“Amadou Samba Saga a Gambian predicament”
By Ebrima G. Sankareh,
Editor-in-Chief, Gambia Echo
Hysteria and Bad Mouthing of Amadou Samba
When news of Gambian lawyer-turned businessman, Amadou A. Samba’s scuffle inside an elevator with members of a private security firm at Dakar’s luxurious Radisson Blue hotel broke Saturday, it ignited a campfire of resentment, nervousness, excitement, and debate. Only Moments later, did ominous images of Gambia’s high profile businessman began to fill Facebook pages and within minutes, the hottest issue on Gambian social media was Amadou Samba. For better or for worse, his story has trended, is trending and will be trending for some time to come given that the matter is now a subject of criminal inquiry before the Senegalese Police. As most matters Gambian these days, the hysteria and badmouthing conspired to create a combustible combination of acrimony and prejudice and at a deafening crescendo for that matter.
Indignant Amadou Samba friends and family open their hearts to Gambia Echo
Several of the businessman’s concerned friends and family members frantically called The Gambia Echo expressing their anger and frustration over this worrisome development, that an innocent and easy-going Amadou Samba, who to many a Gambian epitomizes what the Americans call “a self-made man”, an icon and a luminary in every sense of the word, was inadvertently caught in a melee with so-called Gambian freedom fighters or Internet revolutionaries who have vowed to unseat Gambia’s healer-leader, Yaya Abdul Aziz Jamus Junkung Jammeh—Babili Mansa (Mandinka for the King who builds bridges across The River Gambia) and arguably, an indisputable alter ego of the lawyer-businessman.
Sheikh Sidia Bayo Bonarparte
Ever since this incident with the hoopla and brouhaha it generated, various theories have emerged, inter alia, wild allegations of Samba’s complicity with unnamed Guinean men to potentially identify and abduct, Sheikh Sidia Bayo, a 32-year old French citizen of Gambian parentage and probably disappear him for eternity. While some commentators suggested caution, some expressed anger and some still celebrated that the forced altercation Mr. Samba was subjected to, was a coup de theatre for The Gambia’s new Napoleon Bonaparte in his effort to unseat the Gambian leader. Simply put, if you can’t get him, they argue, get his friend to teach him a lesson, similar to what in Mr. Samba’s own legal profession is called vicarious liability.
Amadou’s treatment was a preposterous monstrosity
Beneath and beyond the Dakar-Radisson Blue façade however, we at The GambiaEcho hold a different view. Despite the fact that Mr. Samba’s friend, President Yaya Jammeh is an avowed arch rival to us and has blocked our newspaper to Gambian readers for many years now, we think engaging Amadou Samba in a fist fight, brawl, melee or whatever name you choose, based on mere circumstantial evidence or suspicion from so-called counter intelligence speculators, bereft of depth and breadth quite frankly, speak to preposterous monstrosity. And why?
Notwithstanding its many complex networks of partisan politics and seemingly cumbersome legal system, credit must be given where it is merited. There is evidence aplenty that Dakar is a civilized city and Senegal is a country that has ratified numerous international instruments and conventions that respect the dignity and sanctity of human life with a transparent legal system that upholds the sacred principles of due process and the rule of law. Senegal is no ordinary country where citizens can be arrested for merely holding contrary views to the status quo; it operates a serious and viable democratic structure with an independent judiciary not under the whips and caprices of a marauding monarch with kakistocratic propensities.
Bayo’s clownish bravado
Sheikh Sidia Bayo, the Ceremonial-Gambian-Head-of-state-in-waiting at a cosy hotel room overlooking the Atlantic coastline from where he hopes to topple Yaya Jammeh, knows all these impressive legal and democratic credentials about Dakar and Senegal without which he could not have even contemplated announcing his readiness to launch a military offensive without risking arrest or disappearance. And lest we forget, well before Bayo entered the political scene with clownish bravado, Senegal and Dakar have hosted numerous African leaders as exiles and despite sustained international pressure to extradite them, Senegal would not relent lest they end up being summarily executed as obtains in most countries in the West African sub region where constitutional due process remains Utopian. Unlike Senegal, in most of the West African sub region, the judiciary operates at midnight, an apt metaphor reminiscent of Apartheid South Africa but still operational in the continent.
Our Findings—What Really Happened At The Radisson Hotel
In tandem with journalistic ethics, ever since the scary news of Amadou Samba’s brawl broke, The Gambia Echo has been digging deeper beyond the headlines and today, we report with unassailable evidence on what allegedly transpired at the Radisson Blue.
