Threatens Professor Kwame and Lawyer Falani

In what appears to be an utter contempt of the sub-region's highest court of competent jurisdiction, the Gambian leader, Yahya Jammeh, has openly declared his disregard and unwillingness to cooperate with the community court of the Economic Community of West African States (Ecowas).

According to a Freedom Newspaper source close to the Office of the President, on the eve of the last hearing of the case of dissapeared journalist Ebrima Chief Manneh, the new secretary of state for Foreign Affairs, Crispin Grey-Johnson, personally went to the president to give him physical notice of a fax the Gambia High Commision in Nigeria had sent, being a hearing service of the said case. SoS Grey-Johnson had wanted to seek the opinion of President Jammeh before instructing the High Commisioner in Abuja to take any action of showing up in court with a counsel.

A senior government official who is privy of the discussion between the President and his minister on Tuesday, being a prelude to the hearing of the case, hurriedly contacted the Freedom Newspaper to expose the anomaly. According to the source whose name and position we cannot state for the sake of his security, said these where the words of the President: “Let the Ecowas court go to hell! If you come to me with such nonsense again, I will sack you and send you to jail. If you don't know your job, I will show you. And also, I heard the lawyer was trying to visit my country, I will show him who Yahya Jammeh is when he comes here. The professor in Ghana is the one fighting me because he is working with some opposition elements. He should never come near Gambia in his life. They are idle and have nothing to do.”

The source who apparently must have passed the information in a hurried manner, promised to get back to the Freedom Newspaper with more detail of President Jammeh's utterances during his meeting with the new foreign minister, as regards the Ecowas court.

Such utterances may not surprise anybody who is familiar with Jammeh's restlessness when questions of the media are brought to him. Last year, during his first press conference after winning a highly disputed election, he told a select local and internal journalists that “the whole world can go to hell” when a question about the killing of Journalist Deyda Hydara and the closure of The Independent newspaper were put forward.

It could be recalled that the court has set November 20, 2007 for the judgment during which it is expected to issue an order to compel President Jammeh release Journalist Manneh whose illegal incarceration has now come to about fifteen months.