We can continue to
blame others like Nigerian lawyers for our problem, i.e. Yaya or face
the devil himself, and tell him to stop dragging Gambias name into 
courts all over the world for breach of contracts. Yaya has been using 
thuggery to obtain what ever he
wants but that buck stops with foreign corporations. From Alimenta,
Carnegie to Gamtel's Lebanese owners. Yaya needs no legal advice to
sell our parastatals and natural resources at knock down prices, with
draw backs and then turn up and tear the contract unilaterally. He is
blaming Darboe for representing these firms now. Whether Darboe, an
opposition leader should accept that is another consideration but
Darboe and all opposition leaders should have  been seen trying
to get a seat in the National Assembly, by the way, to be seen as 
serious
contenders and politicians. 




> Date: Wed, 28 Mar 2012 19:25:43 +0100
> From: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: [G_L] Yahya Jammeh's $8 Million, he wants it back. But Nfally explains
> To: [log in to unmask]
> 
> 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
> [log in to unmask]
> 
> 
> 
> -- 
> www.suntoumana.blogspot.com
> 
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