According to our most credible sources close to the investigations in Dakar, both Amadou Samba and Sidia Bayo were guests of the hotel which invalidates the claim that Samba was an intruder. Asked if Amadou Samba has ever stayed in the hotel before, our source said “numerous times and over a span of decades, the Radisson has been Samba’s choice.”
Unlike Samba, Sidia Bayo has been in the hotel for almost a month if not more, The Echo gathered and whenever in Dakar, he hires private security operatives as personal handlers since he vowed to unseat Yaya Jammeh forcefully.
Did Dr Amadou Scattred-Janneh plot against Amadou Samba, photograph Amadou’s humiliation and run away to Karang where he was arrested?
According to a senior investigator, moments before the melee unfolded, The Gambia’s former Information Minister turned human rights campaigner against Yaya Jammeh’s government, Dr. Amadou Scattred Janneh, was seen at the hotel and reportedly had a brief cordial encounter with Amadou Samba by the vestibule of the magnificent building. “Mr. Sankareh, we have CCTV footage of the entire drama and once the matter goes to court it will all be there for the world to see”, our source claimed. “They shook hands and each went about his own business while Dr. Janneh even respectfully addressed Samba as his brother-in-law.” Only moments later, our competent source reveals, Amadou Janneh was seen with Sidia Bayo who was apparently very nervous, a nervousness that our source likens to infantile paranoia.
Amadou Samba “arrested for espionage”
Then without the slightest provocation, no sooner had Amadou Samba been spotted heading towards the elevator, than three professional Senegalese wrestlers also involved in private security matters confronted Samba posing as agents of Senegalese National Security. They told Samba that he was under arrest for espionage and confronted him with a barrage of security related questions leading Samba to believe for a moment that the trio-impostors were genuine National Security agents. Bemused and speechless, a nervous Samba reportedly invoked verses from the Holy Koran and told the impostors that he was not a spy as alleged and had no interest in espionage as he was a businessman on purely business related errands but they wouldn’t just let him go. Instead, they seized his freedom, shook him ferociously, wrestled him to the ground and held him by the waist and leg as he helplessly wailed with pain while Dr. Amadou Scattred Janneh allegedly rushed to the scene taking the ominous still photos that later surfaced on Facebook. The Gambia Echo has tried to get Dr. Janneh’s side of the saga to no avail.
Hotel Security rescue Amadou Samba: “They wanted to kill me!”says Amadou.
However, as the wailing got louder, the hotel security rushed to the scene and only after their intercession that Amadou Samba regained his freedom with a lot of praise to Allah. “These thugs really wanted to kill me and had I not called your attention, (he allegedly told the Radisson security team), they were out to kill me.” Amid the commotion, my sources reveal,
Dr Janneh confronted by Hotel security!
Dr. Amadou Janneh was allegedly confronted by the hotel security who wanted to confiscate his camera, but the former lifer (NOT death row inmate as reported earlier) at The Gambia’s notorious Mile Two Central Prisons, who himself was amnestied thanks to Rev. Jesse Jackson Jr. in 2012, quickly melted from the scene never to be seen again. My sources maintain that the CCTV footage covers the entire drama as it unfolds and pretty soon, it will be public knowledge.
Reveal my competent sources, the police were immediately called to the scene and when an armed team descended on the hotel, the so-called State Security Agents-impostors were arrested bringing a closure to this lawlessness where rank-and-file operators posed as state agents. As Amadou Samba made a cautionary statement, the culprits were thrown in police cells pending investigations. Samba has also reportedly hired a high-profile Dakar advocate (lawyer) to “zealously pursue these scoundrels”, my sources say.
Dr Amaddou Scattred Janneh arrested in Karang
As we went to press, sources close to the investigation say Dr. Amadou S. Janneh is at large and Dakar police are in hot pursuit. While we cannot verify this, news reaching The Echo just now report that Dr. Janneh has in fact, been arrested in Karang and is being held in police custody amid investigations into a potentially embarrassing story.
Echo’s Analysis
Thus Mutatis mutandis, how on earth could Mr. Bayo (a French tourist) have his bodyguards from a private security firm assault Mr. Samba without the slightest provocation (being a private citizen, under no national or international warrant) in a hotel elevator, and wrestle him to the ground in the first place? Where were the nearest Dakar Police Department whose duty logic dictates, it is to keep the peace and effect arrest? Where were the Dakar Gendarmerie whose policing competence is of highest repute even in nearest Gambia during the defunct Senegambia Confederation? These and similar questions continue to exercise our minds as we wrestle with this unfortunate incident borne purely out of what an investigator called “acting on bad intelligence”; whatever the oxymoron may mean.
