Halifa Sallah was arrested on Sunday and today he will have seventy-two hours in detention. Up till the time of going to press he had not been charged. Section 19 subsection (2) of the Constitution stipulates:

“Any person who is arrested or detained shall be informed as soon as is reasonably practicable and in any case within three hours, in a language that he or she can understands, of the reasons for his or her arrest or detention and of his or her right to consult a legal practitioner.”

This simply means that within three hours of one’s arrest not only must he/she be told of the offence he/she has purportedly committed but he/she must be told of his /her right to access a legal practitioner of his or her choice. When the police were approached none could state the offence he had allegedly committed.

Furthermore, section 19 subsection (3) of the Constitution states:
“Any person who is arrested or detained-
(a) for the purpose of bringing him or her before a court in execution of the order of a court, or
(b) upon reasonable suspicion of his or her having committed, or being about to commit, a criminal offence under the Laws of The Gambia, and who is not released, shall be brought without undue delay before a court and, in any event, within seventy-two hours”

In short, Halifa Sallah must be either charged and taken to court today or be released forthwith. To do otherwise is to contravene the Constitution which President Jammeh has sworn to defend.

Halifa Sallah is a man of integrity, a man with a profound mission and vision who has devoted his entire life to the service of society. Arresting him and detaining him unnecessarily tantamount to obstructing the honourable service he is offering humanity. One cannot boast of being a patriot or a friend of humankind and engage in such activities.

Needless to say, the act of arresting someone and then fishing for evidence to incriminate that person should be avoided by all means. That tantamount to bad faith and witch hunting. There is no need for a wild goose chase just to incriminate somebody.

This Nation we call The Gambia belongs to all of us. The Gambia is a Republic not a monarchy. Holders of elected offices are servants not lords or a deity.

A real patriot should be concerned with building an enlightened nation of liberated Gambians. Can any good person oppose this?