IT IS BUNGLING NIGERIAN MERCENARY LAWYERS WHO ARE DAMAGING THE
GAMBIA AT ICSID NOT VENERABLE LAWYER DARBORE  -
Nfally Kebbeh ,Open Justice in Gambia

In 2005, Gambia lost to Alimenta groundnut company $12 million in a
bungle tussle (Ref ICSID Case No. ARB/99/5); now
it is likely to lose more to Carnegie Minerals, thanks to the advice
of amateurish Nigerian mercenary so-called lawyers.
The presence of these dishonest bunch of deceitful Nigerian and
Cameroonian lawyers in the Gambia is as a curse to
the nation as it can be imagined. It is surely a blight on the
conscience of the governments and regulatory bodies in their
home countries. It is a disgrace that it is allowed to happen at all.
With questionable qualifications and dubious pasts, they were nobody
in their home-lands.  But they saw Gambia as a
fragile semi-failed state with a jumpy regime that is deluded to the
core and running from its own shadow with utter
arrogance.

So they came, in droves, to take advantage of the situation in the
Gambia in order to corruptly enrich themselves at the
expense of common sense, justice and fairness.
They sold their conscience, if they have any; abused and betrayed the
noble profession of law and, shamefully, they
send innocent Gambians to prison after presiding over kangaroo courts
that are nothing short of inquisitions.
But these so-called lawyers of Jammeh cannot even advise him on simple
contract on international investment law. The
on-going case of Carnegie Minerals Gambia Ltd v The Republic of the
Gambia before the International Centre for
Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) Case Ref No. ARB/09/19, in
New York and London is a shocking testimony of
this.

The current Director of Civil Litigation and International Law (of
course another Nigerian hustler), at the Ministry of
Justice, is scandalously hopeless. Instead of engaging with real legal
issues and deliver for the country, this incompetent
clown is notorious, just like the rest of the lot, for his sexual
indiscretion and working hand-in-hand with the NIA, going
round at international Human Rights conferences, intimidating Gambian
delegates for trying to speak about the true
state of abuses of rights in the country. Then when it is his turn to
speak for the country, he unbelievably goes on telling
tasteless jokes about his tribe, Tives, in southwest Nigeria.

With these incompetent Nigerian scroungers, Jammeh’s regime is
attempting to mount a meritless defense to Carnegie’s
claim of breach of contract in international investment context.
Carnegie’s team of lawyers includes the venerable
Lawyer Darbore who, contrary to Jammeh’s rants, is entitled to
represent anyone within the laws of the Gambia.
Here in the Gambia, it will be recalled that the so-called Director of
Special Litigation, another ineffectual Nigerian legal
joke, D.O Kulo, who has been apparently disciplined and banned from
practicing law in Nigeria, closed the regime’s
criminal case against Carnegie on Friday 9th March. So we should not
be surprised when the expected judgment comes
in favour of Jammeh regime. No doubt the trial judge, Justice Nkea, in
a bid to further endear himself to the regime, will
come down heavy on Carnegie Minerals in a meaningless judgment. The
fact of the matter is that the regime has no
case with any prospects of succeeding. Their evidence will not stand
the test of proper judicial scrutiny before ICSID.
Apparently, they know or ought to have realized this, but no one could
conceivably advise the erratic self-imposed
president, who in his vegetative state of ego and delusion, could not
imagine that another person can be right against
him.

That the Gambian regime is mounting a meritless defense to Carnegie’s
claim, is evident in their unproductive delaying
tactics before ICSID. The background to the case is so simple that any
serious A ‘Level law student would tell you that
the regime has, as usual, mucked-up.
In 2008, the erstwhile ill-advised Secretary of State for Foreign
Affairs, Crispin Grey-Jonson, called a press conference
(at Atlantic Hotel), to which virtually all the diplomats in The
Gambia were invited. He frantically stated the Gambia
government's view that Carnegie Minerals had engaged in criminal
deception against the people and government of
The Gambia. The company allegedly had license to mine certain minerals
whereas in fact it was, again allegedly, mining
many others without telling the regime. They claimed to have proof of
this in a form of independent laboratory test
results. The claimed loss to the country was $8 million.
On the contrary, Carnegie Minerals’ position was that it was operating
within the terms of its contract with the regime.
Nevertheless, they complied with and promised to continue to do so
(rightly so in our view), with orders to stop
operations until the dispute is resolved.

The then British High Commissioner, Phill Simkinson, who obviously had
an interest in the fate of the detained British
Managing Director of Carnegie, inquired if the regime’s laboratory
results would be made public. Even though the
cantankerous minister promised to do this, it has not been done; at
least not in the Gambia.
Knowing that it is pointless to pursue the case in the Gambian legal
system because the despotic president's
unrestrained influence over the mercenary Nigerian judges would
guarantee success, Carnegie took their complaint to
ICSID. This, unfortunately, is going to cost poor Gambia a lot of
money and resources than they supposed to have lost.
It is reminiscent of the case against the groundnut company Alimenta
which was settled out of court (in Alimenta’s
favour) with a whopping $12 million.

Carnegie’s case began in October 2009.  On 30 August, 2010, Jammeh
filed a proposal for disqualification of an
arbitrator; the proceeding was suspended. After many hopeless filings
and counter-filings, on 27 November 2010, the
Court issued Procedural Order rejecting Gambia’s disqualification bid
and the case moved on to the next stage.
The new inept Solicitor General, Pa Harry Jammeh, with his team of
bungling Nigerian lawyers continues with fatalistic
approach to the case since. On 5th September 2011, after several
hopeless filings by the Gambia, Carnegie filed a
counter-memorial on the merits and a memorial on jurisdiction
previously filed by Jammeh regime.
It was argued on behalf of Jammeh (not the Gambia as he is not
representing us) that the International arbitration
Tribunal had no jurisdiction to adjudicate on the case. Alternatively,
Jammeh’s lawyers argued that the claim is
“manifestly without legal merit” and asked the tribunal to summarily
dismiss it for being patently frivolous claim. So
between 22 February and 2nd March 2012 The Tribunal held a hearing on
jurisdiction and merits in London. But these
arguments were roundedly rejected by the Tribunal and the case continues.

It is set to proceed with substantial costs as Jammeh regime, in
addition to ferrying Pa Harry and his team not-having-a-
clue lawyers between the Gambian and London/New York, has hired an
expensive firm of lawyers called Mayer Brown
Rowe & Maw, Paris, France. Carnegie Minerals are being represented by
Barlow Lyde & Gilbert, London, UK.

Should the Gambia lose which is almost certain to happen, it will be
faced with legal bills of Carnegie in addition to its
own legal costs. These can run into tens of millions of dollars which
will be desperately needed to feed the hunger-
stricken Gambia.

All of these will be due to the bungling legal advice of Jammeh’s lawyers.

Nfally Kebbeh
Open Justice in Gambia
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