Honourable Sallah, I must admit that you are one of the very few politicians that are helping to reshape Gambia’s political arena by enlightening the masses through your many write-ups which include but not limited to; ‘‘the young people should be told the truth’’ platform. Besides, when the going was indeed very tough during the political impasse, you wore the hat of a de-facto Head of State, at a time someone like you was needed the most. While our Commander-In-Chief ran for cover in Senegal, you stood to the taste of time issuing guidelines to the sovereign citizens, centre to which was a plea for respect to the rule of law for a better Gambia we want.
These heroics earned you a lot of admirers including my humble self; however, some of us were taken aback by your recent dossiers about the Truth Reconciliation and Reparations Commission (TRRC). The last time I checked Section 13(a) of the Truth, Reconciliation and Reparations Commission Act, 2017 has it that the objective of the commission is to create an impartial historical record of violation and abuses of human right from July 1994 to January 2017.
Honourable Sallah, I don’t mean to be disrespectful in my open letter but I submit to you that, I am not only disappointed but flabbergasted and bowl over on your recent reaction to the witnesses of the TRRC. Surprisingly, you made mentioned that through Foroyaa January 17, 2019 publication that; ‘‘I still chose not to appear before the Commission because I have no pain in my heart to heal. Duty compelled me to do everything I had done to combat injustice’’.
Honourable Sallah, I am not sure that if the Commission's rules of procedure will permit "confrontation" especially between a witness and someone who has chosen not to appear before the commission. I think it is better you appear before the said commission to testify and put the records straight which is your constitutional right, especially that you were offended by both Cham and Omar A. Jallow’s testimony. Some might say that you have a duty to correct the records. Meanwhile, if you cannot appear before the commission, it is better to kindly submit a written piece to the Research and Investigations Unit of the TRRC.
Arnold H. Glasow noted that a good leader takes a little more than his share of the blame, a little less than his share of the credit. Please be informed that no matter how good you think you are as a leader, my goodness, the people around you will have all kinds of ideas for how you can get better. So for me, the most fundamental thing about leadership is to have the humility to continue to get feedback and to try to get better in attaining your dream of the presidency.
Honourable Sallah, I will not be surprised to receive your response in the form of a PhD thesis with a citation from the various sections of the 1997 constitution, in which you are good at. Besides, you seem to be a good Lecturer it is in that note I take this opportunity to beg you, to kindly desist from politics and focus on academia especially at the University of The Gambia where your services might be needed.
Yours in the service of open letter writing.
Blogger/Political Activist
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