O, what a tangled web we weave,
When first we practise to deceive!
(Sir Walter Scott)
It has always been a common principle among people with genuine political conviction that, an honest man of this world would sooner change his SEX than his political opinion. I guess people like Pap Cheyassin Ousman Secka are exempt from this adage. I am not sure whether Pap Cheyassin Secka was under the influence of "Grass 'n paper", "Sanghaal" or "Julbrew" when he predicted:
"I believe that THEY will not participate in the elections. I believe that THEY will not run. Which is one of the things I always advocated since the beginning, that you cannot be a referee and a player at the same game of soccer. The other guy will never believe in the results. So as long as they want to be the referees, they want to arbitrate the process, they cannot be part of it."
I have deliberately capitalized the word "THEY" in the first and second sentences to show how Pap Cheyassin have tried to baffle the populace. An outsider, reading this, might think that the speaker, Pap Cheyassin, had nothing to do with the people he was talking about.
Five years on, Pap Cheyassin Secka, who objected to the referees being players is himself, not only a referee and a player, but also the groundsman of the field, with ALL powers to move the goal post whenever he wants. Furthermore, he is also the enforcer of the rules of the game. He recently said "It means those who expect to enjoy the rights guaranteed in democracy must play by the democratic rules". So Pap Cheyassin Secka has, in a period of 5 years, moved from being a mere spectator to a referee, player, groundsman and law-enforcer all wrapped in one. Why Pap Cheyassin likes to talk about "the Rules" I honestly don't know, and "the Rules" he is always talking about is beyond my comprehension.
Pap Cheyassin Secka is the most "transparent" person in Yaya's government. Anyone who knows this man well can see through him. Calling him names like "opportunist, profiteer and exploiter" are mere exaltations to this man. To those who know Pap Cheyassin well, the term "Kaleidoscope" is a fitting name for him, for he changes his opinion more often than his underwear. Pap Cheyassin's agenda is an open book to those who know him. The only person in the Gambia who cannot read it now; is his boss - "The DUMBO of Kaninlai". As long as Pap Cheyassin is in Jammeh's government, he will do any-and-everything to consolidate his power base by attempting to hoodwink both his master and the public and by setting his fellow-stooges against each other. The best example I can give you now is the current reports reaching us about "Amending the Constitution". The first paragraph of the Independent, of 30th October is but a testimony to what I saying:
"The Attorney General's Chambers has been instructed by the government to study for possible amendment some provisions of the constitution that are 'inimical' to the cause of the APRC, unimpeachable sources intimated to The Independent Wednesday. 'Certain provisions that are not favourable to the APRC will soon be forwarded to the National Assembly for possible amendment,' the sources added".
Which Constitution are we talking about here? If we are talking about the APRC Constitution - Why is it to be forwarded to the National Assembly? If we are talking about THE CONSTITUTION OF THE GAMBIA - Why should it be only "favourable to the APRC" and not to all citizens of the Gambia? This, in my personal opinion, is in accordance with Pap Cheyassin's schemes. If the Constitution of the Gambia is going to be further tampered with, be rest assured, brothers and sisters, that the power of the Attorney General is going to be further increased. The amendments required to our Constitution aught to be for the benefit of ALL Gambian Citizens, regardless of any party affiliation. To those of you who are familiar with the Gambian fable of how the Hyena ("Booki") shared the meat between himself, the fox and the lion (thus in 3 portions), I need not tell you more. To those who do not know the fable, I can only tell you that the hyena ended owning all the meat. This fable is known as "Be Booki, Be Mbad Be ...... ". It is a case of the clever (the fox) the strong (the lion) and DECEPTIVE (the hyena). Another of Pap Cheyassin's manipulations that I want to draw your attention to, is the setting up of, what I consider, a bogus Commission Of Inquiry to investigate the incidents of 10th and 11th April. Most Gambians welcomed it in the hope that it will expose the people who gave the orders to shoot the children and, in heaven's name, WHY they shot at innocent, unarmed kids who just wanted to be heard?. But in real fact, the Commission was NOT given the mandate to do that. The job of the Commission is as stated in the following "judicial" directives:
The Commission is authorised to inquire into the causes of the breakdown of public order on 10th and 11th April 2000 and to
"(a) determine the extent to which any individual or group of individuals directly or indirectly contributed to it;
"(b) assess and quantify the material loss occasioned by the breakdown of public order on 10th and 11th April 2000; and
"(c) make recommendations as to how a recurrence of such a breakdown of public order can be avoided.
One does not need a Commission of Inquiry to find out the CAUSES of the breakdown of public order on 10th and 11th April 2000. Simply because the CAUSES are public knowledge. The main "Causes of the breakdown of public order on 10th and 11th of April 2000" were the brutal raping of a 13 year old girl, the torture to death of Ebrima Barry and the intransigent position of an inept and arrogant government to listen to the grievances of the students.
