Gambia News : Sidia Jatta & Babanding Daffeh MPs walk out of parliament over Speaker’s “interruption”

Apr 12,2009 00:00 by Anna

Two Gambian opposition members of parliament walked out of the House on Friday apparently taking offence when the Speaker Fatoumatta Jahumpa-Ceesay interrupted them during their contributions and asked them sit down.

Sidia Jatta, MP for Wuli West for the opposition National Alliance for Democracy and Development (NADD), raised concern about alleged continuing abductions of Gambians by the government and asked the House to take measures to stop the illegality.

While advancing his arguments, the Speaker told him that he had one minute to end his contribution. This angered Jatta who thanked the Speaker, sat down but walked out less than one minute later.

The second MP, Babanding K.K. Daffeh, MP for Kaing Central for the opposition United Democratic Party (UDP), also walked out when the Speaker interrupted him during his presentation on the education system and asked him to sit down.

Daffeh was contributing to President Yahya Jammeh plan to build a science and technology university in his home town.

He also said the civil service reform strategy announced by the government had no impact and civil servants were still finding it difficult to survive.

The Speaker interrupted Daffeh and told him that the president had already made his announcement and asked whether he or the president was telling a lie.

Daffeh said he was not talking about who was lying, but that he was referring to a document before him.

The Speaker then ordered him to take his seat, and as he sat down he took his bag and walked out.

When he walked out the Speaker told the House that Daffeh was suspended from two House meetings. However, majority leader Fabakry Tombong Jatta disagreed with the Speaker saying Daffeh was only expressing his democratic rights as an elected member of the House.