Didier Drogba opens first of five hospitals in Ivory Coast

Didier is coming good on his pledge

Former Ivory Coast international Didier Drogba has launched the first of the five hospitals he earlier promised to offer to the country as part of his charity activities.

Situated in the Attecoube district of the country’s commercial city Abidjan, the $1 million health complex will mainly cater for less privileged women and children, according to officials.

Built on a plot of 800 square meters, the hospital has many facilities including an ultrasound room, a maternal and child protection unit, an x-ray block, an ultra modern laboratory, a pharmacy and hospitalisation and isolation wards.

About 50,000 patients are expected to get treatment at the facility every year, according to Guy Roland Tanoh, secretary of Didier Drogba Foundation, which is handling the project.

The remaining four hospitals are under construction in the Ivorian cities of Yamoussoukro, San Pedro, Man and Korhogo and will be inaugurated in the coming months.

Drogba’s foundation will hold a gala event in London on April 18 to raise funds.

The Chelsea striker and the Elephants all-time top scorer remains an icon in his homeland despite retiring from the national team, which won the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations in Equatorial Guinea in February.

Source: Ghana/Joy Sports/Gary Al-Smith

Gambian Court Issues Arrest Warrants for Cherno Njie, 8 others

By Rohey Jadama
The High Court in Banjul, presided over by Justice Simeon A. Abi, has
yesterday, April 8, 2015 issued arrest warrants for Cherno Njie and eight others who were all charged with multiple counts of treason, concealment of treason and offences relating to mutiny and aiding
abetting mutiny.The state was represented by S.H. Barkum, the Director of public
prosecution (DPP).
The nine accused persons are Cherno Njie, Mustapha Faal, Alh. Saidy
Barrow, Papa Faal, Baboucarr Bai Lowe, Musa Sarr, Landing Sonko, Lamin
Njie and Aisha Jallow.
In his ruling, the trial judge said in view of the application of the
learned counsel, order is hereby made and directed to the Inspector General of Police (IGP), the Interpol and any other relevant security
or personnel to arrest the accused persons wherever they may be and produce them before the court and answer to the charges against them.
“This order shall serve as a warrant for any person who may come in
contact with any of the accused persons and hand over to the court or
the authority for prosecution,” ruled the judge.
The case was adjourned to 13th May for mention.
Count one is Treason which states that Cherno Njie, Mustapha Faal,
Alh. Saidy Barrow, Papa Faal, Baboucarr Bai Lowe,Musa Sarr, Landing
Sanko, Lamin Njie, Aisha Jallow and others on or about the 30th of
December 2014 at Banjul and other places in The Republic of The Gambia
and within the jurisdiction  of Court, prepared or endeavoured to
overthrow  the democratically elected Government of the Republic of
The Gambia by unlawful means to wit: coup d’etat and thereby committed
an offence.
Count two Treason, states Cherno Njie, Mustapha Faal, Alh. Saidy
Barrow, Papa Faal, Baboucarr Bai Lowe, Musa Sarr, Landing Sonko, Lamin
Njie, Aisha Jallow and others on or about the 30th of December 2014 at
Banjul and other places in The Republic of The Gambia and elsewhere,
conspired together to overthrow  the democratically elected Government
of the Republic of The Gambia by unlawful means to wit coup d’etat and
thereby committed an offence.
Count three Treason, states Cherno Njie, Mustapha Faal, Alh. Saidy
Barrow, Papa Faal, Baboucarr Bai Lowe, Musa Sarr, Landing Sanko, Lamin
Njie, Aisha Jallow and others at large, on or about the 30th of
December 2014 at Banjul and other places in The Republic of The Gambia
and within  the jurisdiction of Court, assisted Major  Lamin Sanneh
(deceased) and others to invade the Republic of The Gambia with an
armed forces and subjected the republic of The Gambia to an attack
with intent to overthrow the democratically elected Government of the
Republic of The Gambia by unlawful means to wit: coup d’etat and
thereby committed an offence.
Count four is Concealment of Treason  states that Lamin Njie, on
or about the 30th of December 2014 at Banjul and other places in The
Republic of The Gambia and elsewhere, knowing that former Major Lamin
Sanneh (deceased) and others intended to commit treason failed to give
information within all reasonable dispatch to a minister, magistrate,
a police officer or a member of the Armed Forces and thereby committed
an offence.
Count five is Concealment of Treason which states that  Lamin Njie on
or about the 30th of December 2014 at Banjul and other places in The
Republic of  The Gambia and abroad, knowing that  former Major Lamin
Sanneh (deceased) and others intended to commit treason failed to use
reasonable endeavour to prevent the commission of the offence and
thereby committed an offence.
Count six is Offences relating to mutiny which states that Cherno
Njie, Mustapha Faal, Alh. Saidy Barrow, Papa Faal, Baboucarr Bai Lowe,
Musa Sarr, Landing Sanko, Lamin Njie, Aisha Jallow and others, on or
about the 30th of December 2014 at Banjul and other places in The
Republic of The Gambia and elsewhere, conspired with former Major
Lamin Sanneh and others at large to overthrow the lawful authority in
The Gambia Armed Forces, to wit; the President and the Commander in
Chief of The Gambia Armed Forces by coup d’etat and thereby committed
an offence.
Count Seven is Mutiny which states that Cherno Njie, Mustapha Faal,
Alh. Saidy Barrow, Papa Faal, Baboucarr  Bai Lowe, Musa Sarr, Landing
Sanko, Lamin Njie, Aisha Jallow and others on or about the 30th of
December 2014 at Banjul and other places in The Republic of The Gambia
endeavoured to overthrow the lawful authority in The Gambia Armed
Forces, to wit; the President and the Commander in Chief of The Gambia
Armed Forces by coup d’etat and thereby committed an offence.
Finally, Count Eight is aiding and abetting Mutiny which states that Lamin
Njie on or about the 30th of December 2014 at Banjul and other places
in The Republic of The Gambia being aware that Capt. Lamin Sanneh
(deceased) and others were preparing to overthrow the lawful authority
in The Gambia Armed Forces, to wit; the President and the Commander in
Chief of The Gambia Armed Forces by coup d’etat improperly held
communication with them and thereby committed an offence.

