Posted by Chester Morton / Thursday, 22 December 2016 / No comments
How Rule of Law operated under the government of Yahyah Jammeh in The Gambia
Definition of rule of Law
Rule of law has two definitions, the classical meaning as
proposed by A. V. Dicey and the modern definition by the New Delhi declaration
in 1959 at a meeting of the International Commission of Jurists.
According to A. V. Dicey, in his classical opinion, Rule of
Law means the law is supreme. In other words, the law is the highest authority
of the land in the absence of which nothing else can prevail. For example, the
law does not reside in the bosom of anybody.
The contemporary definition, as developed by the
International Commission of Jurists states that Rule of Law is the conditions,
structures, institutions, processes and procedures that must exist so that the
individual can enjoy his life in dignity, security and prosperity.
In The Gambia, there are lots of instances that show that the
Rule of Law was not in vogue at all. This is in spite of the fact that some
institutions have received glosses in the past to give a semblance of the
existence of Rule of Law.
The Independent Electoral Commission
One of the requirements of Rule of Law is the holding of
periodic elections to renew the mandate of a government or to change one. In
the Gambia, there is an Independent Electoral Commission that holds elections
periodically. However, in practice, the votes were not counted in the open
until the last election of 2016, which President Yahya Jammeh lost
incidentally. The Security Forces of the Gambia have surrounded the office of
the headquarters of the Electoral Commission and preventing its Chairman and
his staff from entering their offices. For real, the Electoral Commission under
Yahya Jammeh has not been free.
An independent judiciary
Another requirement of the Rule of Law is for the judiciary
to be independent from every influence and interference from the other organs
of government especially the executive headed by President Yahya Jammeh. The
judiciary in the Gambia does not know independence. The executive could remove
them from office at will and replace then where and when the president wanted.
For example, before the 2016 general elections, President Yahya Jammeh sacked all
but of the members on the Gambian Supreme Court. For more than a year, he refused
to appoint the required number of members to the Supreme Court. After disputing
the results of the 2016 election which he lost, he has quickly appointed to the
bench people from another country to hear his electoral case that he has sent
to the Supreme and realizing there was no quorum to hear his petition.
Freedom of the press
The constitution of the Gambia guarantees the freedom of the
press and the law allows journalists to be free to say what they want to say
without the fear of intimidation. However, in practice, it is not the case. Journalists
who were critical of Yahya Jammeh met with stiff opposition from government
details. Some journalist were sent to prison for expressing their opinions on
national issues. Deyda Hydara, who was assassinated by unknown men, was the
editor of The Post. This was
suspected to be linked to his decision to oppose some new laws to gag the
Gambian press.
Supremacy of the law
The International Commission of Jurists’ definition of the
Rule of Law requires that citizens must live in dignity. An aspect of this
dignity is the right to pursue one’s religious faith. The Chapter 1, Section 1
(1) of the 1997 constitution of the Gambia states that it is a secular state.
President Yahya Jammeh has verbally declared the Gambia an Islamic state. This
is against the constitution because that can only be done through a referendum.
By his actions, the president was ruling the nation according to his whims.
Intimidation of the political opposition
One of the weapons Yahya used was the intimidation of his
political opponents, especially those he perceived to be a threat to his
political ambitions of staying in power for as long as possible. One of his political
opponents who were threats to him was Mr. Usainou Daboe, who is the leader of
united Democratic Party. President Yahya Jammeh managed to put Mr. Darboe in
prison to remove his threat.
SAMPLE QUESTIONS
1. a. What is Rule of Law?
b. What evidence is
there to show that Rule of Law was operating in the Gambia?
