Why APRC is Not a Fan of Ba Tambadou
The interim leader of the former ruling Alliance for Patriotic Reorientation and Construction (APRC) has frowned at the Attorney General and Minister of Justice Abubacarr Tambadou, accusing him of witch hunt.
Speaking at a press conference at his Talinding residence Friday, Fabakary Tombong Jatta renewed the party’s attack against Tambadou over his role in the forfeiture of ex-president Yahya Jammeh’s assets and the recent indictment of former APRC big-wig Yankuba Touray.
“We see the whole program of the Attorney General as hasty, ill-advice, malicious and illegal,” Jatta told journalists. “When we say it’s selective justice, we have proof because out of all those who went to the (Janneh) commission it’s only (Mohammed) Bazzy and Jammeh whose assets have been seized.”
He accused Tambadou of ill advising the president by making certain public utterances that are indicting the APRC without proper legal procedures.
“We remember upon receiving the (Janneh) Commission’s report, the Attorney General made it clear that Yahya Jammeh and his cohorts have looted billions of dalasis of tax-payers’ money. A commission is not a court and the Attorney General cannot use that report to justify his statement hence government white paper is not out at the time of his statement,” Jatta argued.
“If the Justice Minister was not malicious to APRC and Yahya Jammeh, he could have waited until the government white paper was out before making certain public statements.”
On the rape accusation against Jammeh by former beauty queen Fatou Toufah Jallow, Jatta said it was a smear campaign against the former president and his APRC, adding that with time Jammeh will be vindicated.
“We see this as another smear campaign and we want to say this is a lie. After all the allegations leveled against our party and our leader failed, they now come up with this rape allegation and this will also fail like the other allegations.”
As Jatta was refuting the rape allegation, a man stood just a few meters away from where he was sitting, holding a paper with a message: “#I am paid to lie against Jammeh#”.
Jatta also dwelled on the indictment of Yankuba Touray who was arrested for refusing to testify at the Truth, Reconciliation and Reparations Commission (TRRC). He’s been charged with the alleged 1995 murder of former Finance Minister Ousman Koro Ceesay.
Jatta described his case as malicious and selective justice, and questioned why Touray was charged and people who confessed to murder haven’t been charged.
“When this information of Yankuba Touray came up we heard the Justice Minister saying he would teach him a lesson. What we can learn from this is that he is either a judge or he has influence over the people who will preside over the case,” Jatta said.
Meanwhile, prominent rights activist and the country director of Westminster Foundation has called on APRC to expel the ex-president from the party over the rape allegation. Madi Jobarteh described the party’s decision to defend Jammeh as despicable.
“It’s very despicable for the APRC or any individual to defend Jammeh on this matter,” he told The Chronicle. “If I was a member the APRC, I would have said look let us expel Jammeh from APRC and demand that he be held accountable. What I expect the APRC to do is to have the courage, the honesty and the consent to expel Jammeh because Toufah could be anyone’s daughter,” said Jobarteh.
On Thursday activists took to the streets to show solidarity with Toufa and speak out against rape and other forms of sexual violence.
