Mr. Jeng, you are quite right that Joseph Joof should be made to feel that
he is entering the 'Lion's Den' if and when he shows up. He must not be
allowed to defend the indefensible. This despicable man did not just provide
the 'get-away car' as you rightly described, but we must also remember his
participation in that bogus commission of inquiry that was looking into the
murder of our children. This man single-handedly pulled a palace coup on Pap
Cheyassin Secka (suits the vermin if you ask me). Thanks to Joof, Secka is
now a recluse that does not dare venture the streets of Banjul (because of
shame). I have spoken to various Gambians since his demise. I only hear the
same thing: 'I have not seen Secka for a while. The only time I saw him
(since his disgrace from office), was when I saw him at a funeral.' They all
cite the same funeral. And they tell me that no one was talking to the
vermin at the funeral. Everyone hates him.

But coming back to Joof and his trip and his participation in the
lawlessness in our country. He used his position as president of the Bar
Association to get appointed to the toothless commission of inquiry. He knew
all along that the commission did not have powers to punish criminals, yet
he went along with this charade. Never said a bad word about the commission.
Never condemned the government about the slaughter of defenseless school
children, despite his position as president of the Bar Association. His
culpability does not stop there. He sat by and watched people like Ousman
Badjie go to the commission and told blatant lies with impunity. He watched
as the government destroyed the evidence against the perpetrators of this
heinous massacre. He collaborated with the Chief Justice to hoodwink the lay
members of the commission to write a report that NEVER told us who gave the
ORDERS to slaughter our children in cold-blood. Instead they blamed our
children for burning down Gamtel installations. The man did not even move
one inch to fight for his sister-in-law (Hawa Sisay) whose husband was one
of the victims of this atrocity. Matter of fact, I understand that Joof no
longer talks to Sisay.

After the despicable commission report was out and we roundly condemned it,
Secka et al panicked. They wanted to blame the commission but could not do
so because if you look at the report thoroughly, you will realize that the
commission was doing Yaya a favor. Yaya was not implicated anywhere. But
Secka was unhappy that some lowly security personnel were singled out for
blame. True to his diabolical nature, Secka wanted Yaya to punish the
commission (especially the Chief Justice) and the Coroner (Ousman Jammeh)
that were directly under his purview. Secka underestimated the slimy nature
of characters like Ousman Jammeh and Joseph Joof. The latter made sure that
Yaya realized in no uncertain terms that he (Yaya) did NOT feature anywhere
in the picture. They also assured Yaya that if he was upset about the
treatment of HIS murderers HE unleashed on our defenseless children, Joof
was capable of 'insulating' those murderers too. Just like he 'insulated'
Yaya in the commission report. How did Joof deliver his promise? The
Indemnity Decree. The man screwed us twice. First with the commission report
and secondly with the Indemnity Decree.

But he did not stop there. He single-handedly helped Yaya to defy the
Commonwealth and the wishes of the Gambian people and NOT repeal Decree 89.
Joof is on record with such undemocratic and 'un-lawyerly' statements to the
effect that, Ex-PPP politicians will NEVER be allowed to participate in
elections in the country again. According to Joof, those people (including
his father-in-law, Sherrif Sisay if he was still alive) had their chance and
they blew it because of their corruption during the former regime. Is this
man well? Who is more corrupt than Yaya? If corruption disqualifies people
from contesting elections in Gambia, then what is this vermin doing working
for Yaya? Joof has to be grilled on the repeal of Decree 89 and the
government White 'Toilet' Paper that seeks to ban popular politicians that
can win APRC in an election. Joof has to reconcile the banning of people
like Sherrif Dibba, Assan Musa Camara, OJ et al with the participation of
characters like Buba Baldeh and Nafa Saho in our national elections.

Joof also have to address the plight of political prisoners (like Dumo) in
the country. We need him to explain why Dumo et al are still languishing in
jail without court trial. The dismissal of magistrates willy-nilly should be
explained. The latest dismissal coming in the aftermath of the Baddibu
by-election when a magistrate freed UDP supporters that were illegally
incarcerated for entering into a fight with APRC supporters.

Joof need to explain how his inept lawyers lost the Ebrima Barry case. How
can a Gambian schoolboy be tortured and brutally murdered by firemen in
broad daylight and then those firemen are rendered scot-free by our courts?
How can our illegal government still justify hanging murder charges over the
heads of the UDP leadership? What are the courts doing about the illegal
firing of Johnson and Fatty from the IEC and the unlawful appointment of
Roberts? The lawlessness in the country goes on. As we proceed to the ALD
date, we should think about more things to ask this man.

We must not also forget that Joof helped manipulate our Constitution to give
Yaya the power to appoint and fire Chiefs. This is all a ploy to win
elections in October 2001 and January 2002. Joof knows that. He willingly
overrides what Famara Jatta promised our development partners about
decentralizing Local Government just because he wants to perpetuate Yaya. He
has to explain why it makes sense to Famara Jatta that we must decentralize
when he is going around centralizing power in none other than the moron at
the helm of their illegal government.

Laws on Press freedom should also be revisited with Joof. Divisive laws
declaring Gambia a Secular State should also be examined. Did we need that
to spelt out when we were all living harmoniously as one people? Does he
have an agenda to pit muslims against their christian brothers and sisters?

In short, Jeng, this man ought to be ashamed of himself. He ought to be
ashamed to call himself a lawyer if all he does is help criminals get away
with murder and perpetuate a child murderer to rule us. He ought to be
ashamed to face Gambians that know that he will abandon his family and
mortgage his Soul to the Devil for what: a lousy job that cannot even pay
his bills if he does not steal from government coffers. This man is a
disgrace.

Jeng, thanks again for your invaluable contributions.
KB



>From: Lamin Jeng <[log in to unmask]>
>Reply-To: The Gambia and related-issues mailing list
><[log in to unmask]>
>To: [log in to unmask]
>Subject: Re: ALD Breaking News
>Date: Thu, 24 May 2001 11:30:52 -0400
>
>While it would be undemocratic to not allow the APRC representatives  to
>present their side in during the ALD symposium, I would urge all who can
>make it to turn out in full force to confront the SOS for Justice and his
>entourage about the murder of our children and the subsequent
>indemnification of the perpetrators.  Remember, the SOS for Justice is the
>architect of the Indemnity Bill.  They committed the crime and he provided
>the getaway car.  Let them know of our abhorrence for this brutal and
>corrupt regime.
>
>Lamin Jeng
>
>
>>From: Jabou Joh <[log in to unmask]>
>>Reply-To: The Gambia and related-issues mailing list
>><[log in to unmask]>
>>To: [log in to unmask]
>>Subject: Re: ALD Breaking News
>>Date: Wed, 23 May 2001 19:06:58 EDT
>>
>>This certainly is interesting. Let us hope that they will not be spinning
>>the
>>same old yarn, but I am sure I can safely say that I will eat my hat if
>>anything turns out to be different.
>>
>>Jabou Joh
>>
>>In a message dated 5/23/2001 1:43:33 PM Central Daylight Time,
>>[log in to unmask] writes:
>>
>>APRC have confirmed their participation in the ALD symposium. The
>>delegation
>>arriving in the US tomorrow includes the following:
>>
>>  1. Hon Joseph Joof, Secretary of State for Justice and      Attorney
>>General
>>
>>  2. Hon. Tombong Jatta, National Assembly Member
>>
>>  3. Mr. Modou Mustapha Njie, Administrative Secretary
>>
>>  We are looking forward to a very civil and informative discussion. See
>>you
>>in few days.
>>
>>  James Gomez, Jr.
>>  ALD Conference Coordinator >>
>>
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