Politics: 24 September | Sainey Darboe
The spokesman for opposition United Democratic Party, Almamy Taal, has disclosed the party leader filed a police complaint against a Gambian woman for insulting him in a WhatsApp audio.
Ousainou Darboe and his party have been excoriated in the media for registering a case against Fatou Sumareh at the Kairaba police station for subjecting his person to abuse in a WhatsApp audio.
In an interview with The Standard Newspaper, Almamy Taal revealed Ousainou Darboe has reached his hard limit for enduring disparaging remarks. His words:
“I think it should not be encouraged because there is no benefit whatsoever in just trading insults with anybody and I condemn anybody who engaged in it.
The leader of the UDP feels that he has been insulted and enough time. So, what we think needs to happen is to sensitize the population that in a democracy, you can express all kinds of views and engaged in all kinds of disagreement but there is no need to be abusive”.
He added that the recourse to legal sanction via the police should attract commendation rather than derision meted out on it in many quarters.
“If somebody has violated your rights, your first port of call is to lay a complaint before the police. If at all it was a contractual or a civil matter, then we would have gone to the court straight. Here is a person who has made an audio and it is circulating everywhere. Now, Mr Darboe’s going to the police station and laying a complaint there, is within his rights. It’s the police who invite people during their investigation to establish whether in fact the person has violated the laws of The Gambia or not.
Now, within this context I really don’t understand why people always look at these things from this political angle. If somebody has caused some violation of my rights, instead of either finding alternatives or trying to return fire for fire, I think it is only logical for me make a complaint to the police and let the police do their jobs. This is something that everybody should applaud. I really don’t see any issue about it and suggesting that other methods are there! Obviously, other methods are there but if you feel you want to resolve some of these issues once and for all, I think involving the police to peacefully solve the problem would be the best way to go forward.”
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