya Jammeh has given no regards to these accords that he and his government entered into without undue influence or coercion. Since 1994; there were many cases of Gambians and other nationalities disappearing in the Gambia without trace. These quite often happens, after the victims are arrested by either the Gambian military, police or its Intelligent service unit called the NIA (National Intelligence Agency).  We hereunder recount the names of those, whose disappearance were documented by the media and other international organizations. There are many others, whose disappearance are yet to be documented or accounted for and we do not, in anyway intend to exclude or ignore or treat their disappearance as insignificance by not including them in this list.

Mr. Haruna Jammeh, from Kanilai Village and Mr. Jarsarja Kujabi from Dobong Village, were arrested on the same day mid 2005 according to their relatives. The Kujabi family said the head of their family was arrested while working at his farm in the presence of his family. They said he was taken to his home to change his farming clothes. The family said he was later taken away on a numberless vehicle.

 Madam Masireh Jammeh, {alias Marcie} also a native of Kanilai Village was said to have been arrested on 15 July 2005, at her village. The family said Marcie was desperately searching and investigating the disappearance of Haruna Jammeh and Jarsarja Kujabi when one evening she went out and never returned home. The family said they could not understand how both Haruna and Marcie could disappear like that without trace for years.

 Mr. Lamin Tunkara, a native of Kinteh Kunda- Marong Kunda, in the Central Baddibu District of North Bank Region was reportedly arrested on 25 July 2005, by a group of plain clothes security agents behind Albert Market inBanjul.  His family said he was escorted to his residence in Tallinding where a thorough search was conducted by the security agents in front of his family. The family said he was later taken away by those who arrested him and detained at the Police Headquarters in Banjul for few days before he was transferred to Kairaba Station. They said during his detention at Police Headquarters they were allowed access to him on daily basis and even when he was moved to Kairaba Station, they used to carry food and some of his needs to him. They said to their surprise, one day when they went to visit him at Kairaba Station the officers on duty told them that Lamin is no more in their custody. They said since that day they could not get any information concerning his whereabouts. They said they have tried all their efforts to trace him, but to no avail.

Alhagie Momodou Lamin Nyassi, the former District Chief of Foni Kansala, Alhagie Buba Sanyang {alias Bubaii Sanyang} and Mr. Ndongo Mboob, all natives of Bwiam Village and said to be very good friends were reportedly arrested together on 4 April 2006. Their families said the trio was arrested by the same people on board a numberless four drive pickup vehicle. They said since then they could not establish their whereabouts even though they made frantic efforts to locate them.

 Journalist Chief Ebrima Manneh, a State House correspondent and Crime Watch Columnist of Daily Observer Newspaper, was according to his colleagues and family arrested at his office at Bakau on 7 July 2006 and taken to Bakau Police Station. His father lamented his visits and approaches made to all heads of the security units to assist in searching for his son, but that his efforts bear no fruits. He said he has approached and solicited help from many prominent Gambians to help in his desperate search for his son, but none would get involve with the matter. The Media Foundation for West Africa {MFWA}, based in Accra, Ghana, filed a suit at the ECOWAS Courtin Abuja, Nigeria. According to the ECOWAS Judges, the Gambiagovernment failed to appear before the Court, even though they were served with summons of the suit for them to appear before the Court. During the course of the trial, two Gambian Journalists gave testimonies at the Court, but the Gambiagovernment did not put up any defence against the evidence adduced by the two journalists. The Court later delivered judgment in favour of the missing journalist and ordered the Gambian authorities to release him and also compensate him with an amount of US 100, 000 Dollars. The Gambia government kept mute over the matter until after eight months, when the then Justice Minister Mrs. Marie Saine Firdaus stated at the National Assembly that Journalist Manneh has never been in state custody. However, the succeeding Justice Minister, Mr Edward Gomez told Daily News, that Chief Manneh was still alive though he gave no further details.

 Mr. Kanyiba Kanyi, a resident of Bonto Village, in Kombo East District, West Coast Region and an employee of the Christian Children’s Fund [now Child Fund}, was according to his family arrested at his house on 18 September 2006, by three plain clothes agents. The family said the three men came to their home and approached Kanyiba and later forced him into a waiting taxi that whisked him away whilst they the family looked on. They explained that later on the same evening, his younger brother Wandifa Kanyi was also arrested and detained at Police Headquarters inBanjulover night, only to be released without any charge. The family said they hired the services of Lawyer Ousainou Darboe, who took the matter to the Banjul High Court for the Court to order the State to produce him, but to no avail. They said they were aware that a Court order was made for the State to release him, but the order never materialized or heeded to by the authorities. The family said now they could not tell how the matter ended at the Court.

Corporal Alfusainey Jammeh, a Prison warden and a native of Kanilai Village, who was stationed at the compound of the then Director General of Prison, Mr. David Colley, was reportedly ordered to report to Police Headquarters inBanjul. The family said upon arrival inBanjul, he called to inform them that he was detained. They said he did not tell them about the reason for arrest and subsequent detention. The family said they have established that he is currently in detention at the State Central prison in Mile II. They said they are not aware of any charges against him since his arrest in the summer of 2006. The family said they tried all means to have access to him, but the security at Mile II would not allow them.

Mr. Ebou Jarjue, a former steward at State House and a native of Darsilameh, in the Kombo Central District of West Coast region, was according to his family arrested on 20 March 2008 and detained at Police Headquarters inBanjulup to 11 January 2009, when he was released without any charges. The family said he was re-arrested a week later after he was recalled by the Police to report. They said he is currently in detention at Mile II Prison without any charges being preferred against him. The family said they could not have access to him. They added that his father passed away on 17 September 2011 and his mother also passed away on 20 February 2012.

Lance Corporal Anthony Mendy, a member of The Gambia Armed Forces and a native ofKandongouVillage, in the Foni Bintang District of West Coast Region, was reportedly arrested at his guard post at Kanilai on 8 July 2010. The family said he is being detained at Mile II Prison. They said they have hired the services of a lawyer to solicit for his release from detention by the Court. The family said though the Court granted him bail, they could not meet the conditions laid by the Court. They said the lawyer is still working on the matter.

Ex-Lance Corporal Abdoulie Sarr, is a former soldier of The Gambia Armed Forces and a native of Mbollet-Ba village in the Lower Niumi District of North Bank Region. His family said he was dismissed from the Army on 8 June 2010 and was living a private life until 14 July 2010, when he was arrested at his residence inBanjulby soldiers in full uniform with arms. The family said Sarr is currently being detained at the Mile II Prison without any charges against him. They said they engaged the services of a lawyer to seek for his release by the Court.

By Editor Bamba Mass

Fellow Gambians, both at home and abroad; on behalf of the Kibaaro News management and my humble self seize this opportunity to welcome you all to Kibaaro News. The world has entered into advanced arena of technology that Gambians too deserve their fair share.

For this reason, Kibaaro News would like join the myriads of online Gambian newspapers spread across the world with the sole purpose of informing, educating and entertaining our people in the Gambia and around the world. 

We assure you that we shall endeavor to bring you fair, impartial and balanced news that would be accurate and non speculative. As a young newspaper and radio, your comments would be our greatest strength and therefore encourage you to send your comments to our pages and email contacts. However, we advise that in writing your comments, you try as much as you can to refrain from the use of profane languages. Any profane languages will not be published.

Our editors will be reading your letters and comments and would take no offense in their contents if they are critical of us; as we believe in respecting other peoples’ views when it comes to national and international issues.

Your support and cooperation for this medium is highly solicited in order to assist us to deliver you the best service that you deserve.

Thank you.