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"Our First Priority would be to Restore Gambia's Lost Image" Says Lawyer Darboe in an Exclusive Interview with Gainako.

					


Lawyer
Ousainou Darboe is the leader of the United Democratic Party (UDP.) In
his exclusive interview with Gainako’s Editor and political analyst Mr.
Demba Baldeh, the renowned Gambian lawyer, Mr. Darboe talked about
matters affecting Gambians at home, ranging from farming, to human
rights and the Gambian Justice system.  Without much delay, we now present the exclusive interview with Mr. Darboe.  



Gainako: Mr. Darboe
welcome to Gainako online newspaper and thanks for granting us this
interview. During this interview we would like to cover different
topics that are a little bit different from what others have covered. 
We already know a lot about the horrible things that are going on in
the Gambia so instead of dwelling on those things we want to talk about
the alternatives to what is going on. 

First of all you
left the Gambia in the middle of the rainy season, an often difficult
time for Gambians, how has this year’s rainy season been going for
Gambian farmers? 

Mr.
Darboe: The rainy season has been good so far, but there were
destructions in some parts of the Gambia. There are reports of some
destructions due to heavy rain in North Bank and other areas. However,
the farmers are optimistic of a bumper harvest this year. 

GON: Are you optimistic of a good harvest across the country or what have you heard from the farmers?  

Darboe:
What we heard from the farmers is that rains have been good, but things
like fertilizer did not come on time and their prices are not
affordable either. There have been some deviations in the agricultural
sector in the Gambia and the framers have been neglected for far too
long.  There are no markets for their produce in the last several
years.  

GON: It is also the
month of Ramadan in the Gambia, how do you think Gambians are fairing
during this month of fasting? How difficult has it been for them in
terms of prices of commodities and availabilities? 

Darboe:
The problem of the Gambia is not confined to the month of Ramadan
alone. Living is a struggle in the Gambia. Roughly 85% of Gambians
depend on their people in the West. They are the people who are
sustaining their families and they put food on the table. It is not
just the month of Ramadan but also every other month around the year.  

Traders
hike their prices during this difficult time, which is not excusable. 
The exchange rate of CFA is high, the cost of duties and other taxes
are high so they belief it is justified for them to raise cost of
goods. This is the month of Ramadan so no one should engage in unholy
deals which will make ordinary consumers to suffer. 

GON: Mr. Darboe
before you left the Gambia six (6) Gambian Journalists were arrested,
tried, convicted and sentenced to two years in Jail. You are one of the
best legal minds in the Gambia… do you think these journalists were
accorded a fair trial in the first place? 

Darboe:
In fact, it was seven (7) Journalists that were arrested. The impact of
their arrest was not confirmed to only the Journalists. When they were
arrested every Gambian was arrested. When they were detained every
Gambian was detained and their conviction and sentence is a sentence on
all Gambians.  

I
am serving a sentence with them in jail even though I am in United
States... I couldn’t believe that anybody would try these people for
offense of sedition and defamation. I cannot see any security risk in
trying these gentle men and lady with the offense they were charged. 
After all, the crime they were alleged to have committed was published
at least in two of the papers. So I do not see the reason why anybody
should want their trial to be conducted in chambers.  

When
the case was withdrawn from Justice Wowo and assigned to another, the
trial was held in public, but what I could not understand is why the
trial was conducted so quickly. People have been charged with serious
crimes like treason, murder, robbery, rape which are felonies and carry
at least life imprisonments. Those cases have been adjourned for
months, so what was the need to have this trial rushed?  

I
also know that when you have a team defending several people, they have
to have a conference at the end of the day. So if you have the trial go
up to 4pm, they won’t have time to regroup and strategize. I question
the reason for the rush in this trial.  I can only conclude that the
defense were not given adequate time to prepare for the defense of
these journalists.  

GON: Were there any
specific provisions that these Journalists violated that warrants their
arrest, conviction and harsh sentences?

Darboe:
They were alleged to have violated a provision of the criminal code
section dealing with sedition and deformation… to have published
seditious materials and making defamatory remarks against the
president. 