Source. www.foroyaa.gm

The Gambian Opposition: Some Honest Analysis Please

 

By Alkali Conteh

Growing up in Sabbach-Sanjal in the early 1960’s we witnessed the Gambia’s political climate beginning to shape up. As the powers in charge were determined to derail the efforts of the emerging political landscape to bring self rule to our nation, our people turned to the grassroots to fight for what was rightly ours. An unspoken phenomenon and less known connivance was the continuous attempt to disenfranchise all other citizens of the nation except for the colony to participate in elections. There was a well concocted scheme to exclude the rest of the country to participate in an election that will remain to be told in the historical precedence of the nation and for generations to come. The grassroots were mobilized to help take on the challenges the nation faced.

The different Rural groups like Burama Njie’s Society of Allen Street, the Jan Jang Bureh Society of New Street, Kombo-Nuimi Society, the Badibunka Kangbeng Kafo of Leman Street and other like-minded people came together forming the Protectorate Peoples Society PPS in a common course for rural enfranchisement and chose Sir Dawda as a leader.

The PPP fought for extending universal adult suffrage to the rest of the country. They went on to win for the country several laudable political statuses such as independence and republicanism. The rest is history that can neither be denied nor devalued.

Let us fast forward to 1994 and the entry of the military junta, and the subsequent emergence of the 2nd Republic and along with it the lifting of the ban on political parties in 1996. Older parties like P.P.P., N.C.P. and P.D.O.I.S. re-grouped and launched their efforts to reform; and newer ones emerged in likes of A.P.R.C., U.D.P., N.R.P. and much later, G.P.D.P., N.D.A.M. and G.M.C. Both the P.P.P’s and N.C.P’s attempts to rejuvenate were not quite successful.

Going by the results of the 1996 elections (and every election thereafter), the Gambian people have accorded the U.D.P. the enviable and much appreciated status of being the second strongest party in the country, followed by N.R.P. and P.D.O.I.S. respectively. The parties’ ranking remained so. Are these facts irrelevant? No. Did these achievements emerged out of the woods? Again, No is the answer. What led to these and other political gains by the opposition parties is a series of political planning, programming, activities, and events such as putting in place an organizational structure, grassroots mobilizations, political rallies wherein the party/parties presented themselves as alternatives to the A.P.R.C. government. For over 18 years, the U.D.P., N.R.P. and P.D.O.I.S. organized such campaign rallies and events where (we will all acknowledge) they did not praise Yahya Jammeh, but to the contrary. These parties travelled the length and breadth of the country to interact and exchange views with the electorate. They attacked the regime’s records openly and very boldly from human rights, the absence of the rule of law to her failed economic programs.

