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Gambia News : New political party calls on Gambia gov’t to respect Ecowas court ruling

Chief Manneh, a journalist who was working for the pro-government Daily Observer newspaper went missing shortly after the African Union Summit in Banjul in July 2006. The Ghana-based Media Foundation for West Africa later instituted legal action against the Gambia government at the ECOWAS Community Court of Justice asking the Court to order the government to release him from their custody. In July 2007, the ECOWAS Court ruled in favour of the complainant and ordered the Gambia government to release Chief Manneh from their custody and compensate him US$100,000. However, the government is yet to comply with the Court order.

According to the Monday edition of the thrice weekly Foroyaa newspaper in Banjul, the leader of the Gambia Moral Congress, Mai Fatty, is of the view that The Gambia should be seen to respect international law as a civilized nation.

Fatty said, “We call for the government’s compliance with the orders of the ECOWAS Court and implement the resolutions of the 44th Ordinary Session of the African Commission on Human and People’s Rights in Abuja regarding Chief Ebrima Manneh and all other victims of human rights atrocities such as the students who were killed in April 10 and 11, 2000.

He added, “This to us is not a matter of politics, but one of solid principle. If we are seen to be dismantling international commitments and protocols we enter freely with other nations and multilateral institutions, it is our sovereign integrity that massively suffers and it reflects on Gambians everywhere’.