To be sure that he is in "the thick of the findings", Pap Cheyassin added a baffling clause:
"9. The Commission shall be assisted by Counsel appointed by the Attorney General, and such other investigating officers as it may from time to time require
"From time to time" is also a popular Wa-Banjul jargon for Inconsistency, Unreliability and Vagary. The phrase "and such other investigating officers" is purely a red-herring. The Attorney General is the highest "Investigating Officer", therefore no "such other investigating officers" could be called upon by the Commission without the Attorney General's approval.
The duration of the Commission was stipulated as follows:
"11. (1) The Commission shall complete its inquiry within five weeks of its first sitting- provided that if in the opinion of the Commission it is necessary to continue its inquiry beyond five weeks then it may request the President for an extension of time to do so.
The Commission has handed its report and according to Pap Cheyassin it will take another SIX months for his boss to read it. Children conceived on the day of the massacre would be running around by the time the perpetrators are brought to JUSTICE. It is precisely 7 months and some days since these children were massacred.And this is what Pap Cheyassin made of it - as reported by Gambianews.Com:
"Explaining the procedural situation, the Attorney-General and Secretary of State for Justice, Pap Cheyassin Secka, said that on receipt of the report of an inquiry the President is within six months to publish the report and his comments, together with a statement concerning any action taken or the reason for not taking any action. He said that in order to safeguard the rights of anyone who may be affected by the findings of a commission of inquiry, it is provided under Section 204 (1) that if a commission makes an adverse finding against any person, it shall, at the time of submitting its report to the President, inform such person of the findings and the reasons thereof. He explained that a person against whom any such adverse finding has been made may appeal against the finding to the Court of Appeal as if the finding were a judgment of the High Court. On the hearing of the appeal the report shall be treated as if it were such a judgment.
Turning point
Mr Secka said the presentation of the report marks an important turning point in the mature way the government and people of this country responded to a tragedy of unprecedented magnitude in the history of The Gambia. 'This commission, having been established about a month after the fateful days of April, and given a few delays and other minor administrative hiccups, has done extremely well to submit a report at this time,' he declared. Mr Secka asserted that the commission has enjoyed the respect, confidence and co-operation of all stakeholders, including the general public. He concluded that the ongoing consultative process between government and the people has been vindicated."
Vindicated? - my A...!!! Was it not this very Pap Cheyassin who vowed "to leave no stone unturned" to get to the bottom of what he called "a tragedy of unprecedented magnitude"? Is Yaya Jammeh so dumb as to need six months to understand the report or is the Commission so smart as to write a report that the MORON cannot understand? The question here is: Was Pap Cheyassin trying to fool us in 1995 or is he trying to fool us NOW? While we ponder on that question, shall we ask ourselves what "HYPOCRISY" really means. My personal definition of the word is: When ones public view of a given subject differs from his private view of the same subject.
I would like to draw your attention to a phrase Dr Katim Touray once used in his quest to find out why some of our "intellectuals" (including his own uncle, Cherno Touray) would go so low in their support of the killer-regime at home. The phrase was "the need to sustain their families". This phrase has helped me to understand why "some" Gambians have succumbed to the beck and call of a moron like Yahya Jammeh. "The need to sustain their families" does not and cannot apply to the likes of Dr. M.L Sedat Jobe, Dr. Sarja Taal, Tamsir Jallow and especially not to Pap Cheyassin Secka. Pap Cheyassin is not in Yaya's government "to sustain his family". Those who really have "the need to sustain their families" are those Civil Servants who told the Independent reporter that: 'We all must buy these (APRC membership) cards otherwise we may loose our positions,' Pap Cheyassin has his own agenda which, in a short time, will clash with Yaya's.
Shall we refresh our memories of Pap Cheyassin's political career for a moment? Pap Cheyassin Secka founded a political party in the mid 70's called The National Liberation Party (NLP). The NLP contested two elections in the Gambia: one local government and one General Election. The votes garnered by this party in both these elections were no more than 1500 votes. Pap Cheyassin himself, as party leader, polled a total of about 750 votes in these two elections, losing his deposits in both elections. Not being able to infiltrate the political field democratically, Pap Cheyassin was accused of involvement in Kukoi's attempt to seize power in 1981. He was then incarcerated for his alleged role and did some time at "Numba Two" and was released on compassionate grounds by feigning to be visually impaired. When Yaya Jammeh took over, Pap Cheyassin was the most vocal among the lawyers. Calling for "Rules" to be laid down.
