Now that Joseph Joof has been sworn in as the seventh Attorney General
(eighth if you add Amie Bensouda's acting capacity in that position), he has
a daunting task ahead of him. He inherits a justice system that is in total
chaos thanks to the dismemberment it went through during Pap Cheyassin
Secka's tenure. Does Joof have the wherewithal to turn things around for the
betterment of the ordinary Gambian?

I first encountered Joseph Joof when he was the 'Head-Boy' at the Gambia
High School in the late 70s, early 80s. Ironically, the 'Head-Girl' at the
time was Fatou Bom Bensouda (one of the AGs Yaya already fired). When Joseph
Joof finished high school, there was already an unwritten government policy
that stated, inter alia, government will not support the sponsorship of any
Gambian student that wanted to study law in the United Kingdom. The
reasoning behind this government policy was, 'there was a high turn-over
rate at the Attorney General Chambers.' Let me hasten here to add that I
think this was a bad policy. The only reason I am bringing this up is to
illustrate how Joseph Joof was given a special treatment by the Jawara
regime, thanks to the influence of people like Wallace Grante. While his
colleagues (some with better A'Level results) were hoist to other African
countries to study law (e.g. Fatou Bensouda went to Nigeria) and others were
forced to pursue other careers because of this repugnant government policy,
Joseph was given a full scholarship to go to Britain and study law.

When Joof returned to the country (I believe in the mid 80s), he shun the
very government (people) that gave him the special treatment and his legal
education. If he worked for the government at all, he spent there less than
a year. On the other hand, people like Fatou Bensouda spent their entire
careers with the government until they were fired by Yaya.

I do not fault Joof for going to private practice to seek greener pastures.
But I must point out the hypocrisy Joof is now engaged in now. This was a
man who was bonded to repay the people of The Gambia the loan he was given
to achieve his dream to become a lawyer. When he was called to duty as a
young and dynamic lawyer, he walked away from the Gambian people. Where was
his desire 'to serve his nation' at that time? Forget the civic duty aspects
here. This man owed us (the taxpayers). The British Council scholarship that
was given to him could have gone to a doctor we could use at RVH or to an
agronomist or a lawyer that will stay at AG's Chambers. Apart from running
away from his call for duty, Joof also helped legitimize the ridiculous
reasoning of our policy-makers vis-a-vis sponsoring people to go to UK to
study law. Even Hawa Ceesay (also another AG fired by Yaya and Joof's
sister-in-law), whose father was once a cabinet member in the Jawara regime,
had to go to a Third World country to study law. In short, thanks to Joof,
government became more adamant in its decision not to 'waste' scholarships
on students wanting to study law in Britain. I am giving this background to
illustrate the point that I do not believe Joof when he tells me that he
accepted the post because he wants to serve the nation as a good citizen. I
also want to debunk any story Joof might tell when he (like all Yaya
cronies) want to play 'a Jawara victim'. This man got things daughters of
cabinet members could not get. He had the opportunity the past fifteen
years, and decided to walk away from us and fend for himself and his
immediate family. Joof never repaid the loan he owed us.

Joof's career in the private Bar cannot be described as an outstanding
success. He is by no means in the caliber of Ousman Sillah, Ousainou Darboe,
Antouman Gaye and Ida Drammeh, to name a few. On the surface, Joof might
appear to be wealthy in Gambian parlance. But if you scratch that surface a
little, the ugly realities of Gambian society rears its ugly head. In
fairness, I have to say that Joof used his 'Aku' connections to get a lot of
legitimate business. But Gambia is such that there is not much clean money
floating around. Joof, being the self-promoter he is, had to push the
envelop in order to ride in a Mercedes Benz like some of the elite of his
time. If I were convinced that the government that is now going to employ
Joof is a legitimate government that will not tolerate certain scandalous
behavior, I will narrate here some dubious deals Joof was involved in with
some of his clients that were under Interpol investigations. I would explain
to you how Joof got his first Mercedes Benz. But knowing that the most
corrupt Gambian is at the helm of this government; Knowing that we have
murderers leading our government, I will spare Joof from the agony.

As I opined in previous mailings, Joof qua president of the Bar Association,
sat by as AG upon AG trampled on the rights of ordinary Gambians. As a
matter of fact, he partook in the worst denial of justice that has ever
taken place in the country. He sat in a Commission of Inquiry that could not
punish the perpetrators of the most heinous crime that has visited our
country. Where was Joof when the soldiers stole power from a
constitutionally elected government? Where was Joof and his sense of duty
when this illegal government formed kangaroo courts and started seizing
people's properties they worked for even before Yaya was born? Where was
Joof when Fafa Mbye was helping Yaya to pass all those draconian decrees?
Where was Joof when Mustapha Marong was appointed AG in clear contravention
of the laws of The Gambia? Where was Joof and his sense of duty when his
colleagues were ambushed by Yaya thugs? Joof will not be able to point to
one single occasion he has stood up against the rampant human rights abuses
going on in the country. People like Emmanuel Joof that were still in High
School when Joof was already a lawyer, can point to all sorts of things they
have done to safeguard people's human rights in the country. And may I add
that Emmanuel never got a government scholarship to pay for his legal
education in Britain. His father worked hard for the United Nations to
educate his children. Joseph Joof prefers to be below the radar screens when
it comes to standing up for our people. But when it comes to empty titles
like the president of the Bar Association, he will connive and back-stab to
become visible. He would not be a young and dynamic prosecutor, but he will
happily be an AG. What utter hypocrisy?

