Under the Constitution of the Republic of The Gambia, there is a director of public prosecutions whose functions are made clear by section 85 which states:
“(1) The Director of Public Prosecutions shall have power in any case in which he or she considers it desirable to do so, and subject to the approval of the Attorney General- (a) to initiate and undertake criminal proceedings against any person before any court for an offence against the law of The Gambia (b) to take over and continue any criminal proceeding that has been instituted by any other person or authority; (c) to discontinue, at any stage before judgement is delivered, any criminal proceeding instituted or undertaken by himself or herself or any other person or authority:”
Hence the system of passing information to the director of public prosecutions for assessment and determination before any public figure gives an update. Information should be accurate, based on the consensus reached on the evidence gathered by the law enforcement agencies and assessed by the director of public prosecutions.
Under such circumstances, raw information will not reach the public and gathering and dissemination of facts will replace rumour mongering.
