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      President receives inquiry commission report on April disturbances 
      By Momodou Musa Secka
     

      MEMBERS of the Commission of Inquiry set up to probe into the student disturbances of 10th and 11th April yesterday submitted their report to President Yahya Jammeh at State House. The report contains adverse findings against named members of the security forces and the Gamsu executive.
      Chief Justice Lartey, the commission's chairman, told the President that while the commission cannot claim perfection in the mode of its inquiry, its members carried out their task honestly and in good faith.  He said there were moments of difficulty and frustration, especially during the decision-making process, when divergent views had to taken into consideration and reconciled.

      President Jammeh promised to study the report and to implement its recommendations. He thanked the chairman and other members for a job well done under difficult circumstances.  Explaining the procedural situation, the Attorney-General and Secretary of State for Justice, Pap Cheyassin Secka, said that on receipt of the report of a commission of inquiry the President within six months is to publish the report and his comments, together with a statement concerning any action taken or the reason for not taking any action.  59 witnesses Handing over the report - two large volumes - to the President, the Chief Justice, Felix Lartey, said it is based on an evaluation of evidence gathered from 59 witnesses.


      The report encompasses summaries of key witness statements and the commission's findings and conclusions, as well as the reasons for its conclusions.  Justice Lartey said the report also embodies as an annexure the minority view of a member of the commission based on an interpretation of Section 29 (2) of the Constitution, which deals with the rights of children.

      Adverse findings
      He said that under Section 204 of the Constitution the commission was mandated to inform persons against whom adverse findings have been made at the time of submitting its report to the President of the Republic.  'On the strength of the evidence brought before the Commission, we were constrained to make adverse findings against some members of the security forces and Gamsu executives.' The names of those concerned are given in the report. Justice Lartey said while the commission cannot claim perfection in the mode of its inquiry, its members take pride in the fact that they carried out their task honestly and in good faith. He said there were moments of difficulty and frustration, especially during the decision-making process, when divergent views from such a large body had to taken into consideration and reconciled.  He expressed appreciation to all those, who in diverse ways, supported the work of the commission.

      The Chief Justice said, 'Our traducers and detractors, perhaps out of sheer spite, were doing everything to discredit the work of the commission, with the sole objective of derailing it.'

      Healing wounds
      Accepting the report, President Jammeh reaffirmed the relevance of setting up the commission on 8th May to probe the April disturbances and to do justice in such a way as to heal the wounds of the victims and their relatives. He asserted that there are people who have their own agenda, but the commission has done what is required of it - to make sure the truth is made known. He agreed with Justice Lartey that there may be people who take things personally, but said what is important is that the commission's report is impartial. President Jammeh said The Gambia is a country of highly moral and religious people. We should, therefore, continue to pray that such an unfortunate incident does not re-occur.  He said members of the commission should not listen to baseless critics but continue their good work. He promised to study the report and to implement its recommendations. The President thanked the chairman and other members for 'a job well done under difficult circumstances'.

      Procedure
      Explaining the procedural situation, the Attorney-General and Secretary of State for Justice, Pap Cheyassin Secka, said that on receipt of the report of an inquiry the President is within six months to publish the report and his comments, together with a statement  concerning any action taken or the reason for not taking any action. He said that in order to safeguard the rights of anyone who may be affected by the findings of a commission of inquiry, it is provided under Section 204 (1) that if a commission makes an adverse finding against any person, it shall, at the time of submitting its report to the President, inform such person of the findings and the reasons thereof. He explained that a person against whom any such adverse finding has been made may appeal against the  finding to the Court of Appeal as if the finding were a judgment of the High Court. On the hearing of the appeal the report shall be treated as if it were such a judgment.

      Turning point
      Mr Secka said the presentation of the report marks an important turning point in the mature way the government and people of this country responded to a tragedy of unprecedented magnitude in the history of The Gambia. 'This commission, having been established about a month after the fateful days of April, and given a few delays and other minor administrative hiccups, has done extremely well to submit a report at
      this time,' he declared. Mr Secka asserted that the commission has enjoyed the respect, confidence and co-operation of all stakeholders, including the general
      public. He concluded that the ongoing consultative process between government and the people has been vindicated.

      Membership
      In addition to Justice Lartey, the members of the commission are Joseph Joof, president of the Gambia Bar Association, the  Revd Titus Pratt, chairman of the Methodist Mission, J.M. Abraham, retired educationalist, Bai Ndongo Faal, president of the Chamber of Commerce, Alhaji M.O. Njie, Ajaratou Ndey Kumba Sosseh, retired educationalist, Alhaji Ousman Jah, a Muslim leader, and Kebba Sarr, of the Gambia Student's Union. The secretary to the commission is Abdoul R. Cole, and its counsel, Joseph Wowo.

     

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