The Gambia is a Republican State, not a monarchy where pronouncements may amount to law or carry the effect of law. Public officials should appreciate the dichotomy between law and policy. In a democracy, the Executive must lead the trend in observing transparent respect for, and enforcement of the rule of law, including empowering State institutions tasked with the application of the law. The undiluted 1997 Constitution is clear on the roles of the three arms of government, and the supreme Law envisages this to be applied to governance. It is trite principle of constitutional law that all arms of government are coordinate.

For GMC, the Judiciary remains the most important arm of government in a proper democracy. It is the only branch of government that has the legal and constitutional power and authority to nullify the acts of the remaining two arms of government. Therefore, the one with the authority to uproot and tear asunder the acts of the remaining two, and require in their place what ordinarily ought to be, is more superior. It is also the last hope of the ordinary person, even against the pernicious, marauding power of the State. A well constituted, independent judiciary is the strongest pillar of democracy and the most effective arsenal against abuse of power and autocracy. That is why I support judicial independence without conditions, and for the same reason, I express appreciation to the British Government through DfID for its support to the Legal Sector Capacity Development. Read more

By Mathew K Jallow

The adjective, absolute, does not even begin to qualify the depth and breadth of the power wielded by Gambia’s Yahya Jammeh. Yahya Jammeh’s power is enough to make the powerful de' Medici family of medieval Italy, whom Niccolò Machiavelli dedicated his controversial political thesis, The Prince, green with envy. The ideas and theories behind Machiavelli’s Prince, have over the past five centuries been studied, dissected and applied in their literally context by tyrants and dictators alike, but the supremacy of brutal power advocated in the Prince, has, in most parts of the world, been rejected by political doctrines attuned to a more enlightened world. In the intervening years since Machiavelli published his exceedingly self-serving work in 1572, the Gambia has experienced the destructive forces of tribal wars and the devastation of slavery, but even those chapters of our history have not taught Yahya Jammeh’s regime the lessons of civilized human behavior. Instead, The Gambia remains one of the few countries in Africa still burdened with the crushing weight of political tyranny, and the erstwhile Nicolo Machiavelli must be smiling in his cold grave. Read more

The Pan-African Society of RI would like to sincerely thank each and everyone of you who were able to attend it's 8th annual conference this year. We also extend our thanks to all those who could not make it and have sent their regrets to us. The conference was a huge success thanks to everyone's personal effort and unbelievable contribution.

The young Pirates Party of Germany is maintaining its record-breaking series of election victories. After passing the minimum five (5) percent legal threshold to secure seats in the state parliaments of Berlin and Saarland, it has now entered the legislatures of Schleswig-Holstein on 06 May 2012 and North Rhine Westphalia (NRW) on 13 May 2012. Its victory in Germany's most populous federal state of NRW makes it a rising formidable force in German and European politics. 

Gambia-born Prince Bubacarr Aminata Sankanu of the party's Kreisverein Koeln says in an interview that despite the election victories, the party has no immediate intention of joining or forming governments „we told our voters that our first priority is to change the political culture. We are entering the various parliaments to first change the way politics is done from inside while fine-tuning our manifesto. After that we can talk about executive government participation.

By Mathew K Jallow

The former President of ECOWAS, James Victor Ghebo, was a catalyst in the dawning of West Africa’s changing political culture. And now, not to be out-done, the larger African Union body has come out swinging with jaw-dropping insinuations about the abominable political lethargy of the past. Africa’s political leaderships can no longer expect safe shelter behind the infinite power and influence of their non-descript monarchical regimes or hope that their impunities, a hallmark of their cataclysmic reigns, will continue to fall on deaf ears.

Africa’s proverbial winds of change are blowing, but this time around the shifting sands of the continent’s political culture are neither another fleeting adventure in the political grandstanding we have become accustomed to, nor is it a renewed manifestation of the numbing hypocritical indifference that has for so long be-deviled the continent’s un-even political landscape. And, nowhere do these evolving political paradigms offer more promise and opportunity than in West Africa, where recent political history boasts the un-enviable record of brutal civil wars, and the total and complete collapse of civil order. Ivory Coast, Liberia, Guinea, Sierra Leone, Guinea-Bissau and Mali, have all been mired in nightmares of whimsical political leaderships and the vicissitudes of endemic corruption, bureaucratic chaos and political paternalism.  Read more

Madam Chairperson of the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights, Honourable Members of the Commission, Distinguished Representatives of States Parties, Dear Colleagues Human Rights Defenders, Ladies and Gentlemen, all protocols observed.

It is an honour for ARTICLE 19 to address you during this 51st Ordinary Session of the African Commission.

We would first of all like to congratulate you for the tireless efforts your Commission has been making in promoting and protecting human rights on the African continent. Our special thanks go to the Special Rapporteur on the Freedom of Expression in Africa who has just made a brilliant presentation of her report on the efforts of her mechanism to enable Africans in their respective countries to freely express themselves and have access to information without any arbitrary restrictions. Read full article

The British wanted palm oil from the Gambia River so they took that out of French West Africa and today the place is called a country: 60 kilometres wide at the Atlantic it snakes 338 kilometres up river where it is just a dozen kilometres wide. French diplomats like to refer to it as the finger in the ass of Senegal.

The metaphor is à propos this year as the country obsesses over all things anal.

In early April there was a private party at a major luxury hotel in which the dress code for men was transvestite. Someone took photos. Somehow the photos ended up with the police and 18 men and two women were arrested and charged with homosexuality, a crime in the Gambia. Read full story

Professor Dr. Abdoulie Saine talked about his New Book "Culture and Customs of Gambia". The renowned Professor and author of several books discusses his newest book that talked about Gambian tradition, culture and how it affects the modern generation.

To listen to the exclusive interview please click on the image above or the link below to listen to the interview http://chirb.it/m5MJqt . Your feedback and support is gratefully appreciated!

The President of The Gambia American Association Inc of Washington DC ( GAA), Mr. Pa Samba Jow has disclosed that Mrs. Hope Sullivan Masters, the daughter of legendary Civil Rights activist and author of the Sullivan Global Principles, the late Rev Dr Leon H Sullivan, will serve as keynote speaker at the GAA annual Gala Dinner commemorating African Liberation Day ( ALD) which will be celebrated in Washington DC  on Friday May 25^th to Sunday  May 27^th2012

Mr. Jow made this revelation on Saturday evening in Maryland when he officially unveiled this year's ALD program.  He said his organization was elated to have Hope Sullivan whom she called "a Washington heavyweight and advocate for the African continent." Mr. Jow added , " the fact that her initiatives are motivated by a mandate from her late Father to engage on a substantive level, African Diasporans living in the United States and beyond puts her in a better position to relate with us Africans, especially on this monumental occasion when we celebrate a dream of her own Father, The Liberation of Africa." Jow concluded to say that The GAA could not be prouder to have a person of such esteem and influence in Washington to serve as its keynote speaker.

As mother’s day weekend approaches, Gambians in Atlanta are once again making preparations to  attend  the  annual Mother’s Day Picnic scheduled to take place on Sunday May 13^th,  2012 at the Ben Hill Recreation Center located at 365 Fairburn Road in Atlanta.

Organized on behalf of Gambian women and children, GFAA is hereby inviting SeneGambians from all over to attend this remarkable weekend for a chance to  have a good time and enjoy  sensational BBQ and  meeting with  friends and family members.