By Bakary Ceesay
President Adama Barrow, has pledge his commitment not to interfere in the judiciary, while he assured government’s commitment to continue ensuring a judiciary free from executive overreach.
Speaking yesterday in Banjul at the opening 2019 Legal Year in Banjul he said: “On this auspicious occasion, I once again pledge my firm commitment not to interfere in the judicial administration of the country.”
He said that his administration has broken free from the intolerable practice of sacking judicial officers without any just cause, as witnessed in the past, stressing that no judicial officer has been arbitrarily dismissed from office since he assumed office.
He also pointed out the appointments of human rights lawyers as Chief Justice and Minister of Justice, respectively, as well as the swift reconstitution of the Supreme Court after a three-year break, as testaments of respect for the third arm of the government.
Hassan B. Jallow, Chief Justice lauded to the high level of judicial independence under the current government.
“You [President Barrow] have lived up to your assurance of non-interference in the judiciary both in public and private”, Jallow noted.
Abubacarr Tambedou, Minister of Justice recalled that two years ago, they set out to restore public confidence in administration of justice system which was perhaps at its lowest ebb following two decades of calculated interference in judiciary and a systematic dismantling of the machinery of justice by the previous administration.
“Today, we are proud to say that we have in large measure achieved this objective even though we also recognize that there is still room for improvement,” he said.
He pointed out that over the past two years, and in spite of the enormous human and material resource challenges, “we have registered some modest progress in governance and particularly in our efforts to rebuild a strong, indigenized and independent judiciary”.
He noted that in the process, they have also empowered women by appointing them to decision-making positions.
“This is reflected in the judicial appointments made following the installation of the new government. Out of 12 new judicial appointments to the Superior Courts, 5 of the judges are women including the first female Gambian Justice of the Supreme Court, Justice Mam Yassin Sey. 4 out of the 7 Justices of Appeal are now women including the President of the Court, Justice Awa Bah. And for the first time in the history of The Gambia, we now have a fully constituted exclusively Gambian permanent Supreme Court Bench,” Justice Minister noted.
He added that: “We have also established within my Ministry, a Sexual and Gender Based Violence Unit that will now be responsible for handling all criminal cases of sexual violence and abuse. Members of the Unit will receive specialized training in the investigation and prosecution of sexual violence crimes against women and children”.
