By: Nyima Sillah
The Chairman of the Coalition of Progressive Gambians (CoPG), Seedy Cham, has revealed that the CoPG will go down the legal lane with the government of The Gambia over the lifting of the JannehCommission ban on former Jammeh officials as well as the recent presidential prisoner pardon.
“We want to take the government to court, concerningthe recent prisoner pardon. We see the rate of corruption getting high and from what we depict from the pardoning, the president is not showing a willingness to combat corruption. Instead, he isfocusing more on staying longer in power,” Cham told The Voice in an exclusive interview.
He pointed out that the Janneh Commission was a powerful commission that had the same power as the Supreme Court, adding if that Commission should find anyone culpable of corruption, then he sees no reason why that person should be pardoned by the president if he [President] is “really” ready to fight corruption in the country.
“The constitution has given the right to the President but he has to follow due process, using the right channels to approve the pardon. He cannot just pardon people like that. This is why we want to take the matter to court to hear from them,” Cham stated.
He argued that despite the various audit reports about official graft, the president pardoned someone convicted of corruption.
“We also saw a rapist that raped a 4-year-old pardoned by the President and even people that committed murder were pardoned without seeking the consent of the deceased’s parents,” he pointed out.
According to Cham, the President is emboldeningrapists, murderers and corrupt individuals.
He asserted that presidential clemency should be extended to only those convicted of minor offenses for rehabilitation and reintegration, adding that vicious criminals need to be taught lessons.
“We are ready to challenge the government in all ways on this matter, and we have confidence that we will win. The victory is not for the CoPG. It is for The Gambia because Democracy should be for all. The group has already met lawyer Lamin J. Darboe to see how best he can handle the situation,”CoPG chair told this medium.