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Breaking News:Gambia: Judges Appointment Faulted! Journalist Baboucarr Gaye Dies!!
By Correspondent Foday Ceesay, Banjul.
.gif) The appointment of three Gambian Judicial Staff as Judges, is being greeted with a pinch of salt, amongst the members of legal fraternity here in Banjul, the Freedom Newspaper can reveal. Ms. Na Wadda Ceesay, former Solicitor General, Judicial Secretary Ngui Mboob and Saffiatou Njai, Master of the High Court were elevated to position of judges of the High Court. Their appointment is seen as another attempt by the Gambian leader to have direct control of the judiciary. The three appointees, according to these protesting members of the Bar lacked the required qualifications to serve as judges of the High Court. " This country is in wrong hands. The Judicial Service Commission has once again politicized the judiciary. Hiring inexperienced lawyers to the Bench is an affront to the rule of law. You don't expect these new appointees to administer justice with fairness and honesty. These are former Government servants, whose independence had been compromised whilst in office. There is no way that these people can stick to their oaths. We have seen the Chief Justice AK Savage, Justice MA Paul and Justice Agim dancing to the dictates of the Executive. If the CJ can yield to Government's pressure, who are these new appointees to withstand the pressure? The judiciary is now owned by the President. He directs the affairs of this important Estate. Non of these appointees were consulted. They were just called one morning and offered the job. This is how the President operates. They are hired for a reason, but time will tell." said the legal luminary who wished not to be named for fear of reprisal from the state.
According to the lawyer, non of these new judges can write a sound judgment. " They lacked the qualities of a good judge. I don't know who advised the President to hire these people, but this one of the biggest mistakes he had ever committed since coming to power. Judges are supposed to be men and women of high standing. They must master the law to the tip of their fingers. Non of these people, have served the Bar long. They are hardly known as good law advocates- be it in private or public practice. The judiciary is in wrong hands. Any Jonny just come can call himself a judge. This practice is undermining public trust and confidence on our already dented judiciary. The Judicial Service Commission should assert its independence and thoroughly screen out lawyers short listed as judges and magistrates. Some of these judges cannot write a simple judgment. They had to confer with some of us before writing their judgments. Many a time, they would cite certain legal authorities, without even not knowing its meaning. What happened is that, they relied on us the old guard to cover their mess. They often erred in law, when making decisions on cases. Very few legal minds are brave enough to confront these judges. The time has come to speak out against the growing corruption taking place in the judiciary. You don't entrust the lives of litigants to the hands of novice. I call them novice, because they don't know what their job responsibilities entail. Acquiring LLB, is not sufficient for one to be called to the Bench. There is more to it." the lawyer lamented.
The protesting lawyer said he had love and respect for Gambian women lawyers. " My opposition to these appointments should not be misconstrued. I believe in women empowerment, but it should be done inline with truth and principles. There are seasoned lawyers, who can run such positions in this country. They hired these people, because they could be easily manipulated or corruptible by the President. Period. Non of these people can say they did well while at the law school. Their law tutors must be shocked to learn that they are hired as judges. Let them make noise and I will send you their respective autobiography. I know their backgrounds and qualifications. I will stop here for now." said the lawyer.
Attempts to reach the new appointees for comments proved abortive. An insider at the High court confirmed the appointments of the three. The insider says the three hired judges would soon be officially sworn in. The insider says the three judicial staff were busy preparing to hand over their offices before moving to the Bench.
.jpg) Meanwhile, the death of veteran Gambian journalist Baboucarr Gaye has been announced. Mr.Gaye died On Tuesday afternoon. Mr.Gaye was the proprietor of the closed Citizen FM Radio. He also served as Director Of Radio Gambia and BBC Banjul Correspondent prior to setting up his own media project.
Gaye and the late Deyda Hydara jointly set up the Point Newspaper. He later established the New Citizen Newspaper.
The Freedom Newspaper Management prayed for Gaye's eternal rest. May God reserve place for him Janna. Our condolence to the Gaye family.
The editor can be reached at the following addresses:editor@freedomnewspaper.com,Panderry@hotmail.com or panderrymbai@gmail.com By phone dial the following numbers: Office:-919-872-50-28 Cell: 919-798-81-22 If you know that it's happening or is about to happen please contact us. It's easy. Just type your info on our contact us file and then click send. The Freedom Newspaper is your leading and most authoritative source of news. We have the required professionals to serve you round the clock. Get your morning breakfast news by reading Freedom. We have good stuffs every morning. At Freedom, we mean business. |
Posted on Tuesday, October 30, 2007 (Archive on Thursday, November 08, 2007)
Posted by PNMBAI Contributed by PNMBAI
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