In our view, even if Amadou Samba had entered the hotel with a dozen NIA officers to abduct Bayo, common sense dictates that as a French-born citizen, he would have called the French Embassy with closest proximity to his hotel and alert Senegalese Security/police or have the hotel security guys secure his alleged assailants pending the arrival of the competent forces to bring his alleged/potential abductors to book. To us, that would have make a FANTASTIC HEALINE but that has not just been the case. What we have here is cheap propaganda, the proverbial storm in a tea cup, mere hyperbole; a familiar scene in these cyber warfare where bandits and political wannabes continuously masquerade as heroes and heroines, Princes and Princesses of glory—and believe it or not, this is our Gambian predicament. Everybody is an Alhagi yet none has performed the hajj!
Amadou Samba has no political power in The Gambia
Amadou Samba is a bonafide businessman whose prime goal is to maximise profit and like most business persons across the spectrum, he too, has to cautiously navigate the waters as it were to reach safer shores. As a private businessman, Samba has the damn right to go anywhere as long as he remains law-abiding. To the best of our investigative knowledge, we have never heard Samba being under any international arrest warrant limiting his freedom of movement and association.
Judicial Service Commission
Amid the chaos and lunacy, some had alleged that Amadou Samba presides over The Gambia’s Judicial Service Commission and he may have advertently or otherwise, been party to the August, 2012 executions. Seminal stupidity or parochial narrowness? Amadou Samba is neither judge nor jury, he is not a minister of Justice nor Solicitor General, the fellow is neither Head of Department nor a Cabinet Minister and has no powers whatsoever to either have prisoners executed nor their scheduled executions commuted.
The Real Crooks
And lest we forget, during the executions, it was our own sister—VP Isatou Njie-Saidy, our firebrand politician, Lamin Waa Juwara, our jailed Attorney General, Lamin Jobarteh and our jailed Secretary General, Njogu Lamin Bah who among others took to the podium and zealously defended the executions as sacrosanct manifestations of Gambian jurisprudential rendition and therefore, legitimate.
Dr Scattred-Janneh equally guilty in assisting Jammeh
Therefore, attacking Amadou Samba only because he is friends with Yaya Jammeh is regrettable particularly in due consideration of the emerging allegations that our own brother in the struggle, Dr. Amadou S. Janneh was complicit in the so-called coup de theatre. It is because Amadou Janneh was appointed Information Minister by Yaya Jammeh and it was during his tenure that journalist Deyda Hydara was murdered by unknown bandits. Can we, therefore, argue that because Dr. Janneh was Minister of Information at the time of Deyda’s macabre murder, he was therefore, criminally liable and we should be fisting and fighting Dr. Janneh? Absolutely not, but logically yes only if we use their own barometer of judging Amadou Samba’s complicity or vicarious liability as it were.
Bayo should seek Jammeh accomplices in Paris
Stretched further, the most notorious bandits who may have committed the worst crimes in The Gambia and fled are seen all of European capitals especially, Paris where Mr. Bayo happens to live. How come he and his fighters allow those criminals to continuously seek political asylum? Even in Dakar, there are several elements who may have committed heinous crimes and like the cowards they are, now try to use our Internet media to seek protection. Some come as warriors only to get riches and flee the scene.
Fellow Gambians, avoid emotionalism!
My fellow Gambians, I am neither prophet nor messiah, nor do have magic solutions to our Gambian predicament but as a citizen like you, one who has endured two decades of exile for no criminal wrongdoing but for love of country like most of you, I would advise us not to be guided by emotions or narrow nationalism, but law and order and continue to believe in the power of due process, the rule of law and our Gambian culture of respect and tolerance and unbreakable humanity which uniquely distinguishes us from most others; that regardless of our limited territoriality, we command respect among sovereign nations. Difficult and uncertain as things be seem sometimes, let us continue to hold dear, the immortal words of the poet who posits that “the future governs with a golden finger” and desist from acts that may be counterproductive to all the sacrifices, each and all of us, both home and in the Diaspora, have rendered over the years.
Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., that great icon of the American Civil Rights Movement, who paid the ultimate price to bring justice and equality to the United States, once reminded his followers when bullets were flying and innocent lives lost to racist White Anglo-Saxon Southern Protestants (Wasps) thus: “We must develop and maintain the capacity to forgive. He who is devoid of the power to forgive is devoid of the power to love. There is some good in the worst of us and some evil in the best of us. When we discover this, we are less prone to hate our enemies.”
