Badjie, a member of the Gambia Armed Forces was detained together with Major Landing Tamba and Warrant Officer Class 1 Musa Badjie.
Saul Badjie and others were in detention since the 10th January 2022 and have not been told the reason of their arrest.
The court held that their detention without a charge is a violation of their fundamental rights preserved in the 1997 Constitution. She ruled that it is unlawful to keep someone in detention beyond 72 hours without a charge.
Justice Jawara refused to grant the application by the State to keep Saul and his two co-detainees in detention for 90 days.
Justice Jawara asked the question, “whether there is a charge before this court?”
In answering the question, she said a charge is not a mere accusation. ‘It should be a formal charge, she added.
She said section 19 of the Constitution guarantees the right to liberty and security of every person. She added that no one should be subjected to arbitrary arrest and detention.
The Judge said it is very clear that Saul Badjie and the others were detained based on suspicion of committing a crime.
“There is no charge before this honourable court against the Respondents (Saul Badjie and others), She said.
She said even the Attorney General in his affidavit in-support is saying the three were held based on suspicion.
“They must be held on charges not on suspicion,” she said.
She maintained that suspicion does not amount to a charge. She reiterated her position that any detention beyond 72 hours without a charge is unconstitutional.
“I decline to grant the reliefs sought in this application [by the Attorney General],” the Judge ruled.
She ordered for the three not to leave the country and must answer to calls for questioning by investigators.
The Ministry of Justice has learned with dismay, unfortunate statements recently made by Mr Ousainou Darboe, leader of the United Democratic Party (UDP), at a political rally. His inaccurate and illogical statements are a distortion of facts, signalling a new low in our political discourse with an attempt to score cheap political points at the expense of truth and political decency.
President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo of Equatorial Guinea, who is also the host of former Gambian dictator Yahya Jammeh, has expressed an “objectionable intention” to contest the coming Presidential election, thus paving the way for the 80-year-old leader’s sixth term in office.
The Anti-Crime Unit of The Gambia Police Force on 14th October 2022 at the Brikama Garage in Serrekunda arrested four Gambian nationals.
The Gambia Legion, representatives from the Gambian Armed Forces, members of the diplomatic corps, dignitaries and members of the public, joined the rest of the world on Saturday, 11 November 2023 at 11am to observe a two-minute silence in honour of the fallen men and women of the two World Wars. The occasion also acknowledged the innocent civilians lives that have been and that continue to be lost in the ongoing conflicts in the Middle East and Ukraine.