To the pundits none of these are anywhere near the benchmark of deserving their thumbs-up. Now enter the P.P.P. in holding its first political event in nearly 20 years and the whole crowd erupts into a jubilant acknowledgement and tacit approval. As if that is not enough, they proceed further to “damn’ any of the other parties for failing to show up so as to register their solidarity with the P.P.P. Above all, the pundits’ are insinuating this event to be the official beginning of the long awaited unity of the opposition parties. My question to them is:

Where was the P.P.P. when U.D.P. celebrated her 18th anniversary? Nowhere, even though they were invited.

And what analysis did our pundits draw out of this? “Nothing big”, after all. In fact some discount it as irrelevant as any such consideration or argument will only lead one to a “tit-for-tat” behaviour. This logic smacks of either intellectual dishonesty, or, contextual myopia or outright bias.

I wish to remind our pundits out there that sincerity and honesty ought to be their driving stick. Politics is an enterprise where numbers are the key variables or ingredients. If you are calling for unity of the opposition parties on honest and realistic grounds, do not try to invent a new argument. The format is simple; the principle has been proven several times in different countries and continents over and over. Opposition Unity, coalition or alliance (you call it what you may) have in most cases always been based on a party-led format. The party with the greatest number LEADS. What else can you argue for?

The Gambian Diaspora has a significant role to play in strengthening pro-democratic gains. However, what the Gambian Diaspora cannot do is be the catalyst for creating and attempting to promote false narrative on social media and online radios ever ready to temporarily indulge the very increasing urge for information or hearing debates.

The UDP regularly transverses the four corners of the Gambia with its youth leaders, women groups and the senior members to renew the call for people to be politically aware and alert to avert attempts by the regime in power to undermine a strong opposition base. All the efforts the UDP party is doing is practical political works that do not necessarily have to get media attention, since some may pretend but are aware of the reactions of the regime in power to UDP activities. Since 1996, UDP supporters have been arrested and prosecuted more than any other registered political party in The Gambia. Clear and very distinct cases are those of Kanyibaa Kanyi, Wassa Janneh, the late Shingle Nyassi, Sarjo Kunjang Sanneh and more recently Amadou Sanneh in October of 2013; the illegal detention and unsubstantiated charges against Ebrima Solo Sandeng; the arrest and detention of the militant youth group that became known as the UDP-14; and not to forget Alasana Jobarteh, whose arrest and charges emanated from his performance and delivery at a joint opposition/CORDEG event. The latter’s case was fought by a UDP legal team and his D50,000.00 fine was raised exclusively by UDP militants’ contributions (with one exception of a non-UDP contributor).

Dictatorial governments cannot be compared to even the most toothless democratic administration. The Gambian opposition have been blamed and compared to Senegalese opposition and now even Nigerian opposition parties. These out of place comparisons are as if we have forgotten, Senegal is not rule by one man relying on the long arms of the brutal laws, and the heavy weight of the security infrastructure.

Therefore, the hatred for the UDP is not enough to attempt to navigate around it in a Gambian political discourse. The UDP has networks all around the country, and conducts their activities with the party supporters’ assistance. Yes, the UDP does not romance the media as many would want. This is because the UDP believes, honesty and integrity in politics should not be falsely misconstrued. The UDP believes that, grassroots advocacy, the security and personal safety of its activities and militants must be at the centre of all its media activity.

We argued for a fair and balance media discourse on our difficult political existence and how to map out a way forward.

Ends

source.www.kaironews.com

THE RIGHT TO VOTE SHOULD NOT MEAN A DEATH SENTENCE IN NIGERIA: says Ayodele Ameen,

PRESS RELEASE

THE RIGHT TO VOTE SHOULD NOT MEAN A DEATH SENTENCE IN NIGERIA:

A PRELIMINARY REPORT 
on the 
2015 Presidential Elections

As we have concluded the voting, collation and declaration exercise of the 2015 Presidential election, the Nigerian people are the heroes. Nigerians have demonstrated their commitment to exercise their right to vote by their turnout, patience and resilience during the voting process despite all the challenges and difficulties experienced.

