By Abdelkarim Jaiteh
The supreme court of The Gambia comprised of three judges led by the chief justice yesterday unanimously declared the revocation of Yakumba Jaiteh’s nomination as null and void
It all started earlier last year when President Adama Barrow revoked the nomination of Yakumba Jaiteh and replaced her with Foday Gassama due to inflammatory remarks by Mrs Jaiteh against the president.
Dissatisfied with the decision of the president, Madame Jaiteh filed an appeal before the apex court challenging the decision of the president which finally came to an end today after a panel of three judges led by the chief justice, Hassan Jallow declared judgment in her favour.
The verdict which was read by the chief justice went through the grounds of appeals filed by the respondent and cited various sections and provisions in the constitution to back his ruling.
It was the argument of the defendant according to the chief justice that the respondent has failed to discharge the burden of her contention that the president has no right to revoke the nomination of a nominated member however chief justice averred that there is only presumption of regularity which need to be determined, while citing the case of the United Democratic Party against the attorney general as an example to substantiate his verdict.
The principal contention before the court according to the lead judge was whether the revocation of a nomination member is in tandem with the law, adding that the supreme court has the jurisdiction to determine the provisions of the law.
The court has also observed that the letter sent to the Mrs Jaiteh did not explain the nature of her revocation of her nomination.
According to the chief justice, the law has explicitly explained the nomination of a member, qualification and revocation of a member, arguing that words and phrases in the constitution cannot be read in isolation while citing relevant laws in the constitution to back his verdict.
After citing relevant law authorities both local and international, the court ruled that the president does not have the power to revoke the seat of a nominated member despite the power vested in him to appoint a member while declaring the revocation of Mrs Jaiteh nomination as null and void as well as the nomination of Foday Gassama as null and void.
