KB, with all due respect, I'll beg to defer with you on this posting of
yours. Let me begin by reiterating my utter disgust at Joseph Joof (Paabi)
for his acceptance of the job of AG. Infact, he has tremendously
disappointed a lot of people, including his colleagues,  for taking such a
move. He'll find it virtually impossible to regain the trust and reputation
he enjoyed with Gambian society.

Having said that, I just wanna express my complete repudiation of what you
wrote about this gentleman; academically, economically and socially. Reading
through the lines of your posting, I could notice some flagrant scorn that
you have towards this man. What does his Mercedes, and the way he acquired
it, has to do with the topic at hand? What about his otherwise good demeanor
that you arbitrarily put on the defensive? I do not need to take you back to
what you said in order to establish a rationale for my argument; or should I
say for my rejection of this piece.

You had a good case until you decided to jot down this man's shortcomings
while having his accomplishments stifled. My brother, I honestly believe
that you owe it to this man to retract this posting. Meanwhile, I sincerely
agree with you that his controversial move was ill-advised and, sadly, he'll
pay dearly for it. It's only a question of time, but "his termination letter
has already been drafted" to quote Ebrima Ceesay's sources.

Ous Ngum.

On Fri, 9 Feb 2001 13:00:57 -0500, The Gambia and related-issues mailing
list wrote:

>  Now that Joseph Joof has been sworn in as the seventh Attorney General
>  (eighth if you add Amie Bensouda's acting capacity in that position), he
has
>  a daunting task ahead of him. He inherits a justice system that is in
total
>  chaos thanks to the dismemberment it went through during Pap Cheyassin
>  Secka's tenure. Does Joof have the wherewithal to turn things around for
the
>  betterment of the ordinary Gambian?
>
>  I first encountered Joseph Joof when he was the 'Head-Boy' at the Gambia
>  High School in the late 70s, early 80s. Ironically, the 'Head-Girl' at
the
>  time was Fatou Bom Bensouda (one of the AGs Yaya already fired). When
Joseph
>  Joof finished high school, there was already an unwritten government
policy
>  that stated, inter alia, government will not support the sponsorship of
any
>  Gambian student that wanted to study law in the United Kingdom. The
>  reasoning behind this government policy was, 'there was a high turn-over
>  rate at the Attorney General Chambers.' Let me hasten here to add that I
>  think this was a bad policy. The only reason I am bringing this up is to
>  illustrate how Joseph Joof was given a special treatment by the Jawara
>  regime, thanks to the influence of people like Wallace Grante. While his
>  colleagues (some with better A'Level results) were hoist to other African
>  countries to study law (e.g. Fatou Bensouda went to Nigeria) and others
were
>  forced to pursue other careers because of this repugnant government
policy,
>  Joseph was given a full scholarship to go to Britain and study law.
>
>  When Joof returned to the country (I believe in the mid 80s), he shun the
>  very government (people) that gave him the special treatment and his
legal
>  education. If he worked for the government at all, he spent there less
than
>  a year. On the other hand, people like Fatou Bensouda spent their entire
>  careers with the government until they were fired by Yaya.
>
>  I do not fault Joof for going to private practice to seek greener
pastures.
>  But I must point out the hypocrisy Joof is now engaged in now. This was a
>  man who was bonded to repay the people of The Gambia the loan he was
given
>  to achieve his dream to become a lawyer. When he was called to duty as a
>  young and dynamic lawyer, he walked away from the Gambian people. Where
was
>  his desire 'to serve his nation' at that time? Forget the civic duty
aspects
>  here. This man owed us (the taxpayers). The British Council scholarship
that
>  was given to him could have gone to a doctor we could use at RVH or to an
>  agronomist or a lawyer that will stay at AG's Chambers. Apart from
running
>  away from his call for duty, Joof also helped legitimize the ridiculous
>  reasoning of our policy-makers vis-a-vis sponsoring people to go to UK to
>  study law. Even Hawa Ceesay (also another AG fired by Yaya and Joof's
>  sister-in-law), whose father was once a cabinet member in the Jawara
regime,
>  had to go to a Third World country to study law. In short, thanks to
Joof,
>  government became more adamant in its decision not to 'waste'
scholarships
>  on students wanting to study law in Britain. I am giving this background
to
>  illustrate the point that I do not believe Joof when he tells me that he
>  accepted the post because he wants to serve the nation as a good citizen.
I
>  also want to debunk any story Joof might tell when he (like all Yaya
>  cronies) want to play 'a Jawara victim'. This man got things daughters of
>  cabinet members could not get. He had the opportunity the past fifteen
>  years, and decided to walk away from us and fend for himself and his
>  immediate family. Joof never repaid the loan he owed us.
>
>  Joof's career in the private Bar cannot be described as an outstanding
>  success. He is by no means in the caliber of Ousman Sillah, Ousainou
Darboe,
>  Antouman Gaye and Ida Drammeh, to name a few. On the surface, Joof might
>  appear to be wealthy in Gambian parlance. But if you scratch that surface
a
>  little, the ugly realities of Gambian society rears its ugly head. In
>  fairness, I have to say that Joof used his 'Aku' connections to get a lot
of
>  legitimate business. But Gambia is such that there is not much clean
money
>  floating around. Joof, being the self-promoter he is, had to push the
>  envelop in order to ride in a Mercedes Benz like some of the elite of his
>  time. If I were convinced that the government that is now going to employ
>  Joof is a legitimate government that will not tolerate certain scandalous
>  behavior, I will narrate here some dubious deals Joof was involved in
with
>  some of his clients that were under Interpol investigations. I would
explain
>  to you how Joof got his first Mercedes Benz. But knowing that the most
>  corrupt Gambian is at the helm of this government; Knowing that we have
>  murderers leading our government, I will spare Joof from the agony.
>
>  As I opined in previous mailings, Joof qua president of the Bar
Association,
>  sat by as AG upon AG trampled on the rights of ordinary Gambians. As a
>  matter of fact, he partook in the worst denial of justice that has ever
>  taken place in the country. He sat in a Commission of Inquiry that could
not
>  punish the perpetrators of the most heinous crime that has visited our
>  country. Where was Joof when the soldiers stole power from a
>  constitutionally elected government? Where was Joof and his sense of duty
>  when this illegal government formed kangaroo courts and started seizing
>  people's properties they worked for even before Yaya was born? Where was
>  Joof when Fafa Mbye was helping Yaya to pass all those draconian decrees?
>  Where was Joof when Mustapha Marong was appointed AG in clear
contravention
>  of the laws of The Gambia? Where was Joof and his sense of duty when his
>  colleagues were ambushed by Yaya thugs? Joof will not be able to point to
>  one single occasion he has stood up against the rampant human rights
abuses
>  going on in the country. People like Emmanuel Joof that were still in
High
>  School when Joof was already a lawyer, can point to all sorts of things
they
>  have done to safeguard people's human rights in the country. And may I
add
>  that Emmanuel never got a government scholarship to pay for his legal
>  education in Britain. His father worked hard for the United Nations to
>  educate his children. Joseph Joof prefers to be below the radar screens
when
>  it comes to standing up for our people. But when it comes to empty titles
>  like the president of the Bar Association, he will connive and back-stab
to
>  become visible. He would not be a young and dynamic prosecutor, but he
will
>  happily be an AG. What utter hypocrisy?
>