However, the election exercise has turned into a death sentence for some Nigerians. About 53 people have been killed trying to exercise their right to vote, and no less than 100 people have been killed during the post-election period, mostly related to post-election celebrations . This is completely unacceptable, 

says Ayodele Ameen, Executive Director of The Human Rights, Advancement, Development and Advocacy Centre (HURIDAC), an organisation that has been observing compliance of stakeholders to human rights standards during election.

The killings linked to reported cases of presumed terrorist attacks in Gombe, Yobe and Borno states show a record of 41 deaths. In addition, two extrajudicial executions have been reported in Rivers and Bauchi, while the rest of the deaths are attributed to politically motivated killings.

Human Rights violations have been reported to occur in all geographical zones of the federation. The analysis of these cases of violation of human rights by government agents shows that there are reduced violations compared to the previous elections, but human rights abuses committed by non-state actors continue to increase at an unacceptable level.

We are beginning to see an improved conduct of the security forces in most of the states, though we are still concerned about the conduct of security forces in some cases, especially the actions of the Police in Rivers and that of the  Military in Edo, as well as some violations, by the DSS. ‘We have seen that the DSS has demonstrated more professionalism this time by taking the back seat contrary to the role they played in the Ekiti and Osun states elections’, Ayodele Ameen said.

The organisation notes that there has been one case of violation of freedom of expression by the police against a member of staff of Channels Television in Calabar and three cases of arsons, in Bauchi and Rivers state.

There were reported cases of violations of freedom of movement in a few states, and a few arbitrary arrests in Sokoto and Edo. However, the reported cases of arbitrary arrests and other violations by the security forces in Rivers State are completely unacceptable and call for further investigation.

There has been no report of DSS masked men intimidating voters as in previous elections, but there has been one reported case of a VIP moving around with military men in Edo state.

We note and commend efforts made by the Security forces to improve the conduct of their members, We however hasten to add that, they continue to remain mindful of their pre-election promises. The military promised to rid the North East of any potential terrorists within six weeks. Despite this offensive, we have lost about 41 lives to terrorist related attacks during these elections. The police promised non-partisanship and issued a human rights manual to its officers. Their conduct in Rivers state however, has not met the standards envisaged in this manual by far, and the promise to protect members of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) has failed to protect two NYSC members that lost their lives.

The huge inter-party conflicts resulting in about nine deaths, including the death of a soldier in Rivers State, still raises the need for the police to improve their election security management strategy.

The police now needs to investigate all these cases and bring to justice all perpetrators of human rights violations and other irregularities. All these reported deaths are preventable and we must learn the lessons from this process that integrating human rights into election management enhance the credibility of the electoral process

In all these cases, it is important to ensure that impunity is not allowed. The police has the responsibility to ensure attacks on police and military personnel are fully investigated and that perpetrators are brought to justice. The police also has the responsibility to ensure that all victims of human rights violations and other abuses during this election not only get justice, but also redress and remedy, says Ayodele Ameen.

The organisation calls on all Nigerians to remain calm and shun any act of violence. We call on  the security to improve on its  record in the upcoming April 11 Gubernatorial election.

As a matter of urgency, the President-elect and his political party must continue to reach out to their members and supporters to tone down the celebration and avoid further loss of lives,

Signed:
Ayodele Ameen
Executive Director
HURIDAC
Lagos, Nigeria
2 April 2015

Soldiers sentenced to death in secret trial must not be executed-AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL

Gambia: Soldiers sentenced to death in secret trial must not be executed

Death sentences imposed on soldiers accused of participating in December’s attempted coup d’état in Gambia are a cruel violation of the right to life and the right to a fair trial, Amnesty International said today. 

A military court handed down death sentences to three soldiers and sentences of life imprisonment to three others following a trial on Monday 30 March 2015. The trial was held in secret; media and independent observers were barred from observing the proceedings.

