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Commission recommends leases issued to Jammeh be cancelled
The findings and recommendations of the Commission of Inquiry on the public land grants by the State and District Authorities (general) were accepted by the government that the “leases issued to former President Jammeh be cancelled and/or rescinded.
This was revealed in a government White Paper, an excerpt of the report of the Commission of Inquiry into the financial activities of public bodies, enterprises and offices as regards their dealings with former president, Yahya Jammeh and connected matters.
It was noted in the report that former President Jammeh was engaged in a land grab and he abused his authority as president to do so. He as well acquired several leased lands in the tourism development area (TDA), which are public lands leased to him by the State and local communities with the approval of the minister responsible for lands, without payment of any form of consideration.
Among these several other lands according to the Commission’s report including forests, lagoons, reserves and parks, islands and these are public lands leased to him by the State directly or by district authorities.
As per the recommendation it was noted that “it would be unconscionable and contrary to public policy if former President Jammeh were allowed to keep gifts of community lands needed for the livelihoods and development of entire communities.”
It continued that, since the government accepts these findings, in so far as they relate to lands allocated by local communities to former President Jammeh and accordingly that the government accepts the recommendations of the Commission that the said lands be confiscated by the State and properly planned to serve the most urgent public needs of local communities “the said land are (were) hereby confiscated.”
Many died in Burkina Faso gold mine site attack
Report says about 20 killed in attack in Soum province, latest in spate of violence blamed on armed groups.
Nepal parliament speaker arrested over rape allegations
A woman has accused Krishna Bahadur Mahara of assaulting her while drunk at her apartment last month.
Witness in US ‘wrong flat’ murder case shot dead
Joshua Brown teared up as he testified last month in the murder trial of a former Dallas police officer convicted of shooting and killing their neighbor in his own home.
Brown, a key witness in the trial, lived across the hall from Botham Jean at Dallas’ South Side Flats apartments last year when officer Amber Guyger walked into Jean’s apartment, mistaking it for her own, and killed Jean.
What Joshua Brown said during his testimony in the Guyger murder trial
What Joshua Brown said during his testimony in the Guyger murder trial
Before his own death, Brown lived in constant fear of gun violence, Lee Merritt, an attorney for Brown’s family said.
That fear became reality Friday night, when Brown was shot and killed in the parking lot of his Dallas apartment, 10 days after he took the stand, according to the Dallas County medical examiner and Kimberlee Leach, spokesperson for Dallas County District Attorney John Creuzot.
Authorities have not said whether there’s any connection between Brown’s death and his testimony in Guyger’s trial, which ended last week.
impeachment saga in US
The impeachment battle at Washington over President Donald Trump’s conduct with Ukraine is intensifying with news of a second whistle-blower while new testimony this week brings the prospect of more stunning revelations to deepen the crisis.
Kidnappers demand ransom for Nigerian school girls
Gunmen who kidnapped six female students and two staff members from their hostels at a remote school in northern Nigeria have made a ransom demand, the regional governor said.
Armed assailants gained entry to Engravers College, a mixed boarding school in a remote area just south of the city of Kaduna, early on Thursday and seized the victims.
“They have made a demand for money and that is being negotiated,” state governor Mallam Nasir El-Rufai told reporters in the capital Abuja.
They have made a demand for money and that is being negotiated.
The governor refused to disclose details of the demands or negotiations as the authorities were “trying to protect the victims and secure their release”.
Abductions for ransom are common in Nigeria and the school is located in an area that has become notorious for armed banditry.
It is far to the west of the region notorious for attacks by the Boko Haram jihadist group.
Boko Haram grabbed headlines around the world in 2014 for the abduction of 276 schoolgirls from the remote northeastern town of Chibok in Borno state.
Ethnic clashes kill 22 in Ethiopia’s Amhara region
Ethiopia continues to struggle with inter-ethnic clashes, with the latest round of violence between regional special forces and a minority ethnic group killing at least 20 people in the past five days in the northern state of Amhara.
The clashes are another headache for Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, whose political and economic reforms in what was once one of Africa’s most repressive nations have also emboldened powerful strongmen building ethnic power bases.
Amhara, Ethiopia’s second-most populous province, has been a flash point for tensions following violence that killed dozens of people, including the region’s president, in June. The federal government described that violence as a coup led by a rogue state militia leader.
The latest clashes erupted last Friday, when armed men killed 10 people when they ambushed a minibus travelling to the city of Gondar in northern Amhara, Desalegn Chane, president of the new National Movement of Amhara (NAMA) party, told Reuters by phone.
