This is another classic illustration of the lawlessness that has plagued our
society since 1994 when Yaya and a band of bandits illegally usurped power
from a democratically elected government. From the onset, it was Yaya's and
Pap Cheyassin Secka's plan to ensure that justice is NOT done in the Ebrima
Barry case. Their sick rationale for this heinous decision: if the courts do
not convict the alleged perpetrators of the torture and murder of Ebrima
Barry, that would show the world that the students were not justified in
their demonstrations on April 10 and 11, 2000. Yaya and his illegal
government want to portray the students as unruly people that were
unjustifiably going after the heads of 'innocent' firemen that were merely
helping to 'discipline' a rude Ebrima Barry. Well, Gambians are decent
enough and smart enough to decipher the truth in this case. In the minds of
ordinary Gambians, there is absolutely no doubt that Ebrima Barry was
tortured and brutally murdered by those firemen.

The spineless judge that adjudicated this matter might cling on legal
technicality like 'reasonable doubt', but the decent Gambians do not have
doubts. We know a conspiracy when we see one. Granted, the prosecutor that
was hand-picked by Cheyassin Secka to implement this despicable plan did an
appalling job (as far as the people's case is concerned), but as I
demonstrated in previous mail regarding this topic, the judge had enough to
hang his gown on had he had the guts to do what is right and convict these
animals. But the judge, knowing the fate that befalls on members of the
judiciary that do not toe the government's line, decided to dodge the bullet
and took cover behind the blatant ineptitude of Secka's prosecutor. Let no
one be surprised if it later turns out that the judge cleared this decision
with Joseph Joof before handing it out. In other words, it should not be
shocking to us if someone with integrity comes out and tell us that Joof
told the judge in no uncertain terms that if these murderers were not
rendered free, the judge will be gotten rid of. This is what happens behind
closed doors between a dictatorship like the one we have and a spineless
judiciary manned mainly by foreigners. I honestly do not think that a
Gambian judge would have treated Ebrima Barry's family with the
insensitivity this foreign judge and prosecutor treated Barry's father. This
is not xenophobia. I am merely stating facts.

At the risk of repeating myself, I shall endeavor to demonstrate again how
the judge could have salvaged this case if his heart was in the right place.
The reprehensible job the prosecution and his witnesses did, goes without
saying. This prosecutor either has to be the dumbest lawyer on the face of
the earth or the most corrupt one. I mean, what kind of prosecutor will call
witnesses like Dr. Sam, have them sabotage your case and not call other
witnesses to revive your case? If this man was a good lawyer, he will change
the theory of his case as soon as it became obvious to him that the
pathologist wanted to come to court and lie about the cause of death.

When the prosecutor realized that Sam et al were going to introduce this
ridiculous liver disease as the cause of death, the prosecutor should have
shifted to a tactic that said that even though hepatitis might have played a
part, the firemen aggravated an already existing ailment and therefore are
equally guilty of the murder. The prosecutor should have applied the 'egg
skull rule' that says that the criminal should take his victim as he finds
him. In other words, even if the criminal's blows will not kill a healthy
individual, if they killed the victim because of a pre-existing ailment, the
criminal will still be guilty. This is not Monday morning quarter-backing on
my part. Months ago, this moron of a prosecutor was warned about the
despicable way he was handling this case.

This man single-handedly did the defense's work for them. He called
witnesses that told the judge that the firemen were not guilty because
Ebrima Barry died from hepatitis. I can hear the moron arguing that he was
ethically bound to call witnesses even though those witnesses might end up
giving testimony unfavorable to his case. I recognize that ethical
obligation. But that is not what we are dealing with here. Avan (or whatever
the prosecutor's name is), had no obligation to call witnesses like Sam that
would come to court and tell blatant lies. But even if he is stupid enough
to call bogus doctors like Sam that have no professional integrity, why in
God's name did Avan not get another pathologist that can rehabilitate Sam's
clearly unfavorable testimony? Sam should have been grilled by the
prosecutor long before Sam took the witness stand. At the end of the day,
Sam should have been asked to explain how on earth Ebrima could have been
suffering from a terminal disease to the extent that he would die from that
disease without the knowledge of his family and friends? How can someone
with this type of disease be so intimidating to his teachers that the latter
have to solicit the assistance of firemen in order to discipline him? This
is why you bring in the 'rehabilitation witness'. Avan should have gotten a
real doctor that would educate the judge about the symptoms of hepatitis.
That would have contradicted Sam's clearly ridiculous conclusions that
Ebrima was at the brink of death from hepatitis when he encountered the
firemen. Sam's version might be the way medicine is practiced in Cuba, but
we should not allow such ineptitude/corruption in Gambia.