>  I received a private mail from a friend of mine back home that used to
look
>  up to Joof. Reading the mail, one can tell that it was from a very
wounded
>  person. He lamented that he could not understand why Joof will accept
such a
>  position, at this crucial period, knowing all he (Joof) knows about the
>  pathetic way Yaya is running the country. I consoled my friend and told
him
>  certain things about Joof that I did not tell him before and I will not
>  repeat here. At the end of the day, my friend realized that the Joseph
Joof
>  I know, is not the devout Christian and honest and smart person he
thought
>  Joof was. I am narrating this encounter to show people like Joseph Joof
that
>  they hurt many a young people by their ill-advised and selfish actions.
>  Actions he (Joof) cannot even justify, as shown by his brief acceptance
>  speech at the swearing-in ceremony.
>
>  Lofty words were spoken at the ceremony. There was incoherent mumbo jumbo
>  from Yaya, trying to make sense of what Independence of the Judiciary and
>  Separation of Power means. Needless to say, Yaya does not even begin to
>  understand what these two maxims stand for. In the Gambian context, the
>  former essentially means that the executive (Yaya and his AG) should
refrain
>  from the dismemberment of the judiciary they are engaged in. There has to
be
>  checks and balances to ensure that judges are not arbitrarily fired by
Yaya
>  and Joseph Joof or intimidated by government thugs. Can we count on the
duo
>  to stop meddling with the judiciary? Absolutely not. Why? Because Yaya
and
>  his cohorts are fond of taking legally indefensible positions. The
>  overwhelming majority of the actions of this illegitimate government are
>  illegal. This government breaks the law every day. Case in point is the
>  unlawful incarceration of Dumo et al. The best legal minds in this world
>  cannot defend the actions of this government. Joseph Joof certainly
cannot
>  defend some of the actions of this government. So, what happens if they
>  break the law. The courts rule against them. Being the dictators they
are,
>  Yaya and his cohorts cannot handle people telling them that they are
wrong.
>  When they commit crimes and the courts say so, they take the law into
their
>  own hands and fire the judges and the magistrates. The reason we have
such a
>  huge turn-over of AGs is no accident. The AGs we have had do not have the
>  wherewithal or the guts to straighten Yaya out. They do all they can to
>  assist in Yaya's illegal enterprises, but there always comes a point
where
>  they simply cannot deliver to the Devil. He then turns around and fires
>  them. So at the end of the day, the AG will be in between a rock and a
hard
>  place. The AG, by participating in some of Yaya's illegal enterprises,
would
>  have alienated the Gambian people. At the same time, the AG will also
>  eventually fall out of favor with Yaya because he/she (the AG) will be
>  unable to satisfy Yaya's gigantic appetite for criminal behavior. This is
>  the most difficult job in Yaya's cabinet. The actions of the AG can
always
>  be put under a microscope in the courts or other forums. Other cabinet
>  members are not under that type of scrutiny. Needless to say that one
does
>  not have to look too closely at the actions of this government to find
some
>  criminal aspect.
>
>  We cannot rely on Joseph Joof to put an end to this circle. We cannot
rely
>  on Joseph Joof to tell Yaya that it is the right (and the legal) thing to
do
>  to prosecute Baboucarr Jatta, Ousman Badgie, Sankung Badgie, Baba Jobe,
>  Isatou Njie-Saidy and numerous others for the murder of our children. Do
>  people seriously think that Joseph Joof is going to go behind Baba Jobe's
>  and Amadou Samba's back and alert Yaya of dubious deals Jobe and Samba
want
>  to put Gambia into? If a case like the Alimenta fiasco surfaces or the
case
>  that is currently brewing at NAWEC, Joof will do what he is good at and
fly
>  below the radar screen. Like AGs of the past, he will not give correct
legal
>  advise at the onset because he is afraid to step on toes of thugs like
Baba
>  Jobe and Amadou Samba. They will all wait until it costs the taxpayers
>  millions of dollars (opportunity cost) and then take the blame for Yaya
and
>  Baba Jobe and Amadou Samba. These lawyers have no guts and some of them
are
>  worse than Yaya in terms of the damage they are doing to the country.
>
>  Can we rely on Joof to do what is right and drop the bogus charges
against
>  Dumo et al? Not if Yaya is against the idea. Can we rely on Joof to drop
the
>  bogus murder charges against Ousainou Darboe et al? Can we rely on Joof
to
>  prosecute and convict the thugs that were responsible for the Radio FM
arson
>  attack and attempted murder of the proprietor? Can we count on Joof to
tell
>  Yaya that the dismissal of the IEC Commissioners was unlawful? Would Joof
>  prevent the passing of the proposed undemocratic constitutional
amendments
>  that are aimed at centralizing more power in Yaya? In short, can we rely
on
>  Joof to stand up for the defenseless Gambians against the tyranny Yaya
>  visits on us on a daily basis?
>
>  The future seems bleak if we go by Joof's record of inaction as president
of
>  the Bar Association. The future also does not look good if we take into
>  consideration that even after Secka was replaced as AG, the government is
>  still insisting that no one will be punished for the massacre of our
>  children. I wonder how Joof feels to be sitting at the same table with
>  cabinet members his commission found were murderers.
>
>  As we can see, Joof has an insurmountable task ahead of him. He can start
by
>  lecturing Yaya on the meaning of Separation of Powers and the concept of
>  Checks and balances. After that, Joof has to embark on the serious task
of
>  undoing some of the glaring illegalities this government is engaged in.
>  Something has to be done, forthwith, about the murderers of our children
and
>  the political prisoners that are unlawfully incarcerated.
>
>  Finally, I would like to tell people that looked up to Joof not to be
>  demoralized by Joof's despicable decision. The fight we are engaged in is
>  worth fighting. The truth will always prevail. Joof will also be sacked
>  pretty soon because like previous AGs, he also cannot defend the
>  indefensible. There are many Joseph Joofs in The Gambia of today. But
their
>  actions should not discourage the good people that are fighting for a
Gambia
>  free from tyranny.
>  KB
>
>  _________________________________________________________________
>  Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com
>
>
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