The next day, 12 soldiers were killed when two convoys transporting Amhara special forces were also attacked, he said.
Iraq protests: Death toll soars after four days of protests
The death toll in anti-government protests that have swept Iraq the past five days has soared to at least 70, security and medical sources say. The figure has more than doubled since Friday, as clashes between protesters and police intensified.
The military said “unidentified snipers” had killed four people in Baghdad, including two police officers.
However the authorities lifted a daytime curfew in the capital early on Saturday.
Prime Minister Adel Abdel Mahdi earlier said protesters’ “legitimate demands” had been heard, but appealed for calm.
Spontaneous protests erupted on Tuesday amid frustration over Iraq’s high youth unemployment rate, its dire public services and chronic corruption.
It is seen as the first major challenge to Mr Mahdi’s fragile government, nearly a year since he came to power.
PDOIS wants clarification from F. Tambajang
The PDOIS is asking former Vice President Fatoumata Jallow-Tambajnag to clarify whether there was an amendment in the original text of the Coalition agreement which was signed by its members; and if so, whether the amended version has been signed too.
Below is the letter addressed to Ms. Jallow Tambajang:
Dear Honourable Jallow Tambajang,
The media houses have been approaching PDOIS for explanation whether the text of an amendment to the 17th October 2016 Coalition agreement had been agreed upon and signed by coalition partners. We are not aware of the crafting and signing of any text purporting to be an amendment to the original text signed by Coalition partners and are therefore finding it difficult to give accurate information to the media, on the subject matter.
It should therefore be highly appreciated if you would clarify whether any document purporting to be an amended version of the coalition agreement has been signed. If such a document exists please forward it to us before Monday, 7 October 2019, when we intend to issue a Press Releasse on the matte
State to forfeit 2 properties allocated to ex-VP Njie-Saidy
An excerpt of the 93-page report of the Commission of Inquiry that was established by President Adama Barrow in July 2019, to probe into the financial activities of public bodies, enterprises and offices as regards to their dealings with former Present Yahya Jammeh, the government of The Gambia therefore accepts the commission’s recommendation that two out of the three properties allocated to the former vice president of Dr. Isatou Njie-Saidy should be forfeited to the State.
The report indicates that the said properties will be forfeited to the state as the government land policy dictates that every Gambian is entitled to only one free allocation.
The report also notes that the government takes note of the commission’s observation that Dr. Isatou Njie-Saidy is unfit to serve in similar positions and as the longest serving member of former President Jammeh’s cabinet, and given her positions as V.P. of the republic, Dr. Njie-Saidy’s conduct fell far short of the standards expected of an occupier of the Office of the V.P. of the Republic of The Gambia.
“Dr. Isatou Njie-Saidy is hereby banned from holding public office for five years from the date of publication of this White Paper,” the report went further.
The report also indicates that the government takes note of the Commission’s statement that Dr. Njie-Saidy claims to have acquired 22 properties in the greater Banjul area even though her monthly salary as V.P. between 1998 and 2017 was between D47,000 and D60,850 per month while three of her properties were allocated to her by the government.
“The commission found inter alia, that Dr. Njie-Saidy was the vice chairperson and co-signatory to the Operation Save the Children Foundation’s account and there was no evidence that this foundation was legally registered,” the report revealed.
In the commission’s estimation, from a total of D31,162,636.2 and $506,865.6 paid into its bank accounts, only D4,958,220 was spent on the objects of the foundation and the commission found that nearly all the funds of the foundation were wasted on events which were intended to boost the profile of Zineb Jammeh rather than help Gambian children.
“Dr. Njie Saidy and Zineb Jammeh authorised all payments sometimes jointly and the commission was of the view that Dr. Njie-Saidy ought to be accountable for what she authorised and misused in breach of trust,” it stated.
The report further narrated that the commission also found Dr. Njie-Saidy liable for unjustified payments in the sum of D11,725.90 and $3,847,80.
The commission found that the management of the JFP funds was bifurcated to mask its real purpose, allowing former President Jammeh control of the real funds while the board and management provided the legitimacy he needed.
Added to that, JFP was therefore a smokescreen/front used by former President Jammeh to raise funds for his personal benefit and Dr. Njie-Saidy as chairperson and member of the JFP board and signatory to the accounts was in breach of trust and therefore accountable for its funds.
D5 Creation