Amadou Samba is a lawyer who worked hard for his wealth
Therefore, consistent with Dr. King’s philosophy, a centrepiece of our messaging system in the Diaspora should be and must always be: love, our human capacity to forgive, render the good and the best and fight to suppress the “evil” in us. We hope this incident will be an eye-opener to all of us actors and activists, human rights campaigners and political rights crusaders to be always cautious with matters like this. Let us not be oblivious of the indisputable fact that unlike many who stole Gambia government wealth to the detriment of us all, Amadou Samba is a lawyer who worked hard for his wealth with a track record of job creation through his diverse investments. Today, thanks to his creative ingenuity, many a Gambian family are able to put food on the table, send their children to school and many, many more.
Finally, as writers and commentators we must always be guided and guarded in all that we do for while the pen and radio have been great assets to mankind, we have also seen evidence of their destructive path particularly in Rwanda, in Burundi, in Congo, in Liberia and in Sierra Leone.
Editor’s Note: We had earlier reported that Dr. Amadou Janneh was a death row inmate at the Gambia’s Mile Two Central Prisons. That is inaccurate. Instead, he was a LIFER–SEVERING A LIFE SENTENCE. The error is deeply regretted!
Source URL: http://thegambiaecho.com/xp/how-amadou-sambas-saga-signifies-a-gambian-predicament/ Copyright ©2014 The Gambia Echo unless otherwise noted.
Ends
Interesting take! Sankareh is always an original thinker!
Imagine that the writer’s initials are HS…I could just about visualise the reaction…”long windy socialist blah, blah, blah”…No such take here, though equally “long and windy” piece..
That’s what is called “prejudice”, I guess.. .
I think you missed the sarcasm, my in-law!(Lol)
I did,now that you mentioned it..
I only wish Echo paper is not overstretching its journalists credentials here. The use of bombastic and colourful language in this article smacks arrogance and self parade failing on substance. What is this “sancrosanct rendition”, judicial manifestation” mutatis mudandis” etc. This pure show. Please when write articles, know who is your audience and do not think thank using big words will earn you respect and admiration rather be humble and Allah will raise you up.
Lastly the article is equally emotional as well, the same accusation labelled against Dr Janneh and Sidia. It seems it is written purposely to defend Amadou Samba who we know has great influence in the business sector in The Gambia.
Mr Sankareh should simply travel and be Amadou Samba’s lawyer. What a load of praise singing for Mr Samba!
This Sankareh guy is just full of it.
What a ferocious defense of Amadou Samba by Sankareh !
I caution that we should all wait until the facts surrounding this saga are out. Defending or smearing anyone in this case at this moment could prove prejudicial in the long run as all the facts become gathered and dispensed through the court of law.
????????
Can anyone help refresh my mind if Dr. Janneh was part of the group of inmates headed for execution before J. Jackson securing his release ? If that was in fact the case, then that must have automatically thrust him into the ‘death row’ category.
So unfortunate, but most Gambians in the diaspora are the worst enemies of the Gambia even more than jammeh himself. I wonder if most of you are not Jammeh’s informers.These big words and jargons will never take you anywhere. We don’t care whether you memorise the dictionary or you are another Shakespeare, enough is enough what we need is substance that will benefit the masses of the Gambians but not those in for just personal aggrandisement. Bullshit piece by Sakanreh…
Shaddiqq, “Death Row” or “Lifer” distinction in Mile 2 is rather artificial. Many die there simply because of the appalling conditions.
Luntango, thank you for the clarification.
‘Mutatis mutandis’, this piece smirks of ‘preposterous monstrosity’ of partiality of the highest order !
I would suggest that his next piece on this issue be titled:
Re-analysis of the Analysis of ‘Preposterous Monstrosity’. 🙂
LoL Shaddiqq, the hunt for “Preposterous Monstrosity” might lead to MUTANDIS EXTREMIS – via Mutandis Mutandis, of course!
Hahahahahahahahaha 🙂
The unconfirmed news from Dakar is that Bayo’s Boys have been fined £40 and FREED! Which may suggest the the whole thing was overblown – “storm in a tea cup”!
When some are trying others are distracting because they want attention. Yaya is not doing things alone going for Mr. Samba is a big plus for the struggle. we need activists we already have experience annalist like Halifa Allah on the ground.if you internet journalist have nothing to offer suffering Gambians please leave us to cut the branches before we bring down the tree
Dr janneh is a real Action Man.talk less and do more. time for ACTION not big words
Waw!, this is the first time I read a piece from the author…ouf! what a scrap and mis representation. We on the ground specially those in Dakar lost respect for the author. Just to debunk some of the insinuations:
1- Radisson Blue is less than 7 years old and not decades old as stated.
2- Amadou Samba was staying at Terroubi hotel before the arrival of Bayo who stayed at Radisson. Amadou move to Radisson and demanded to given a room on the same floor as Bayo. Espionage indded.