GON: What are the
stipulations of the Gambian constitution about jailing a lactating
mother and separating her from her 7 month old baby? 

Darboe:
The constitution does not provide detail of provision or exception to
these kinds of crime, however the Children’s right or Child’s Act of
2005 does provide that a nursing mother who is charged with an offense
for which she will suffer sentence, that the mother should only face
suspended sentence. It is the right of the child and mother to have the
comfort of the mother. Sending a nursing mother to jail is a harsh
sentence beyond boundaries of the mercy of the law.  

One
would have thought that the same conditions under which the court
granted bail would be the same reason why she should have been giving a
custodian sentence.  

GON: To your understanding, has the Gambian justice system being hijacked my activist Judges? 

Darboe:
I wouldn’t say that the courts have been hijacked by activist judges. I
don’t think the Gambian judicial system has been hijacked by activist
judges either.  What I believe is that a particular judge’s view of the
constitution may affect the way they try a particular case, but I won’t
dismiss the entire justice system because of some bad judges in the
system.  

GON: So do you mean to tell us that the Gambia’s justice system is independent of government and impartial?  

Darboe: That is a difficult question to answer.  I
don’t want to take the isolated case of journalists to say the judges
are acting for the best interest of the government… if people are not
happy then they can appeal. The judicial system is by and large
independent or should be of the government…so one bad judge does not
mean the judiciary is not independent.  

A
good example of some independence of the Judiciary is that some judges
namely; B. Y Camara, Roche, and Wadda were unceremoniously removed and
I challenged the removal of these judges, and before I file the case
they were reinstated.  We are surprised that the government is removing
judges like Justice Savage as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court … and
I am not saying that Savage should be the Chief Justice of the Supreme
Court, but rather removal of judges should be constitutional.  

Political situation: 

GON: Mr. Darboe
Gambia’s political situation is at its worst situation to say the
least. What is your general assessment of Gambia’s political climate? 

Darboe:
The political climate is one of oppression and repression, and you will
find that the conviction of these journalists in the Gambia
demonstrates the intolerance of the regime to dissenting views... and
that just shows how terrible the political situation is in the Gambia.
The regime does not want any other view expressed other than its own.
It is intolerant to criticism and alternative ideas.  So we are in hell
politically…  

GON: As the
prominent leader of Gambia’s opposition parties, how would you
characterize the overall effectiveness of the opposition in the Gambia? 

Darboe:
The opposition I must say is effective in several ways, but in other
ways one may also say that they are not effective.  I believe we are
effective because we keep hope alive for the people and show that all
is not lost.  With the situation as hopeless as it looks, there is an
opportunity to remedy it and to rescue the Gambia …and this opportunity
must not and will not be lost.  

However,
in the National assembly because of the limited number of opposition
voices, their impact is not significant. Even the so-called televised
debates you will hardly see the images or hear the voices of the
opposition. You will see them talking but their statements are
paraphrased. So Gambians don’t see or hear what they are doing. I must
also add that outside of House, there is a lot of work being done and
we are keeping the hope alive.  

GON: Mr. Darboe, by
now the world knows what kind of leadership Jammeh provides to Gambians
and how he runs the affairs of the country. So let us shift gears from
pointing out flaws of the regime and talk about what you would PROVIDE
as an alternative leadership: So If you become the President of the
Republic of the Gambia today, what would be your first priorities in
the country?  

Darboe:
Our priority would be to restore the lost image of the country… to
restore Gambians’ lost rights, their authority to determine and direct
the affairs of the country… within those priorities fall energizing the
economy.  No economy can be energized and made for the benefit of the
people if the people with the technical knowledge and skills are not in
charge to direct the economic policy of the country. Every sector of
government should be depended on the sound policies of the government
and these policies should be directed by the people with the expertise.
 

Within
the first 90 days of a UDP government, we will set up a constitutional
review committee that will look at the constitution and make sure that
the constitution would adhere to the course of democracy and rule of
law. It should also contain strict regulations to help guide sound
economic developments in the Gambia.  A provision will be provided to
make sure that those in charge of government are only in charge of
government and are held accountable for their actions and that of their
departments. 

