Gambia: Nigerian rights defender jailed in the Gambia; his organization banned indefinitely

The Banjul Magistrate court presided over by Hilary Abeke on September 6, 2010 suspended indefinitely, a human rights NGO, Africa in Democracy and Good Governance (ADG) from operating in the country and sentenced its Nigerian Director of Programmes, Edwin Nebolisa Kwakaeme, to a mandatory six-month prison term with hard labour for giving false information to the office of President Yahya Jammeh.

Media Foundation for West Africa(MFWA)’s sources in The Gambia reported  that Kwakaeme has been ordered to surrender all documents of the organization in his  possession  to  the  court  and  pay a fine  of 10, 000  dalasis (about US$ 330) as fine  or in default,  serve  an extra three years imprisonment with hard labour.

Before the sentence, the activist had been on remand for seven months.  He had spent a one and half weeks in police custody.

The sources  said  Kwakaeme  is  a publisher of  a  privately-owned quarterly  Window  magazine  which  has  been  reporting  on  human  rights  violations  in the  country. He  was  arrested  on  March 8, after  he had written  to the office of President Jammeh  requesting   him  to  make   his daughter  a  goodwill ambassador to  the ADG.

This judgment vindicates MFWA’s position about President Jammeh‘s regime which has systematically undermined all political and social institutions in the country. Apart from journalists, political opponents have also been target of the repressive regime. 

On April 1, 2010, Femi Peters, the campaign manager of the opposition United Democratic Party (UDP), was jailed for one year.  He was first arrested on October, 25 2009 in connection with a rally held in Serekunda on October 24 and charged with two criminal counts of “Control of procession” and “Control of use of loud speaker” under the Public Order Act.

For more information please contact:

Kwame Karikari (Prof)
Executive Director
MFWA
Accra
Tel: 233-30-22 4 24 70
Fax: 233-302-22 10 84
Email: mfwa@africaonline.com.ghThis e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it , alerts@mediafound.orgThis e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

Website: www.mediafound.org 

- September 8, 2010 by Media Foundation for West Africa

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Source: www.mediafound.org/index.php ( accessed on 10.09.10)