Editorial: Dr. Janneh Is Gambia’s Greek Philosopher Socrates!

The trial of Dr. Amadou Scattered Janneh reminds us about the case of the Greek philosopher Socrates, who was  found guilty of both corrupting the minds of the youth of Athens and of impiety ("not believing in the gods of the state"),  and subsequently sentenced to death by drinking a mixture containing poison hemlock. 

The online search engine Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Socrates reported that "Socrates' paradoxical wisdom made the prominent Athenians he publicly questioned look foolish, turning them against him and leading to accusations of wrongdoing. Socrates defended his role as a gadfly until the end: at his trial, when Socrates was asked to propose his own punishment, he suggests a wage paid by the government and free dinners for the rest of his life instead, to finance the time he spends as Athens' benefactor."

The former Tennessee Political Science Professor and Communication expert Dr. Janneh, and his co accused persons employed the same stance when the Jammeh handpicked mercenary judge asked them to enter their defense in a case, which tantamount to prosecuting freedom. Janneh and co relied on the testimonies of the prosecution witnesses to rest their case.

It’s a mockery, waste of state resources,  and an affront to the Gambian constitution to prosecute patriotic citizens; whose only crime is for merely having the audacity to stand up against the injustices taking place in this country. 

Free world loving nations will always cherish freedom of expression, assembly, and the right to change a government through democratic means—with the exception of the Gambia under Jammeh’s autocratic rule.  The word freedom is alien to dictator Jammeh. He thinks that he owns Gambians.

If printing a T-shirt—calling for a regime change in the Gambia constitutes a treasonable offense, then how on earth can Gambians rights and liberties be guaranteed under a regime which enjoys an unrestricted sweeping powers?  The answer is a straight emphatic no!

We have seen people wearing T-shirts in the Western world and elsewhere around  Africa bearing derogatory words against their leaders. Does this imply  that if someone in the Gambia is seen wearing a T-Shirt which reads “ JAMMEH IS AN ASSHOLE,”  he, or she will be arrested and charged? Or a worst case scenario the individual will be tortured to death!

Any serious judge, who worth his salt would not have entertained such a malicious case. The constitution is being tried as far as we are concerned.  The Gambia constitution, as bad as it is, it jealously safeguards the individual’s basic rights and liberties.  

We must hasten to add that when you have a rogue system like the one in Banjul, the constitution doesn’t prevail. One man decides the fate of its citizens. And that person is the Kanilai born monster Yaya Jammeh. He decides who should be arrested, killed, and exiled.

Freedom of expression is under attack in the Gambia. We have been saying this for the longest time. The dictator’s total opposition against dissent is no secret. He has killed journalists, jailed political opponents, and exiled his critics just for the sake of having total control of the state.

The sad thing is that Gambians are condoning the Jammeh war against their own fundamental freedoms and liberties. Unless citizens are bold enough to revolt like their brothers in the Arab world have done, they will continue to be at the mercy of this monster.  Freedom is not negotiable. Gambians must fight for their freedom.

Dr. Janneh and co must be reminded that they are going to jail for the right cause. There is no need to despair.  They have done what’s expected of any patriotic citizen—that’s to end dictatorship through the form of public civic education awareness programs. 

If printing T-Shirts advocating for a regime change tantamount to treason; then so be it. Let us not forget that there will be more Dr. Jannehs as long as the current status quo is not dismantled. We must remain steadfast in our quest to install a democratic government in the Gambia by any means necessary. If it means losing our lives,  it’s worth taking the risk because Gambians do not deserve such a rogue and totalitarian system. We rest our case!