By Kebba Ansu Manneh
The Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Abubacarr Tambadou, in a press conference on Tuesday, strongly defended the manner President Barrow has exercised prerogative of mercy powers in pardoning political prisoners and other inmates. Readers would recalled that The Times ran a homepage story that President Barrow may have adopted the governance style of his predecessor, former President Yahya Jammeh, who disregarded procedural and Due Process established in the constitution.
The Times asked the Attorney General that shortly after President Barrow took office in January, the new president granted pardon to the current vice president, Ousainou Darboe, with thirty eight other political and security prisoners at a time when the Attorney General was not appointed to sit in the Committee on prerogative of mercy. The Times also raised the issue of the prerogative of mercy granted to Svein Agesandakar, a Norwegian national, convicted of pedophilia who was granted pardon when the Attorney General, on a pilgrimage to Mecca, complained that he was not consulted as required by the constitution. The Times raised the point to the Attorney General that many legal practitioners questioned the validity of the process that was followed in granting the pardons.
In responding to these questions, Tambadou said:
“The question is not about me in the office or not, it’s about the Office of the Attorney General as an institution, and I think the president acted accordingly to effect the pardon. This has been published in the gazette and explains which powers the president relies on to pardon these former inmates.”
When pressed further, he said:
“I think it’s evident that he relies on his constitutional powers. Is not the question of me as an individual here, is a question of the Office of the Attorney General as an institution and I belief the president acted accordingly, and the pardons were published in the Gazette, and if you care again to do research, you can go to the printing house and get hold of the Gazette.”
On the pardon granted to the pedophile, Mr. Agesandakar, Tambadou said:
“I think again as far as the Ministry of Justice is concerned, this is “water under the bridge.” The Ministry of Interior has said in a presser that they made the recommendations and as far as we (AG) are concerned this case is closed.”
When pressed further, he reiterated:
“As far as the Ministry of Justice is concerned, this is “water under the bridge” and I restate that because if the Ministry of Interior issued a statement making it categorically clear that they made the recommendation then that matter is closed as far as the Ministry of Justice is concerned. We don’t need to beat a dead horse, but I did say I will investigate when I issued my statement at the time. The inconsistent twitter statement by this Ministry on our twitter page that is what I said I will investigate, and I did so. I have had a chat with the person responsible for those inconsistent statements; and he explained to me satisfactorily why they did so; and we have taken measures to prevent similar occurrence here at the Ministry, so that has also been dealt with internally.”
He elaborated that it is outrageous for some people to say his office was compromised with regard to the case of the pedophile. He added that the one who acted on his behalf to recommend the pardon for the pedophile has explained convincingly the reasons behind his decision and the Ministry of Justice is satisfied with the person’s explanations.
The Attorney General was also asked on the continued detention of the “Jungulars” who were arrested in 2017 but have still not been put on trial.
In responding, the Attorney General said:
“What do you do with a group of people who have accepted committing very terrible crimes and you are not yet ready in terms of the personnel and structures in place to undertake such a heavy trial. I think this country is not yet ready to proceed with trials like this yet.”
“We will admit that the “Jungulars” are in detention, they have not been tortured, we know where they are, and we are willing to allow the international community, including organizations like the International Red Cross to visit them. We will allow them medical visits so that everyone can confirm that they have not been mistreated in anyway or form.”
According to Tambadou, government is working to finding solutions to the dilemma of the problems of the accused Jungulars’ case, which he emphasized posed a serious challenge to the government.
On the preparation for the commencement of the Truth, Reconciliation and Reparations Commission (TRRC), the Attorney General disclosed to the press that the commission will be launched on 15 October 2018 at Dunes Hotel. The government, according to him, has allocated a budget of D4 million (four million dalasi) to finance the commission with support from UN and other agencies.
The minister also revealed that his ministry is looking for more funding both internally and externally, adding that the Qatari government has given a grant of $3 million towards the Transitional Justice Program.
AG Tambadou added that, all preparations have been done towards smooth running of the TRRC, including the appointments of eleven commissioners, saying that the eleven commissioners have been identified including representatives from all the regions of the country and the Diaspora.
The Attorney General announced that Mr. Essa Faal has been appointed as the lead counsel of the commission, who will be assisted by Ms. Horejah Bala-Gaye and a small team of lawyers.
“The TRRC is lining up a few witnesses to commence public hearings soon after the launching event. The Secretariat will announce to the public the exact commencement date,” he disclosed.
He defended the appointment of Baba Galleh Jallow, the Executive Secretary of the TRRC and Alagie Barrow as the Research and Head of Investigation whom some people criticized should not have been appointed into positions in the TRRC.
TRRC, according to Tambadou, is not a prosecuting authority but rather a transitional justice; and that people must understand the two and their differences.
Defending his decisions in appointing Dr. Jallow and the subsequent hiring of Mr. Barrow, he said:
“I have seen nowhere in this world where victims cannot work in truth commission and if you know of any I would be grateful to know…. People can express different views about it, some will agree, and some will not but really as a matter practice and really as a matter of integrity and credibility they possessed, his appointment has no bearing on the credibility or integrity of this process. Just because he was a victim, so he cannot work in the truth commission, we need to understand that truth commissions are not prosecutions, they are not courts of law and perhaps people should be aware of the potential conflicts but what is the conflict here? And conflict here doesn’t ordinarily mean a simple dictionary meaning but conflict under the law.”
He added that he understands that Alagie Barrow was appointed through a competitive recruitment process, noting that it is the prerogative of the Executive Secretary, Dr. Jallow, to appoint people on the basis of the competitive recruitment process and personal belief that Alagie Barrow is competent and intelligent enough to lead the office.
On the issue of former National Assembly member who was arrested in September, he said:
“We are looking at the Ablie Saine case very seriously and in fact, the file is on my desk right now and I’m looking at the case personally not only because is about hate speech or perhaps a possibly criminal offence. I have taken it upon myself to personally look at the Abdoulie Saine’s case and I am doing that, and I have not yet concluded my review and the public will know my conclusion when I am done. Unfortunately, we cannot apply extraterritoriality in those circumstances.”
He concluded adding that the action is liberalized in some countries but criminalized in others.
He declined to entertain any question regarding the Semlex SA, a Belgian Company, even though there is a wide spread condemnation among Gambians for awarding the contract issue identification cards and possibly other official documents to the company now facing criminal investigations in many countries, including Belgium.
He was asked to elaborate on his recent interview where he said the exposure to liabilities by The Gambia government will be far too grave if it pull out of the Semlex deal.
He responded defensively by saying:
“No, I will not elaborate on that issue because I have given several issues… on that point and I think we have other things that we can also address. So, if I just beg for your indulgence to excuse me from addressing that because it’s a matter that comes up time and…. I have addressed it. Even in court there is what we call finality to litigation, so I have addressed this issue comprehensively and that’s all I have to say about it.”