The
Chief Justice has been urged to resign after he was allegedly seen waving and
dancing in support of President Yahya Jammeh in contradiction of the laws
governing his conduct.
Members
of the Gambia Bar Association (GBA) said they have seen Chief Justice E. O.
Fagbenle waving and dancing in front of the court premises in support of the
incumbent presidential parade.
It
was the day Jammeh was going for nomination at the Independent Electoral
Commission as the presidential election was then approaching.
In
a letter demanding the resignation of the Chief Justice, the GBA said during
the campaign period for the 2016 presidential elections, the head of Gambia’s
judiciary was engaged in activities which “compromised the independence of the
Judiciary”.
The
letter was prepared after an emergency meeting of the Association on 12
December where it was resolved that the executive of the association should
call on the Chief Justice to resign.
In
the dispatch, the association said, in addition to waving and dancing, the
Chief Justice was also seen during and prior the campaign period and prior to
campaign period “openly attending political rallies of the APRC”.
Also,
it said: “Several members of the Bar saw
you [the Chief Justice] wearing an APRC apparel on the court premises.
“You
were distributing APRC apparel to the Court staff and making preparations for
the victory celebration of the incumbent president.”
The
Bar said these alleged conducts of the Chief Justice during the campaign period
for the 2016 presidential elections is a violation of the law governing the
conduct of judges and the judiciary in general.
Section
6(2) of the Judges Act states that a judge must strive to ensure that his or
her conduct, both in and out of court, maintains and enhances confidence in his
or her impartiality and that of the Judiciary.
Section
8(1) of the Act further indicates that a judge must not participate in partisan
or political activity or association, and must cease absolutely and
unequivocally a partisan political activity or association.
Section
8(2) added that a judge must avoid any public gathering if he or she considers
that a mere attendance at the gathering might reasonably give rise to a
perception of an ongoing political involvement, or put in question his or her
impartiality on an issue that could come before the court.
The
GBA told the Chief Justice, in the letter:
“The position of the Chief Justice is a constitutional position and as
the head of the third arm of government, you are expected to maintain and
uphold certain standards.
“You
have, in our considered view, woefully failed to adhere to these standards.”
Section
120(3) of the 1997 Constitution of The Gambia provides that judges and other
holders of judicial office shall be independent and subject only to the
Constitution and the law.
“This
provision is sacrosanct and as head of the judiciary and the administrative
head of all judicial officers, it was your duty to ensure and maintain this
independence,” the association said.
Court
interference
The
Bar further accused the chief justice of interference with court cases.
“You
have throughout your tenure as Chief Justice acted to perpetuate the will of
the outgoing president,” the association said.
“You
interfered with judicial officials who were presiding over cases and caused
them to be dismissed when they made decisions which were deemed to be against
the State’s interest.
“For
these and other reasons, the Gambia Bar Association does not have faith in your
ability to discharge the function of Chief Justice and we believe that you are
not a fit and proper person to hold the Constitutional position of the Chief
Justice of The Gambia.
“We
thus urge you to resign from this position with immediate effect failing which
the GBA will pursue all avenues to have you dismissed for misconduct under the
Provisions of Section 141 of the Constitution.