I
think it is embarrassing and degrading for cabinet ministers to engage
in commercial activities of the country. How could cabinet ministers
administer the affairs of the country if they engage in commercial
activities that have direct conflict of interest with their roles and
duties?  How could there be no corruption in such an atmosphere?  

 
We
will make sure that our offices are not used as a venue to conduct
commercial business but instead are there to serve the country and its
people. We will have strict anti corruption laws that will seek to
prosecute any corrupt officials caught in the act from the President
down to the last public official.   
 

GON: What would be the Darboe Doctrine in your leadership as the president of the Republic of the Gambia? 

Darboe: 
Off course I am not an ideologue, and while I may believe in some sort
of ideology, but that do not make me an ideologue.  Our doctrine will
be “The Gambia first”.  

GON: What
institutions of democracy or major changes would you implement to make
sure that you can empower the Gambian people so no leader can remain in
power indefinitely at the expense of the people like we have seen in
other parts of Africa?

Darboe:
In the first place, section 62 of the constitution which has to do with
term limits need to be amended so no one could be president for more
than two 5-year terms. There would certainly be term limits to the
presidency under my administration.  

The
independent electoral commission would be a commission that would be
fully independent and we will ensure that the members of the commission
are elected and vetted by the national assembly. We would even go
further to make sure that those members of the commission can be
appointed in consultation with other opposition political parties.   

I
think to proof that we truly want an independent electoral commission
we can even take this further and suggest that other political parties
can nominate their own representatives to the independent electoral
commission. This is because If UDP propose X person to the commission
that persons normally sees themselves as representatives of the UDP. 
So their decision would be bias.  So to balance that out, all political
parties should be able to appoint to the commission in consultation
with other political parties. These people as I said would be vetted
through the National Assembly for confirmation. These nominees should
proof their independence and moral judgment before they can be
confirmed to the commission. 

GON: How would you handle the worsening economic and educational crisis in the Gambia? 

Darboe:
(laugh.) That is obviously a very good question: Gambia is facing all
these problems because the people running the country are only
interested in themselves but not the country.  You cannot just appoint
any Tom, Dick and Harry to any position regardless of their expertise
and expect them to do good job. 

We
need to appoint people who are genuinely committed for the development
of the country and its people. Those technocrats serving under this
regime have lost their independence in making policy decisions.  Gambia
was doing very well economically before Yahya Jammeh came to power. 
What we have seen is white or black elephant projects if you may, that
has only proven to be a waste of resources. Putting a stop to that kind
of economic waste would be part of our priorities. 

It is incredible that a poor country like the Gambia would invest in a fleece
of expensive vehicles when the country is going so much backward… It is
not the leaders of the country who should be served but the people of
the country. 

GON: Mr. Darboe
your critics like to state that while you are one of the best lawyers
Gambia has ever seen, but that your quiet personality, peaceful nature,
and soft sidedness just do not fit the role of a leader who can
successfully challenge a heartless leader like Jammeh? What is your
respond to that? 

Darboe:
I think people are wrong in their assessment… being polite is not the
same as being weak… those who know me knows am very stubborn but with a
reason.  I can be stubborn but for a good reason. If I cannot take up
against such a regime would I have survived this regime up till today? 

When
things were really bad in 1996, I was the one who stood up and expose
this regime. I am not going to be reckless in the face of such enormous
challenges in our nation’s history. It would be irresponsible for me to
act recklessly with so many people looking up to me.    

Now let us move on to 2011. 

GON: Mr. Darboe
2011 seems to be a do or die for the Gambian opposition? What plan of
action if any are in the works to make sure that the opposition
fiercely contest and win the upcoming elections? 

Darboe:
The opposition and when I say opposition I mean all the oppositions not
just UDP. We believe in democracy and the ballot box.  We have faith
and confident that we can change the regime and also change the system
that put the regime in power. UDP no doubt believes in unity, we
believe unity would not only be an advantage in terms of numbers but
common strategy and resources etc.  We believe that these factors will
obviously enhance our chances of uprooting this regime as some people
say back home “like a cassava”. 