In an interview by Cherno Baba Jallow, published in the Weekend Observer of June 23-25 1995, Pap Cheyassin appeared to be a sincere Gambian, who cared much about the country. He even dismissed the idea of forming or joining a political party. He said in the Weekend Observer:
"I have made up mind that I will neither form a political party, nor BELONG to a political party, nor offer myself as a candidate......". He said.
At the very time of this interview with the Observer, Pap Cheyassin was either the Chairman of the Banjul Executive Committee of the APRC or was campaigning to be. Furthermore he was then very active in his contributions to "Keep the July 22nd Movement on course." The "course" of that NOTORIOUS movement is not lost to any Gambian. Pap Cheyassin even told the interviewer (CBJ) that "there has been a loss of momentum and enthusiasm compared to the early days of the coup". He further said:
"I have found that people are more cautious and there is even apprehension of imminent physical danger ...... people are afraid."
And now this very Pap Cheyassin Ousman Secka is the Chief Legal Advisor of, what Dr. Amadou S. Janneh called, these Aimless People Ruining our Country. At this very interview with Chernor Baba, Pap Cheyassin also made some recommendations for effective governance that were not dissimilar to the very ones by the Gambia Bar Association (GBA), published in the Observer just a day before. Whether Pap Cheyassin was involved in writing the recommendations of the GBA or not, I cannot tell but one thing certain is that the piece was unquestionably written by an American-educated lawyer and being the first Gambian American-educated lawyer, I think he had a "finger in that pap". Pap Cheyassin's reputation among Gambian lawyers must be so low that his actions are considered "Unlawyerly". When, out of court, a lawyer says against his fellow lawyer that his actions were "UNLAWYERLY", then Hell is hanging over our heads with Pap Cheyassin Ousman Secka as our Attorney General. When decent, affable and respectable people like Ousman Sillah use these kind of words, then one has to have a close look at the Judicial system.
I am not saying that Pap Cheyassin Secka is wholly responsible for the degeneration of Justice in the Gambia, but as Attorney General, it is his duty to see to it that the Gambian Judicial System remains totally unbiased. Here are just a few of some notorious judgements that characterized our Judicial System since Yaya Jammeh came to power:
1:) "Omar A" of 20 years savagely raped a 7 (seven) year-old girl and got 6 (six) months "Concurrently" in Jail.
2:) "Omar B" stole HIS OWN father's cow and got 7 years in jail.
3:) "Omar C" stole a DUCK ("Kanara"), valued at 40 dalassi, got 3 years with hard labour in jail.
The judgements passed by the judges and magistrates in the above examples make us wonder what really is going on in our country. Rumours have it that:
"Omar A" and his father are staunch believers of Yaya Jammeh and the APRC.
"Omar B" was a die-hard opponent of Yaya Jammeh and his APRC.
"Omar C" was a foreigner.
When Pap Cheyassin Secka was hand-picked and sworn on the 24th March this year, some of us thought that he would put the Judicial System "back on track", but just about 2 weeks in office, some innocent school children were ordered to be mercilessly gunned downed. Some of us are wondering whether his legal advice was not asked for before the massacre. If not he should have resigned (in protest) on the very day of the massacre otherwise his hands are also stained with the blood of these children.
You can call me a "disciple of doom", if you wish, but honestly speaking in Pap Cheyassin we are dealing with the MOST DANGEROUS MAN in The Gambia's present government. The Gambia has put up with many inept politicians and since normality, as we know it in the Gambia, has for the past 6 years been suspended, I think the last thing we need is a spectro-politician who changes his colour whenever the situation is in his favour.
As a young man, Pap Cheyassin would look anyone in the eye and never back-up. He was never known to play the second fiddle. In short, he was a winner. I have personally known Pap Cheyassin to be the man of the people. He was always on the side of the downtrodden, the under-dogs. For such a person to accept to be the seventh or eighth in a row of Attorney Generals OF SUCH A REPULSIVE GOVERMENT, makes one suspicious of his motives, more especially when some of his predecessors were in "Diapers" when Pap Cheyassin graduated. For Pap Cheyassin to be a subordinate of Yaya Jammeh, is something very hard to understand by those who know him. It makes me shiver to think of Pap Cheyassin's ulterior motives.
Brothers and Sisters, the day is not long when Pap Cheyassin Ousman Secka and Yaya Jemus Jammeh will both place an Ace of Spade ("Assi Picca") on the table and we all know that there is only one in a deck of cards. That will be the day when we shall look from man to dog and from dog to man and from man to dog again and it will be impossible to say which is which.
The Final thing I would like to remind Pap Cheyassin of , is that well known understanding that: "Noboo Noboo Nanjoo". So watch it, you can run as hard as you can but you can never hide, for the honest and patriotic people of Sami have started the writing on the WALL.
Prince Beola Coker
a.k.a. Last Raki Obrien, Raki Ola and Raki Oseh Coker - your stubborn Aku boy.
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