I received a private mail from a friend of mine back home that used to look
up to Joof. Reading the mail, one can tell that it was from a very wounded
person. He lamented that he could not understand why Joof will accept such a
position, at this crucial period, knowing all he (Joof) knows about the
pathetic way Yaya is running the country. I consoled my friend and told him
certain things about Joof that I did not tell him before and I will not
repeat here. At the end of the day, my friend realized that the Joseph Joof
I know, is not the devout Christian and honest and smart person he thought
Joof was. I am narrating this encounter to show people like Joseph Joof that
they hurt many a young people by their ill-advised and selfish actions.
Actions he (Joof) cannot even justify, as shown by his brief acceptance
speech at the swearing-in ceremony.

Lofty words were spoken at the ceremony. There was incoherent mumbo jumbo
from Yaya, trying to make sense of what Independence of the Judiciary and
Separation of Power means. Needless to say, Yaya does not even begin to
understand what these two maxims stand for. In the Gambian context, the
former essentially means that the executive (Yaya and his AG) should refrain
from the dismemberment of the judiciary they are engaged in. There has to be
checks and balances to ensure that judges are not arbitrarily fired by Yaya
and Joseph Joof or intimidated by government thugs. Can we count on the duo
to stop meddling with the judiciary? Absolutely not. Why? Because Yaya and
his cohorts are fond of taking legally indefensible positions. The
overwhelming majority of the actions of this illegitimate government are
illegal. This government breaks the law every day. Case in point is the
unlawful incarceration of Dumo et al. The best legal minds in this world
cannot defend the actions of this government. Joseph Joof certainly cannot
defend some of the actions of this government. So, what happens if they
break the law. The courts rule against them. Being the dictators they are,
Yaya and his cohorts cannot handle people telling them that they are wrong.
When they commit crimes and the courts say so, they take the law into their
own hands and fire the judges and the magistrates. The reason we have such a
huge turn-over of AGs is no accident. The AGs we have had do not have the
wherewithal or the guts to straighten Yaya out. They do all they can to
assist in Yaya's illegal enterprises, but there always comes a point where
they simply cannot deliver to the Devil. He then turns around and fires
them. So at the end of the day, the AG will be in between a rock and a hard
place. The AG, by participating in some of Yaya's illegal enterprises, would
have alienated the Gambian people. At the same time, the AG will also
eventually fall out of favor with Yaya because he/she (the AG) will be
unable to satisfy Yaya's gigantic appetite for criminal behavior. This is
the most difficult job in Yaya's cabinet. The actions of the AG can always
be put under a microscope in the courts or other forums. Other cabinet
members are not under that type of scrutiny. Needless to say that one does
not have to look too closely at the actions of this government to find some
criminal aspect.

We cannot rely on Joseph Joof to put an end to this circle. We cannot rely
on Joseph Joof to tell Yaya that it is the right (and the legal) thing to do
to prosecute Baboucarr Jatta, Ousman Badgie, Sankung Badgie, Baba Jobe,
Isatou Njie-Saidy and numerous others for the murder of our children. Do
people seriously think that Joseph Joof is going to go behind Baba Jobe's
and Amadou Samba's back and alert Yaya of dubious deals Jobe and Samba want
to put Gambia into? If a case like the Alimenta fiasco surfaces or the case
that is currently brewing at NAWEC, Joof will do what he is good at and fly
below the radar screen. Like AGs of the past, he will not give correct legal
advise at the onset because he is afraid to step on toes of thugs like Baba
Jobe and Amadou Samba. They will all wait until it costs the taxpayers
millions of dollars (opportunity cost) and then take the blame for Yaya and
Baba Jobe and Amadou Samba. These lawyers have no guts and some of them are
worse than Yaya in terms of the damage they are doing to the country.

Can we rely on Joof to do what is right and drop the bogus charges against
Dumo et al? Not if Yaya is against the idea. Can we rely on Joof to drop the
bogus murder charges against Ousainou Darboe et al? Can we rely on Joof to
prosecute and convict the thugs that were responsible for the Radio FM arson
attack and attempted murder of the proprietor? Can we count on Joof to tell
Yaya that the dismissal of the IEC Commissioners was unlawful? Would Joof
prevent the passing of the proposed undemocratic constitutional amendments
that are aimed at centralizing more power in Yaya? In short, can we rely on
Joof to stand up for the defenseless Gambians against the tyranny Yaya
visits on us on a daily basis?

The future seems bleak if we go by Joof's record of inaction as president of
the Bar Association. The future also does not look good if we take into
consideration that even after Secka was replaced as AG, the government is
still insisting that no one will be punished for the massacre of our
children. I wonder how Joof feels to be sitting at the same table with
cabinet members his commission found were murderers.

As we can see, Joof has an insurmountable task ahead of him. He can start by
lecturing Yaya on the meaning of Separation of Powers and the concept of
Checks and balances. After that, Joof has to embark on the serious task of
undoing some of the glaring illegalities this government is engaged in.
Something has to be done, forthwith, about the murderers of our children and
the political prisoners that are unlawfully incarcerated.

Finally, I would like to tell people that looked up to Joof not to be
demoralized by Joof's despicable decision. The fight we are engaged in is
worth fighting. The truth will always prevail. Joof will also be sacked
pretty soon because like previous AGs, he also cannot defend the
indefensible. There are many Joseph Joofs in The Gambia of today. But their
actions should not discourage the good people that are fighting for a Gambia
free from tyranny.
KB

_________________________________________________________________
Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L
Web interface at: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/gambia-l.html
You may also send subscription requests to [log in to unmask]
if you have problems accessing the web interface and remember to write your full name and e-mail address.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------