But
that is not all, if you also want to battle against an unfair system;
you want to make sure that you have a free and fair election process. 
Our focus would be to have the independent electoral system more
independent, transparent and make sure the process is fair.  We will
give no one the opportunity to abuse the electoral laws of the Gambia.
If that is allowed no matter how united we are, it would not achieve
what we envisioned.  

2011
is the Gambian’s year of self redemption.  It is a year when all
opposition parties have to come together and fight together for a
common cause with a single vision so that the Gambian people can have
what they have been yearning for and ultimately achieve what they
desire. Thus, they look on to us to lead them in the fight and we will.   
 

GON: How would you
respond to your critics that say the opposition keep doing the same
thing election after election and expect different results? 

Darboe:
Quite frankly the UDP and I hope once we have a united opposition we
should concentrate more on shell meetings rather than expensive
rallies… it is off course part of Gambian culture to do those big
rallies, but it has to be minimized.  We should concentrate on smaller
groups and reach out to everyone. I personally would go to the market
and talk to the market women; taxi drivers, shop owners etc and speak
to them about their plight. Gambians themselves would say exactly what
they are going through, and is terrible and this gives us the
opportunity to meet them in person.  Some of these small groups are not
comfortable because of threats of intimidation but people should go
there and have a dialogue with them.  

GON: But Mr. Darboe how could such people listen to you when everyone is scared and intimidated on a daily basis?  

Darboe:
No, not everybody who is associated with the opposition is intimidated.
We do have rallies and people come to those rallies in large numbers.
Those people are largely not intimidated. So we should try to break
that barrier and show up at rallies.  

GON: But Mr. Darboe
Gambians are scared to death of being beaten or harassed by their
neighbors or security personnel for supporting the opposition. Is that
not true? 

Darboe:
What I am saying is that we have to go out and meet the people… and
meet them in their houses and reach them by telephone.  We need to
concentrate on those people who are willing to oppose the regime but
are scared to come out. We have to reach out to those who don’t support
us…and convince them that we are a better alternative. 

GON: What is one
condition that will make or prevent the UDP party from forming a
successful coalition with other opposition parties? 

Darboe:
You know we have never been opposed to united opposition; we gave it a
chance in 2006 and may be all of us made some mistakes in 2006, so
having to learn from that we need to avoid those same mistakes and
learn from it. 

GON: Can you give our readership two scenarios where the UDP will accept a coalition of the opposition parties? 

Darboe:
Whatever scenario you have, there must be sincerity and commitment to
the true course of change in the Gambia. I don’t think those scenarios
are more important than sincerity for unity… we don’t want to have
unity for the sake of it but we want unity for a good course and
definite results.  

GON: What role do you suppose the Gambian Diaspora can play in reshaping the democratic process in the Gambia? 

Darboe:
Let me say that I think what you are doing as the media is such a major
contribution to shape the democratic process in the Gambia. You don’t
know but you are doing an incredible job… and it gives Gambians both
outside and inside the information that they need.  I would encourage
other Gambians to participate in the democratic process. The Gambia
online media should feel free to get in touch with us and get some
ideas across. This is a common cause and I will urge all Gambians in
the Diaspora to join in this struggle and put their interest in the
country.  We are all interested in the wellbeing of the country and
therefore we should join the debates. 

We
should continue to have open debates and put our words into action by
supporting the opposition in any way we all can. Gambia belongs to all
of us and we all have a duty to contribute to the political process. 

GON: Mr. Darboe we
thank you very much for taking the time to speak to us today and we
hope that you will remain in touch with the media and take advantage of
the opportunities presented by the online media to communicate to
Gambians both in the Diaspora and back on the Ground. 

 
Darboe: It has been my pleasure and I hope to see you soon in Seattle…

Editors’ note: GON welcomes rejoinders which you can send to [log in to unmask]
Feel free to send us your feedback for a possible follow-up interview
with Lawyer Darboe. With GON, news at your doorsteps….we report the
news and you decide. 

 



 


					
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