3- The guinean guy lied that he did not know Amadou prior to the incident, he lied and prompted the guards to go deeper into clarifications. Amadou Samba was called and asked to report the hotel’s guard’s room and they waited for him to show up for two hours.
4- Amadou Samba was never beaten and neither Bayo or Dr Amadou Janneh ever arrested for this incident.
5- It was Bayo who called the police whiles Amadou Samba wanted an amicable settlement which Bayo refused.
6- The court case ended yesterday and a fine of $100- imposed on each of the two private security, Amadou Samba did not attend the court and case CLOSED.
Hellooo! is any one listening????
Shame on Echo for being bias and supporting a Jammeh enabler.
Deyda, I definitely do not believe in all that I read in Gambian online papers. I also have to accept that Sankareh’s article was too long for me to read and digest. It was also poorly organised in my view not to mention the use of inappropriate words for the platform.
What you have written about the incident is without doubt concise, logical, sound and acceptable. What many people are in fact asking is why such a man closed to Jammeh will choose to stay in the same place with Jammeh’s opponents regardless of who was there first? Lots of things do not add up about this case.
Thanks Deyda for this sound contribution.
Gambian diaspora activists and activism are/is unfortunately childish, emotional, disorganised and lacks focus…
Though endowed with a wealth of (intellectual) talent and achievements, there does not seem to be any cohesive policies or coordinated activities/actions to fight this battle and advance the struggle…
Except two things : If you claim to oppose Jammeh, regardless of your past, you are a hero….
If you are in Jammeh’s camp, no matter how distant, you are an enemy and fair game…
It seems.any action, by anyone (regardless of their past) against any perceived Jammeh “associate” , goes..
Actions that would be condemned if perpetrated by Jammeh thugs, are praised if perpetrated against Jammeh’s associates by anyone….
Sidia Bayo’s thuggish behaviour against an innocent man (until proven otherwise) and perceived Jammeh helper, attracts lots of praise, completely disregarding the enormous contribution of this man to Gambia’s socio – economic development as well as, his private citizen status…
Imagine Mr Bayo as Gambia’s chief executive and in command of the NIA and Jungulars…Terrifying, not to even mention his taste for the “high life”, hiring expensive hotel boarding, etc…
What about the alleged disgraceful behaviour of Dr Janneh.? Catching the humiliating treatment of a respectable man on film, never mind your “goro” (in-law), and rushing to put on line, without lifting a finger to help him..No wonder Mr Samba thinks he (Janneh) set him up..
Or the insolent and embarrassing behaviour/performance of Cristiana Jatta at Dr Naik’s lecture..? She was not in any doubt that she was given the floor to.ask.a question. ..Yet she abused that privilege, to not only disrespect Dr Naik and the organisers, but to make a provocative comment about the audience (which was predominantly Muslim) that could have caused commotion. ..Yet, all we saw.was praise, even from.some notable individuals who should have known better…
This “struggle” needs a rethink and a new direction, but the egos are too big for our own good, and the interests are too multifaceted. ..
I don’t get this mambo jumbo! Sankareh, there is a difference between an investigative journalist and a word monger! You could have spared my brain cells this lexical diarrhoea!
Let’s “borrow a leaf” out of the “Burkinabe Book..”
Both Kafonda, who heads the transition government and Diabre, who heads the coalition of opposition parties and civil society groups, were at some points, associates of Campaore and government officials…They are now key players in.the new and emerging Burkina Faso. .
Important lessons for us to learn from..
Bax, defending Amadou Samba who is and will ever be Jammeh’s enabler is non starter. No matter what, given the incident of Saul Ndaw and Mahawa Cham kidnapings right here in Senegal, gives Bayo the right to protect himself.
Yes we can borrow a leaf from Burkina Faso but you seem to miss a lot in that struggle. For your brains it was the civil right group called Balet Citoyen and the youths of the country that ousted Blaise out of power, whiles those you mention barricaded themselves in their bedrooms only to come out after the dust settled to claim victory. Visit : lefaso.net for infos on Burkina and also get ready to read the news in french.
Hello…is Bax there?
Deyda, to be sarcastic, imagine a man of Amadou Samba’s calibre, who have enjoyed fame, wealth, closeness to the Highest seat in our fatherland, a close friend and confidant to AJJ Baabilia Mansa, who dine wherever he fancies. A man who cut the cake he wants. How will the griots now praise him, remember the Jaliba song ‘Sambene’, a great song with wonderful melody. I tap my feet to the tune alone. Now, the griots have to represent what the man did, what happen to him, and how it happen to him, what he had and how he made his wealth. In the Gambia, it may not be a palatable topic to question how Mr Samba made his wealth. But the griots might just add ‘Mr Samba, the wealthiest man in the land, was manhandled by fugitives, Amadou cried and whale at the top of his lungs, God so good, he rescued him from evil devils. You are not a coward Sambene, you cried of danger.’ Deyda, imagine, how the street vendors will see Amadou Samba, imagine how H.E will see him, the mocking AJJ will partake in. So yes, if some feel sorry for Amadou Samba, we can understand. There are many affinity in this struggle.
