The law of the land states that each Gambian is a sovereign citizen whose security of person and rights are inviolable. The duty of law enforcement bodies is to protect the sovereign people and their properties. Many people have been arrested and detained without trial for having some form of connection with the insurgents of 30th December 2014. No charges have been preferred against them. Advocacy for their release is ongoing at home but very feeble in the international community. The dangers of long detention without trial cannot be overemphasised. Foroyaa has pointed out that some of these people like Kebba Touray have health problems. Many others are elderly people who could easily fall prey to hypertension and diabetes. How would the state respond should there be any deaths in detention? The law is the scaffolding for the construction of a just order. Once the scaffolding is put aside state administration must become crooked and crude in its manifestations. The government has a duty to govern within the law. To govern outside the law is to rule with impunity. Impunity on the side of a government is the father and impunity on the side of extremists the mother of the failed state. Those who are interested in a peaceful and prosperous Gambia must combat impunity from the angle of the state, on one hand and from the angle of extremists, on the other hand. The weapon to combat impunity is persistent exposure. Gambians and the world should be relentless in calling for an end to detention without charge or trial.]]>