But even if we accept Sam's testimony in its entirety and even if there was
no rehabilitation witness, Avan could have given a powerful closing argument
from the little evidence he had and the judge could have also convicted
these criminals. What did Avan have? There was testimony that Ebrima was
visibly healthy when he was kidnapped by the firemen. I did not see anywhere
that prior to this incident, Ebrima was diagnosed with a terminal liver
disease. According to reports I saw, this ridiculous notion only surfaced
after Sam mustered the courage to come to court and lie about the cause of
death. As a matter of fact, the government is on record denying that liver
failure was the cause of death. When the government realized that very few
people were watching them, they summoned the guts to come and peddle this
lie. Going back to Avan's case, he also have Ebrima's parents' testimony
that Ebrima only complained about his ailments when he got back from the
firemen. Avan also had a dead body. At the very least, this man should have
been able to argue that the firemen 'contributed' to Ebrima's death. If it
is too much to ask for the prosecutor to prove that the torture from the
firemen was the sole cause of death, it is certainly not too much to ask of
this 'special prosecutor' to show that the firemen had something to do with
the death. This is disgusting. I just cannot believe the magnitude of
lawlessness being evinced here. This was an open and shut case.

As demonstrated above, if the judge had any integrity, he would not rely on
fluid technicalities as 'reasonable doubt' in order to deny justice to the
Gambian people. The judge could have assisted the people's case by directing
Avan to the strong points of his case. Judges do that every day. Good judges
do not sit by and watch morons sabotage cases as vital as this one. When it
suits the judges in The Gambia, they assist AG chambers by adjourning cases
if the cowards at AG chambers fail to show up for their cases. When the
lives of people like Ousainou Darboe and Dumo Saho is on the line, these
judges will do everything to assist the AG chambers to prove their case
against Darboe et al. But when it comes to standing up for defenseless
Gambian children, these judges hide behind the ineptitude of those bogus and
corrupt lawyers at AG chambers. That is unacceptable.

There was enough evidence on that record to ensure that these criminals were
convicted. How can one thoroughly examine the issue of 'causation' in this
case and not ascribe blame to the firemen? Forget the reports from
despicable characters like Sam. Common sense tells us that Barry's short
stay with the firemen was the primary cause of his death. If he was as sick
as Sam wants us to believe, there would be no need for the school officials
to call the firemen on him. The Head-master could have simply shouted at
Barry and the latter will die from hepatitis. It is at the height of
gullibility to accept Sam's theory of this case. This is like saying that
Barry died in his sleep. If Sam was in a civilized law-abiding society, his
license will be revoked together with the license of that silly prosecutor.
What pathologist and prosecutor cannot prove that the torture from the
firemen aggravated Barry's ailments (if at all those ailments existed)?

This conspiracy between Yaya, AG chambers, RVH, and the judge ought to be
challenged head on. We have to vindicate our children that died on April 10
and 11, 2000, fighting for Ebrima Barry and all of us. We should not accept
this injustice without protest. They do not expect us to. We should not
disappoint them. The Opposition should mobilize and demand justice for
Ebrima Barry and the countless innocent children murdered by this callous
regime. The reason Yaya and his cohorts had earlier on lied about the
contents of Sam's report, was because they feared reprisals from the people.
Let us show them that it is not acceptable for the security forces to
torture and murder innocent children and get away with it. What happened to
Ebrima Barry can happen to any child in The Gambia. We would be sending Yaya
and the world the wrong message if we tolerate the murder of one single
child at the hands of forces that should be protecting those children.
KB

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