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Lawyer Lamin J Darbo He is a towering intellectual and first rate orator, served simultaneously as Secretary General and Minister of Presidential Affairs under His Excellency Sheikh Professor Alhagie Dr Yahya A. J. Jammeh (the Professor). In that role he met all stripes of leaders domestic and international and participated in the great public dramas of the day at the policy councils of the Gambian state. Allowing for the authoritarian vagaries of the system installed by the Professor, Momodou Sabally (Sabally) was for a year the great supervisor of the Public Service, sounding board of the President, his preeminent confidant, and primus among the Ministers. Having presided, or somewhat participated over the hiring and firing of senior government figures, including some cabinet colleagues, he knows a thing or two about policy and its implementation. After all, he is the Gambia’s Pen and vigorously expresses his enlightening and entertaining perspective on the burning public questions o

By:   Toney F Mendy The comments of  Chebbo Cham on  The Standard News Paper [March 3, 2022]   that The Gambia should be an Islamic State are an expression of potent delusional wishes, but even beyond that, a futile agenda long pursued by a considerable lot of citizens devoid of the very basic essential understanding of the tenet of The Gambian nationhood. Chebbo Cham, like Yahya Jammeh… like all others who stood for this ignoble agenda, is a threat to the very foundation of this nation. But what distinguished Chebbo Cham from a lot of brainwashed fellow citizens is his position as an imam, the timing of his comments ( Christian- lent period ), and manifested desire to embrace the open faults of a “ former ” despot of endless controversies, these, which highlight the epithets of the psyche of imam Cham, stand testimony of the reasons why he should not be left unanswered. Regardless of his psyche, belief, or his wishes, the very essential point of schooling for Imam Cham, is that The Ga

  By Amadou Manjang The former president Yahya Jammeh and his hit squad the “Junglers” has been recommended by the Truth Commission to be persecuted for crimes of murder, torture and other serious human rights violations.  The Junglers  as a killer squad was created by Yahya Jammeh, as a witch hunt to eliminate his enemies or people he perceived as threats to his rule. Whilst the then Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces, the truth commission held him as the ultimate commander of the Junglers.  The commission revealed that Jammeh occasionally directly, commanded or issued instructions directly to the Junglers to carry out certain killings or to carry them out in a particular manner. The commission recommends the prosecution of “Yahya Jammeh for the crimes referred to in this report and impose a life-ban on him from holding public office.”   “Prosecution of all the Junglers and other persons listed for their complicity in crimes referred to in this report subject to the grant of amnes

  By Amadou Manjang  As the new academic year begins, there is a growing tendency of fear among educators that the number of experience and qualify teachers leaving the field may increase.  Many teachers have quit the profession due to lack of motivation.The rate at which teachers are quitting the profession to other professions in search of greener pasture is increasing at an alarming rate. Alasana Jallow , a former high school teacher said he quit the profession to attend the university to further his education.  “I left because I was not focusing on my studies (at the University of the Gambia,” he said.  The Higher Teacher Certificate (HTC) holder further pointed out that for him to further his education and develop himself, he needs to quit the teaching profession. However, Mr. Jallow said that lack of motivation and respect are also among the key reasons he left the profession. “People are tired of this disgusting situation” he lamented. For his part, Salifu Manneh , a teacher a

  Photo Credit: Flex Dan By Sheriff Saidykhan The Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) has on Wednesday 2nd March 2022, convened a daylong training with media practitioners and Civil Society Organisations (CSO's,) as part of it's efforts to raise awareness of the role of the media and Civil Society Organisations ahead of the Parliamentary and local government elections.  The event held at the Gambia Tourism and Hospitality Institute (GTHI), in Kanifing brought together IEC officials, media practitioners and Civil Society Organisations to dilate on the IEC code of conduct during covering election.  Hannah Forster, the Chair of CSO Coalition on election highlights the significance of the training ahead of the election.  “The training is part of IEC hallmark to ensure that their is a capacity building for its partners most especially the media and the CSO, to ensure that they participate in the process of election” she remarked. Alieu Ceesay, board member of the Gambia Press Uni

  The Elders are independent leaders using their collective experience and influence for peace, Justice and human rights worldwide. Below reads their full statement: “The Elders today denounced President Vladimir Putin’s decision to place Russia’s strategic nuclear arsenal on “special alert” status as a reckless escalation of the conflict in Ukraine that underscores the existential threat posed to humanity by nuclear weapons. NATO’s nuclear powers have maintained restraint and kept their own nuclear weapons off high alert. They must persist in this stance to avoid aggravating an already extremely dangerous situation.   The Elders have long called for all nuclear arsenals to be moved off high alert status as part of a wider agenda of de-escalation, disarmament and risk reduction. Current events show precisely why these steps are urgently needed. The Elders also voiced grave concerns about Belarus’ move to renounce its non-nuclear status and potentially allow Russian nuclear weapons to b

  Photo Credit: thegambiatimes By Amadou Manjang Following the Truth, Reconciliation and Reparations Commission (TRRC) recommendations on the human rights violation committed during the former president Yahya Jammeh’s 22 years dictatorship, the Commission has recommended the prosecution of the former president and the vice president. The report revealed that the vice president, Isatou Njie Saidy is also recommended for the arbitrary arrests, detentions, tortures, injuries and killings of the demonstrators in April 10 and 11on students.  The Truth Commission stated that Yahya Jammeh, the former Commander in Chief of The Gambia Armed Forces should be prosecuted for all the atrocities against students, such as arbitrary arrests, unlawful detentions, tortures, assaults causing harm and killings of the demonstrators. The recommendations were given on the ground that Jammeh either gave the orders and instructions to kill the students or he had failed to investigate and prosecute members of t