“Gambia’s justice system is deeply flawed and we have concerns about the fairness of the trial, given that it was held in secret,” said Stephen Cockburn, Amnesty International Deputy Regional Director for West and Central Africa.

“Amnesty International opposes the death penalty in all cases without exception. The death penalty is a violation of the right to life and the ultimate cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment. Many countries in West Africa are moving away from the use of death penalty and it is disappointing that the Gambia has not followed this trend.”

Reports from the country indicate that the soldiers may have been convicted of treason, conspiracy, mutiny and assisting the enemy. The last executions in Gambia were carried out in 2012, when nine prisoners (eight men and one woman) were executed by firing squad.

In September 2012 President Jammeh announced a “conditional” moratorium on executions, which would be “automatically lifted” if crime rates increased. In March 2015, during a review 

AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL PRESS RELEASE Alarming rise in death sentences

Death penalty 2014: Alarming rise in death sentences as governments resorted to capital punishment to combat crime and terrorism

·         States used the death penalty in a flawed attempt to tackle crime, terrorism and internal instability

·         Sharp spike in death sentences largely due to Egypt and Nigeria - at least 2,466 imposed globally, up 28% on 2013

·         607 executions recorded, down almost 22% on 2013 (excluding those carried out in China, which executed more than the rest of the world put together)

·         22 countries known to have executed, the same number as 2013

An alarming number of countries used the death penalty to tackle real or perceived threats to state security linked to terrorism, crime or internal instability in 2014, Amnesty International found in its annual review of the death penalty worldwide.

The number of death sentences recorded in 2014 jumped by almost 500 compared to 2013, mainly because of sharp spikes in Egypt and Nigeria, including mass sentencing in both countries in the context of internal conflict and political instability.

“Governments using the death penalty to tackle crime are deluding themselves. There is no evidence that shows the threat of execution is more of a deterrent to crime than any other punishment,” said Salil Shetty, Amnesty International’s Secretary General.

“The dark trend of governments using the death penalty in a futile attempt to tackle real or imaginary threats to state security and public safety was stark last year. It is shameful that so many states around the world are essentially playing with people’s lives – putting people to death for ‘terrorism’ or to quell internal instability on the ill-conceived premise of deterrence.”

But there was also good news to be found in 2014 - fewer executions were recorded compared to the year before and several countries took positive steps towards abolition of the death penalty.

Top executioners

China again carried out more executions than the rest of the world put together. Amnesty International believes thousands are executed and sentenced to death there every year, but with numbers kept a state secret the true figure is impossible to determine.

The other countries making up the world’s top five executioners in 2014 were Iran (289 officially announced and at least 454 more that were not acknowledged by the authorities), Saudi Arabia (at least 90), Iraq (at least 61) and the USA (35).

Excluding China, at least 607 executions were known to have been carried out in 2014, compared to 778 in 2013, a drop of more than 20 per cent.

Sierra Leone: Let pregnant girls take exams Says Amnesty International

 AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL     

  
 
The suggestion that visibly pregnant girls in Sierra Leone will be excluded from school exams this Monday will do nothing but damage their education and harm their chances to better their lives, Amnesty International said today. 
On Wednesday Sierra Leone’s Education Minister Minkailu Bah reiterated previous comments that visibly pregnant girls could be banned from taking their exams. One key reason given by the minister is that they would provide a bad example to other girls. Passing the exams is a requirement to progress from junior to senior high school.
“The government should be striving to get more girls into school, not turning them away at the door. Girls must not have their right to education and their hopes of a better life dashed because of an early and in some cases unwanted pregnancy,” said Sabrina Mahtani, Amnesty International West Africa Researcher. 
“I dread to think how schools will implement such a policy. What girl would go to school if it meant being singled out, physically examined and shamed? Schools are meant to test student’s ability, not whether they are pregnant.” 
The threatened measures would further disadvantage girls in Sierra Leone, where 28% of 15-19 year olds have a child or are pregnant according to the 2013 Sierra Leone Demographic and Health Survey. 
Schools have been closed for eight months due to the Ebola outbreak, and during that time girls have had less access to reproductive health services or clinics, have been under more pressure to have sex for goods or money, and have been at increased risk of sexual violence. 
Schools are due to reopen in April, and it is not known whether or not pregnant girls will be allowed to attend.