It motivated me to share the following release with you:
A NATION UNEASILY SETTLING DOWN
Halifa Sallah
The dust is gradually settling. Now the roads to national unity and national confrontation are fully in view. Gambia is indeed at a crossroads. ‘Never Again’ is the slogan but tongue lashing is coming from different direction. The people should remain focused on substance and provide remedies to the urgencies of the country rather than get into a stress mood and start more fires than the nation could contain.
The Public space belongs to all Gambians. We may choose to co-exist in it in peace and compete as to who would be best suited to perform one public service or another in furtherance of the common good or keep hostility alive and drag each other into the abyss of conflict.
I hope a Minister would be aware that the executive would be compromising the integrity of the office of the Inspector General of Police if he or she threatens to have any person arrested for any purpose. Those with powers of arrest may exercise it only if they have evidence to believe that they can prove beyond reasonable doubt before an independent and impartial court that the crime alleged is committed by an accused person or if they have reasonable and justifiable grounds to suspect that a crime is about to be committed. To arrest a person on grounds other than the circumstances stated would be unlawful and may result to high court action to seek redress.
Political platforms should not be utilised to give the impression that the office of the Inspector General of police is under the command of a political party. Party and state are not the same in the eyes of the law. The IGP is to enforce the law. All persons are declared by the Constitution to be equal before the law. Hence in enforcing the law, the office of IGP and its agents should do so without fear or favour, affection or ill will.
Party stalwarts should restrain themselves on political platforms and stop relying on the arms of the state to threaten political opponents. Any Minister of a government that relies on the arms of government to intimidate political opponents is paving the way to impunity. Persistence in such an endeavour would constitute an unpardonable error of judgment that would result in endless miscarriage of justice. This would cost a government its integrity and the public endless utilisation of tax payers’ money to redress suits for unlawful arrests. This is the verdict of truth and common sense and it is incontrovertible.
The dust is settling. There is no need to invite the Sahara Desert to release cold harmattan wind to create a desert storm and cloud the sky again with a new wave of dust. Provocation is another form of incitement. It should be avoided at all cost. All should be law abiding, irrespective of party affiliation.