Suntou, this what the coward said when confronted:
Alahukabar, Alahukabar, several times..Jammeh is the killer not me Bilai I never killed anyone, Jammeh is the killer….hahahaha! Dude thought he was going to be killed and abaandon his killer friend..aaahhh!
The video is available and will be aired in due course.
In times of tribulation beleive me Jammeh has no friends. I have never laughed so much in my life, dude thought people can kill him inside a hotel in broad daylight aaahhh! what a coward? Lol
Hello…I’m still here,Deyda Haidara….Let me respond to your reactions by points…
(1)…I am not defending Amadou Samba…All I’m saying is that if we truly despise Yaya Jammeh for his acts of lawlessness,impunity and the violation of people’s rights,then we must equally despise similar acts wherever they occur,regardless of who the victim is/was…Of course,Mr Bayo has a right to self defense but that right should not encroach upon the rights of others to dignity and safety of their persons,as well as their rights to freedom of choice and movement….Mr Bayo may be genuinely threatened by the presence of Mr samba in the same hotel as him,but the actions of his security constitute a violation of Mr Samba’s rights because neither Mr Bayo,nor his security are members of the law enforcement authorities in Senegal..Their actions therefore constitute impunity and should be condemned by all…Mr Bayo could have acted within the law by informing the hotel security of his suspicions or concerns and making sure that his security remain alert to any possible risks that he may face…Mr Amadou Samba has every right to lodge in any hotel in Senegal,whether such a hotel was his original choice or not…
(2)…French is too much for my “weak” brain but here’s what’s not too much for my brain…
Culled from Reuters report of Wednesday 22nd October,2014….” Opposition parties in Burkina Faso accused President Blaise Campaore on Wednesday of preparing a “constitutional coup d’etat” and called for nationwide protests against moves to remove a two-term limit for the presidency ”
” Opposition Leader Zephirin Diabre urged people across Burkina Faso to close market stalls and walk out of private and public sector jobs on October 28th to mark the beginning of a civil disobedience campaign to prevent a referendum from being organised.”
There were reports of small spontaneous pockets of unrest in parts of the capital on Tuesday,after the government made the announcement,but you cannot discount the role the opposition played “from behind their beds in their barricaded bedrooms”…
Ooooh..Bax I would have agreed with you if Amadou Samba had condemned the atrocities that his friend Jammeh commits on a daily bases.. Amadou Samba has been sent on numerous occasions to oversee the evictions of Jammeh’s victims from their homes. He was sent to the prisons with documents to be signed by arrested people in other to gain their freedom.
So what’s good for the goose is also good for the gander oohh! Democracy is a two way traffic you cannot ask us to respect Amadou’s rights when the guy doesn’t respect ours. In another analogy you are asking us to take Jammeh to court for his atrocities whiles knowing that the victims will never win the cases..
Hello! Bax why did the Burkinabe chase the baldhead Compaore out of town ? hein because they know no law or democratic means can remove him from power.. is someone putting the cart before the horse.. Remember Bob Marley said “Until the philosophy of one race (Class) superior to another (Class), there will be WAR”. You see Bax as long as rights are not equal to ALL…huumm!
Yes opposition parties and rights activists are brother in the same struggle but please give credit where it belongs and that is the youths who risk their lives in the streets to chase the punkhead out of town…Yes 13 youths died in the process and 0 persons died from opposition leaders. Is it a rat race??..ooh!
In fact a monument is going to erected for remembering the fallen heros….
Hello is Bax still thinking??
Deyda…I have seen the role the youths played in Burkina Faso and has infact used that to state elsewhere that the children of the 1990’s and their generation will be the key players in ending Jammeh’s madness in The Gambia, just as their counterparts in Burkina, who called themselves “Sankara ‘ s children”…
In most places, leaders only provide inspiration and leadership but it’s the youths that bear the brunt of any forceful change..So I agree with you on that one…And a memorial is a fitting tribute to the fallen.Gambia should also erect memorials for the fallen soldiers of November 11 and the fallen of April 10th & 11th. ..
With.regards.to Amadou Samba, I don’t think we will agree on that one…So you with your position and me, who does not accept any form of abuse, will keep my position. ..
