{A Paper Presentation by Femi Falana SAN at the virtual consultation workshop for the development of a new Five Year Strategy for the Gambian Bar Association on Saturday, July 31st, 2021}
I received the invitation to participate in this virtual consultation workshop a few days ago. Even though I was otherwise engaged I had to accept the invitation on account of my respect for Mr. Salieu Taal, the President of the Gambian Bar Association (GBA). In thanking the entire members of the GBA for requesting me to participate in this all important workshop permit me to take the opportunity of my short address to remind this distinguished audience of our collective struggle which culminated in the restoration of democracy in The Gambia. In addition, I am going to challenge colleagues to use their privileged position to defend the Gambian people in the struggle against local and foreign forces of exploitation and oppression. It is common knowledge that due to poverty and ignorance majority of the people of Africa are not in a position to enjoy civil and political rights like the bourgeoisie and other privileged people. I am going to task the GBA to empower lawyers to promote the socioeconomic rights guaranteed by the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights which has been ratified by the government of The Gambia.
No doubt, the GBA is one of the oldest law societies in Africa. My interaction with the GBA dates back to 2000 when we were mobilizing leaders of national bar associations in Africa to set up the Pan African Lawyers Union (PALU). In my capacity as the then Secretary-General of the African Bar Association I held positive consultations with bar leaders in the Gambia on the urgent need to unite the law societies in Africa. It is on record that the GBA played a prominent role in the subsequent formation of the PALU in 2002 and the West Africa Bar Association (WABA) in 2004. Under my leadership of the WABA we campaigned for the expansion of the jurisdiction of the Court of Justice of the Economic Community of West African States (Ecowas) to include the enforcement of human rights. The campaign succeeded in January 2005 when the Authority of Heads of State and Government unanimously adopted the Supplementary Protocol that vested the Ecowas Court with the power to hear and determine cases filed by victims of human rights abuse against the member states of the Ecowas.
I am delighted to recall that the first human rights case filed in the registry of the Ecowas Court is that of Ebrimah Manneh v Republic of The Gambia (2008) AHRLR 171 The Plaintiff was a journalist who had been detained for several months without trial. Apart from declaring the arrest and detention of the Plaintiff illegal the Court awarded him reparation of $100,000. The Manneh’s case was followed by that of Musa Saidykhan v The Republic of The Gambia (2010) CCJELR 178, another journalist who was detained and subjected to horrendous torture by security operatives. He won the case as he was awarded damages of $200,000 for the infringement of his human rights to personal liberty and human dignity. I was privileged to have handled both cases at the instance of the Media Foundation for West Africa with the support of the Gambian Journalist Association.
Having regard to the fact that the Yahya Jammeh dictatorship had captured the domestic judiciary at the material time the cases of Manneh and Saidykhan were soul lifting for the hapless people of The Gambia. From that moment the numerous victims of human rights violations in the Gambia turned to the Ecowas Court and the African Commission on Human and Peoples Rights for legal redress. During the 2017 election crisis Mr. Salieu Taal and other progressive lawyers worked with their Nigerian counterparts to frustrate former President Jammeh from using the judiciary to endorse the manipulation of the election results to extend his dictatorial regime. In particular, the Supreme Court was unable to form a quorum to determine the frivolous election petition of President Jammeh as the external members of the Court from Nigeria distanced themselves from the charade.
Notwithstanding the crisis confronting the rule of law in the Gambia the GBA has stood for the defence of the human rights of the people under the rule of law and the promotion of professional ethics and the enhancement of the legal profession. The comprehensive testimony of the GBA President, Mr. Taal before the Truth, Reconciliation and Reparation Commission has confirmed the leadership role of the GBA is in the promotion of accountability and transparency in public affairs in The Gambia. Apart from working with the GJA in respect of the case of Ebrimah Manneh who disappeared from custody I belong to a consortium of international lawyers that submitted a detailed petition to the Commission on the brutal killing of 59 West African migrants on the directive of Mr. Yahya Jammeh sometime in July 2005.
The G.B.A. should continue to lead the civil society in the defence of human rights under the rule of law. This will require the campaign for the domestication of African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights, United Nations International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, United Nations International Covenant on Social Economic and Cultural Rights, United Nations Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) etc. In view of the forthcoming general elections in the Gambia, the GBA should challenge political parties and politicians to commit themselves to the domestication of international human rights instruments and respect for the rule of law.
In the struggle of the people for the consolidation of democracy in the Gambia the GBA should vigorously campaign for the independence of the judiciary and defence of democratic institutions. In order to achieve the patriotic objective the GBA must protect the interest of its members. The GBA should provide pro bono services for indigent citizens and other vulnerable victims of human rights abuse. To end official impunity the GBA must encourage its members to file public interest cases. I also expect the GBA to provide opportunities for lawyers to be involved in the practice of law in the ECOWAS Court, African Court on Human Rights and Peoples’ Rights, African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights and the International Criminal Court. The GBA must defend lawyers against harassment by the police and other law enforcement agencies. Courts should not be allowed to intimidate lawyers with contempt of court. At the same time, Judges must be accorded respect.
The record of human rights in The Gambia was one of the worst in Africa during the 22-year reign of President Jammeh. But with the restoration of democracy The Gambia is ahead of many countries in Africa in the protection of human rights and compliance with the judgments of regional courts. Today, The Gambia is one of six countries that have made a Declaration permitting individuals and Non Governmental Organisations to institute human rights cases in the African Court on Human and Peoples Rights in line with Article 34 (6) of the Protocol for the Establishment of the Court. The Gambia is also leading other member states of the Ecowas in compliance with the judgment of the regional Court. Thus, The Gambia is reported to have paid the entire monetary damages awarded to victims of human rights abuse by the Ecowas Court. However, since political and civil rights are enshrined in the 1997 Constitution of The Gambia I am compelled to call on the GBA to encourage its members to enforce the socioeconomic rights of the people guaranteed by the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights in regional courts.
Unless this challenge is seriously taken up human rights will remain a tantalising reality for the majority of poverty stricken people. The GBA should organise seminars and workshops on the African Continental Free Trade Zone established to create a single continental market for goods and services, permit me to assure the GBA of my unalloyed commitment to continue to collaborate with Gambian lawyers in the struggle for the promotion of the socioeconomic rights of the Gambian people, the expansion of democratic space and observance of human rights. For too long, African lawyers limited legal practice to the protection of the interest of their clients without any consideration for the larger interest of the society. A former Supreme Court Justice in Nigeria, the late Justice Pats Acholonu once reminded lawyers of their role in the society when he said inter alia:
“We all agree that the attorney whose professional thoughts begin and end with his own private clients is a pitiable mockery of what a great lawyer is and that only by taking part in the movements for the betterment of the law and the profession can he practice law in the grand manner – the only way it is worth practicing” (Williams v. Akintunde (1995) 3 NWLR (Pt. 381) 101 @ 115)
