Drug Enforcement Agency
Searched My Office - Lawyer Darboe
Tuesday
25th July
2006
Lawyer Ousainou Darboe, who walked into our offices
yesterday, has disclosed that five officers led by Inspector
Colley went to his offices whilst he was away attending a
meeting.
When they got to his office, one of them, Mr Nasso, banged
on his office door repeatedly in the belief that he was in,
despite having been told that Lawyer Darboe was not in.
“When I received the information, I returned to my office
between 4:15 and 4:30, “ Darboe said, adding: “Whilst
packing, members of the agency came in, identified
themselves as officers of the said squad and that they had
information that I had drugs concealed in my office,
dangerous weapons and other incriminating materials and they
wanted to search my office and I told them that they were
free to search.”
He said they searched every part of his office and that he
personally showed them other areas of his office cupboard.
At the end of the search, Darboe said, the officers thanked
him for his co-operation. He added that he invited them to
go into his two houses and conduct a further search but they
declined. “I must say that this is harassment,” he lamented,
adding: “In 2001, just when elections were approaching, they
did that to me and this year too when the elections are at
the corner, they have done the same thing. It is not only
harassment but also provocation. If the security agency in
the country are looking for criminals, they should go
somewhere else. And I hope the security officers should be
decent enough to prosecute the people who are giving them
information. I strongly believe that all this was
politically motivated to keep me out of the race.”
According to Darboe, the latest incident is the second time
drug hoarding was being cast on him.
Meanwhile our efforts to speak to the head of the Drug
Enforcement Agency proved futile as we could not get him on
either his cellphone or his home line.
In another developments, news reaching the Freedom Newspaper speaks of a landmark judgement, which was delivered by the high court infavour of the detained political activist Mariam Jack Denton . The court had ruled for the unconditional release of prominent Gambian lawyer and political activist Mariam Denton. Her continued detention was seen by the court as an assault on the country's ailing rule of law. The court held that Madam Denton's arrest and continued detention was not inline with the law and therefore ordered the state to release her with immediate effect. The state has insisted that the detained lawyer should not be released citing security issues. MS.Jack was arrested alongside with some coup suspects sometime this year. Many observers are closely monitoriing the situation. It is not yet clear if the state will respect the court order which compelled them to produce the body of Mariam Jack. In some instances, they resort to releasing security detainees only to be rearrested. Madam denton's family members who were travelling to Banjul yesterday were said to have been arrested by security agents at Denton bridge. They are currently in the hands of the police serious crime unit. Meanwhile, Madam Jack has been released.
Below is another piece on the high court order. Please read on...
Court Orders Mariam Denton’s
Immediate Release
Tuesday
25th July
2006
By Modou Sanyang
The High Court yesterday ordered the immediate release of
Lawyer Mariam Denton from detention, only for the state
prosecution to inform the court that the state was filing a
case against Mrs Denton for allegedly concealing treason.
The court, presided over by Justice Monageng, held that
detaining Lawyer Denton beyond 72 hours without a charge was
unconstitutional.
In her ruling on the protracted detention of Lawyer Denton,
Justice Monageng stated that the competent law authorities
should not override the constitution, adding that section
19(2) of the Constitution stipulates that anybody arrested
must be brought before a competent court of law within 72
hours. She pointed out that the fact that Mrs Denton is
listed among witnesses for the treason trial does not
justify her continued detention. According to her, the onus
lies on the state to justify Mrs Denton’s continued
detention and that the state has not so far done this.
Meanwhile, Lawyer Denton’s lead counsel, Ida Drammeh, said
there was nothing before the court to show that her client
has been charged.
Meanwhile, according to Lawyer Ousainou Darboe, some members
of Lawyer Denton’s family were arrested at Denton Bridge
yesterday and taken to the Serious Crime Unit where they
were being held at the time of going to press. The arrested
members include the son of Mrs Mariam Denton, a juvenile,
her grand aunt and father’s driver.