Dear Editor,
Attached herewith and pasted below is a piece which I would like you to publish in your newspaper.
Thank you.
Ebou Gaye
MY VISIT TO THE GAMBIA HIGH COMMISSION IN LONDON
By
Ebou Gaye
UK, gayeebou@yahoo.co.uk
As indicated in my rebuttal, I was summoned to the Gambia High Commission in London, UK by an anonymous caller, in connection with the publication of the names of the alleged informants of Pa Nderry Mbai, the Managing Editor/Publisher of the online Freedom Newspaper. According to the caller, I was supposed to go there on Monday 29th May 2006 and report to the National Intelligence Agency (NIA) Officer. If you could recollect, I indicated my resolve to comply in my rebuttal.
When I informed my compatriots, they gave divergent views. Some urged me to go whereas others advised me not to pay heed. I concurred with the former for multifarious reasons. First, I felt I had nothing to fear since I had not done anything wrong. Second, I felt obliged to honour the promise I made to the caller to go to the High Commission, an undertaking I made public through my rebuttal, which was published on the Freedom Newspaper website on Sunday 28th May 2006. Third, I believed going there would accord me the opportunity to clear my name further.
Thus, I left my abode for the High Commission at 09:45 on Monday, arriving there at 11:35 after changing train once. To my astonishment, I found the place closed. I flew into a rage instantaneously, as I felt I was being trifled with. How can these people invite me here today knowing fully well that they would not be coming to work? I asked myself while standing at the gate. To me, that is inconceivable, vexatious, outrageous and totally unacceptable, to say the least. Hence, I decided to return home without wasting time. Before leaving the premises of the High Commission, I saw a notice at the gate bearing a mobile phone number, asking visitors to call the number in case of emergency. I dialled the number and got a man who identified himself as Tijan Bah, First Secretary. When I explained the purpose of my visit, he told me that they were not at work, that they were not aware of the issue and that there is no NIA Officer at the High Commission. Flabbergasting! Nonetheless, I thanked him and rang off. I then thrust two copies of my rebuttal through the mail slot at the gate, meant for the High Commissioner and the Secretary General at the Office of the President in Banjul. Thereafter, I left, full of questions: Is it true that the telephone call I received summoning me to the High Commission did not emanate from them? If so, who could the caller be? Is my visit to the High Commission not a waste of precious time, money and energy? Which camp is right, the one that advised me to simply ignore the summon or the one that saw the need to comply, to which I belong?
Cc: -The Secretary General, Office of the President
Ufs: Gambia High Commission, London, UK
- The Gambia High Commission, London, UK
- Freedom Newspaper
Daily Observer
The Point
The Gambia Journal