Amadou will be judged on what he did when the time comes, but whatever it may be, it should not be used as a justification for violating his rights…Because that would just be as bad as Yaya Jammeh..
When.a.donkey kicks you and you kick back, what does that make you..?
Sleep well my friend..
Amadou Samba is not self made tycoon. He worked hand in glove with the regime. That is where he got the competative advantage from. why glorify such a collaborator? How much does Samba pay for his image?
It is obvious that someone who is close to Samba asked Echo to pen this utter nonesense. The highest point of this nonsense of an article is this statement” In our view, even if Amadou Samba had entered the hotel with a dozen NIA officers to abduct Bayo, common sense dictates that as a French-born citizen, he would have called the French Embassy with closest proximity to his hotel and alert Senegalese Security/police or have the hotel security guys secure his alleged assailants pending the arrival of the competent forces to bring his alleged/potential abductors to book”
Fist of all do you think wouldbe abductors announce thier intentions? How can one call the police when you are abducted? do you think the abductors will give Bayo a five minute phone call?
Reports have it that Amadou Samba was staying at Terroubi hotel before Bayo arrived in Senegal. He moved to Radisson and asked for a room on the same floor as Bayo. Why did he go through all this trouble? What do you take us for, stupid??
Sometimes you just have to fight fire with fire, if Jammeh enablers know that they are not safe they will think twice about there evil ways. There are no consequences for their actions.
The bottom line is we should all stop reading his nonsense, never in this world you read articles in news media with such nonsensical words that readers have to open a dictionary to find a meaning to. If you are looking for support from JK and his team go ahead we care less about you and you media. A promise to you i.e. I will never ever read your articles let alone Echo.
Go back to school and learn how to be a professional writer especially one whose audiences are in a struggle like Gambians. We are battling a Monster not a human being, get it or shut up.
I used to have great respect for Sankareh but not anymore since he has turned himself into a sycophant judge instead of an unbiased referee. How can you defend the man who represents Jammeh’s business interests and keeps bullying anyone who wants to invest in his investment zone? I will blow up if you don’t cease this balderdash writing. Tell me your friend and I tell you your behaviour. Samba and Jammeh have been friends for a reason.
Sankareh, what your socalled impeccable source didn’t tell you is that Amadou Samba does not want the video to be out otherwise he will take to his heels. He knows what he said while being confronted.
By the way this just came to me from Geneva:
The Gambia: Zeid criticizes harsh legal amendment, violence and arrests targeting gay men and lesbians
GENEVA (20 November 2014) – UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein on Thursday criticized a recent amendment to the Criminal Code of The Gambia that creates a broad and vague offence of “aggravated homosexuality” punishable by life imprisonment. He also expressed alarm at reports of a wave of arbitrary arrests and detention of individuals perceived to be homosexual in The Gambia.
The amendment to the Criminal Code was approved by the National Assembly earlier this year and signed into law by the President on 9 October 2014. It targets, among others, so-called “serial offenders” (meaning individuals with a previous conviction for homosexuality), persons living with HIV, and consensual same-sex partners of persons with disabilities – all of whom could be imprisoned for life. The new law replicates a section of the Ugandan Anti-Homosexuality Act denounced by the former High Commissioner for Human Rights, the UN Secretary-General and the African Commission Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders.
“This law violates fundamental human rights – among them the right to privacy, to freedom from discrimination and freedom from arbitrary arrest and detention. It adds to the stigma and abuses that lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people already face in The Gambia,” High Commissioner Zeid said.
“Governments have a duty to protect people from prejudice, not to add to it. Public hostility towards gay and lesbian people can never justify violating their fundamental human rights. Instead, it requires increased measures to protect them against human rights violations. This has been reaffirmed by UN human rights mechanisms and the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights,” he added.
Since the new law was approved, representatives of The Gambia’s National Intelligence Agency have been reportedly conducting door-to-door enquiries to identify, arrest and detain individuals believed to be homosexual, and some of those detained have allegedly also been subjected to violent attacks and mistreatment. In other countries, similar laws have also led to an increase in violence against members of the LGBT community, including mob attacks.
“I call on The Gambia to fulfil its international obligations to promote and protect the human rights of all persons without discrimination, to repeal all provisions of the Criminal Code that criminalize relations between consenting adults and to put in place an immediate moratorium on arrests on the basis of such laws,” the High Commissioner said.
ENDS
For more information and media requests , please contact Rupert Colville (+41 22 917 9767 / rcolville@ohchr.org) or Ravina Shamdasani (+41 22 917 9169 / rshamdasani@ohchr.org)
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Guys,
attacking Mr. Sankareh even before you watch the “CCTV footage” is self-defeating. You could also be seen as prejudicial. I would go further to say that, if you can believe what Yaya Jammeh says about his mission, you can believe in this Bayo. This dude and Yaya are two sides of the same coin ……falsehood. Bayo is a fake.
Pa. Saikou Kujabi.
Dakar, Senegal.
Bayo compared to Yahya Jammeh – it’s like heaven and hell. We are beginning to identify the fakes now and its not Sedia Bayo. Count that buffoon Ebrima Sankareh in. He is always good at making stories. I hope you are not one of the snakes Saikou!
Pa Saikou, I don’t think you know Sankareh very much. He is a very controversial and immature guy who is seeking attention. Please let us focus on removing Jammeh for now and stop destroying some of the folks trying. For Sankareh don’t waste your time with him. He always have personal agendas.
Sankareh is seeking attention since no one reads his paper anymore. you either be for Gambia or Babilmansa.it’s a shame after all respect people have for you.anyone who has a hidden agenda would be known to Gambians before jammeh goes
This piece of bullshit is written to draw IDIOT Amadou Samba and family for recognition. Mr Sankareh, will you kindly rewrite this piece again since the outcome looks a different story altogether. 1 was Janneh arrested for investigations regarding the Samba drama or the T-SHIRT distributions in Karang? 2. We have read Janneh and team’s press release, can you provide us with that of Samba or that or his lawyer? 3. Was there any press release from the Senegalese police as you claimed that they have attached that importance to the case. Please bro, keep unto your journalistic responsibilities which is to inform and educate but you are rather seen here as an advocate for Samba’s family who called you and expressed their frustration. Tell them to tell IDIOT Samba to get out of the kitchen if he doesn’t want to be smoked.
@ Buruma, I am not much of a theologian, but Jeremiah 8:8, suitable adapted, may give you some comfort:-
“‘How can you say ‘we are wise’ when your teachers have twisted the Lord’s truth by writing lies?”
Hello Bax I think our thoughts are not too far from each other…however you espoused the Jesus doctrine in that when one slaps you, you should give the other chick for another one…oooh! not for me. I believe in an eye for eye and a teeth for teeth. Now Amadou is so powerful in Gambia but vulnerable in another country specially if rule of law and civility gorverns. He should have thought better since he likes to travel… well well well! Whiles I do not wish him death but then how if he dies naturally before the punkhead baldhead Jammeh is kicked out for justice to prevail in our smiling coast? will the death respond to justice? how would his victims feel…aaahhh!
If we were living a democratic country where rule of law prevails you will not have these sorts of atrocities and injustices in the first place….oooh how I miss Sir Dawda’s respect for human rights…which Amadou Samba enjoyed to the fullest being the best friend to David Jawara Jr…hello Bax are you there? We are unfortunately living in a jungle where man eat man….aaahh! how sad?
On a final note Bax; Amadou Samba was called to report to the hotel guards and he refused to show up thinking he was in the Gambia whiles disrespecting the rules of the Hotel. I know Amadou Samba very well and can tell you that he is a very RUDE man who considers only Jammeh a human being and everyone else a sub-human. Ask others who know him.
As revolutionaries we should always protect the weak against the strong GOD willing.
Long live the youths of Burkina Faso whiles hoping that Gambian youths will borrow a leaf.
Have a nice weekend Bro.
Dawda How we can see tis Dakar video/ please please get for Kaironews.
luntango you say sankare lie? lol
How much did Amadou samba pay this writer and gambia echo. It shows sheep in wolf clothing now so guys be warned boycott gambia echo as we now know they are prostitutes to decent journalism for money.
Amadou is dirty in this saga and the law in Senegal spoke loud and clear.
he is finish. no more cred. ebrima sankareh amadou samba lol!
“SANKS SAMBA” has a better echo Modou LOL! Ebrima Sanks Samba Sankareh!
The man has ego problems. I was not disappointed with Ebrima Sankareh but was surprised with him selecting to defend Amadou Samba of all people. I have known him since he came to US but he was the few I regret that I didn’t know at all because of his immaturity and other issues. Excellent job Amadou Janneh and please don’t waste your time with any detractors including Sankareh.
Don’t be jealous JanJan & PKL- Sanks Samba has penned a masterpiece that will echo for years to come through Little Gambia’s Hisrory!
Who else, other than Sanks Samba would inspire you to learn Moootandis Moootandis, Moootandis Extremious, Prestorios Monster – and LEXICAL PISSTAKING? Tanks more power to your elbow, Sanks. Echo on Bro!
sankareh now hiding from this case lol
bayo beat samba. king samba is finished.