IN RESPONSE TO CHIEF JUSTICE AGIM:

IN RESPONSE TO CHIEF JUSTICE AGIM’S FAREWELL COMMENTS:

http://www.freedomnewspaper.com/Homepage/tabid/36/mid/367/newsid367/8166/CJ-AGIM-DROPS-HIS-LAST-BOMBSHELL/Default.aspx

KAYJATTA

The Gambia’s outgoing Chief Justice Agim must be commended for coming forward to address what he called adverse allegations made by his critics that were expunged in the front page interview with the pro-government Daily Observer. Please see the Freedom link above. Chief Justice Agim said that “for not wanting to embarrass me, the editors decided to omit certain issues raised during the interview in their publication”. The Chief Justice further claimed that he is compelled to address these serious allegations lest his “critics and detractors … believe that the interview was doctored in his favor”.

The great Nigerian geographer, Reuben K. Udo, in his book ‘Human Geography of Africa’ made an analogy of Mozambique’s migrant workers to Apartheid South Africa as (human) cash crops. I understand that the Nigerian judges in the Gambian courts may not totally fit Udo’s description of human cash crops, but they are often viewed by the Gambian population as “mercenary judges” whose primary interest is their salaries rather than the rule of law.

Chief Justice Agim said he has been “unfairly labeled as fraudulent, corrupt, manipulative, a bully and sadist, an adulterer, and a practitioner of voodoo” during his twelve years of service in the Gambia.

Now the problem with Agim’s comments on these allegations is that he has disastrously failed to exonerate himself from these serious allegations.

Firstly, Agim said that he in the past refused to dignify these accusations by ignoring them, but now feels that he needs to address them. My question is that WHY THEN DIGNIFY THEM NOW Mr. Agim? If Chief Justice Agim was really interested in addressing these issues, why did he wait until the last minute after resigning his post and he is already outside the jurisdiction of the Gambia? If Agim is a truthful person who really cares about his own personal integrity, he would have confronted these allegations in a timely manner that would allow the establishment of the truth.

Secondly, in the allegation of adulterous womanizing, Agim did not put up any rebuttal. Instead he only demanded that his critics provide the prove with regards to a particular incident where a security agent confronted him and his mistress on a private property. Well this kind of argument may work in the court of law, but certainly not in the court of public opinion. Agim further admitted that this conduct of womanizing is common among men. I guess this means that the allegation is correct. This may not be a problem for a private citizen, but for a man of Justice Agim’s standing (a Chief Officer of the court) who is required by legal ethics to be of exemplary character, it is a huge problem.

Thirdly, in the case of fraud and corruption, Agim again offered no rebuttal. Instead he built his case around the claim that no adverse finding were made against him by the Gambia government or the British High Commission. Agim knows, I am sure, that fraud and corruption in the judiciary would not be limited to the particular funds he was talking about. He also knows that in the world in which he chose to work, the ‘big fishes’ like him were hardly caught especially if they remain useful to the government.

Fourthly, in the allegations of fetishism and jujuism (lets properly call it voodoo or witchcraft), Agim actually admitted to this one, saying that he came to the Gambia “already fortified” in witchcraft. This to me is very damning. A Chief Justice so steeped in a medieval terrain of mindset is nothing short of a disgrace to the 21^st Century Gambian.

Fifthly, on the allegations of bully and manipulator, Justice Agim appears to reveal his complete ignorance of how government and the judicial branch are supposed to function. Agim needs to understand that perhaps the only difference between the Chief Justice and the other justices is purely administrative. He has no moral or legal authority to coerce other justices to compromise their independent legal opinion. To say that as Chief Justice he had to fire or punish judges who undermine him or the state is totally ridiculous.

Since Agim lacked the courage and the will to defend his and the Court’s integrity against these serious allegations while he was still in office, he should be wise enough to remain quiet forever.

OBAMA WINS RE-ELECTION:

KEBBA JATTA

President Barak Obama won re-election Tuesday night after a sweep of the battleground states. Obama defeated his Republican challenger, Mitt Romney in all of the battleground states except North Carolina where Romney won and Florida where ballots are still being counted. Ohio, Virginia, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, New Hampshire, Colorado, Iowa, and Nevada all went to Obama in an election that was widely considered very close.

Up to the time of voting, all the major polls showed the candidates in a dead heat, often within the statistical margin of error. For example the Gallup poll taken between November 1st and 4^th showed Obama at 48% and Romney at 49% with a margin of error of plus one (+1).

Ohio, one of the most critical swing states, is what gave Obama the victory. This Mid-Western state with 29 electoral votes sits in the heart of the auto industry, and benefitted from Obama’s bold intervention to bail out the auto industry in 2010 that saved many jobs. Romney, the Republican contender opposed the bailout arguing that Ford, General Motors and Chrysler should be allowed to go through bankruptcy. Most political analysts, including John King of CNN, believed that while Obama has several possibly pathways to re-election, Romney could not possibly win the presidency without winning Ohio.

The economy was the main driving force in the election. Romney’s campaign argued that the economy didn’t perform well under Obama’s four-year rule and so change is necessary. He often touted his business experience and cited the high unemployment rate, and promised to repeal the “Affordable healthcare plan” passed by the Obama administration. The Romney campaign also promised to cut down government spending and reduce taxes on all Americans, a move widely considered to be in favor of the rich over the middle class. The Obama campaign, on the other hand argued that he has inherited a bad economy from the previous Bush administration and since then the economy has stabilized and now improving, so we must continue to move forward and not return to the economic policies that led us into the recession. Obama planned to raise taxes on those who make more than 250,000 dollars a year.

The changing demographics, due to increases in the population of minorities such as women, Hispanics, African Americans, and young people; all of whom overwhelmingly voted for Obama helped tilt the election in the president’s favor. Romney’s positions on issues important to these groups such as women’s health, immigration, student loans, Medicare and healthcare made him quite unpopular and out of touch.

THE 2012 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION:

KEBBA JATTA

The presidential election on November 6, as in the rest of the country, confirmed America’s continued shift toward more diversity and tolerance, despite Missouri’s Republican inclination.

The demographic of the 2012 presidential election in Missouri, where the republican challenger, Mitt Romney defeated the incumbent President Obama, is consistent with the national trend. The economy remained an overriding issue. However, healthcare, taxes, women’s issues, education (student loans), immigration reform were all key factors.

Kansas City straddles two states, Kansas and Missouri. Unlike Kansas which is an outright red state (Republican state), Missouri only leans Republican but it is not considered a tossup state. In 2008 however, Missouri received national attention as a major swing state that Barak Obama and Senator John McCain bitterly fought over. McCain in the end won.

Missouri has a large Republican base, particularly in Jackson County and the rural areas. Southwest Missouri, which includes Springfield and Joplin (both predominantly White, nearly 90%), is part of the “Bible belt”-a region largely populated by social conservatives. In contrast, Kansas City and Saint Louis with thriving university campuses and a progressive well-educated population form a strong democratic base in the state.

Although Missouri attracts no significant attention this year as a battleground state unlike Colorado, Ohio, and or even North Carolina; it has been often referred to as a bellwether state. No president has won the White House without winning Missouri since 1904 except on two occasions, in 1956 and 2008.

Missouri has no early voting system. All voting is done on Election Day. Polls opened at 7 A.M. and the lines were long but moving steadily at Central United Methodist Church on 52^nd and Oak Street where this writer visited. Many voters were upbeat and highly motivated.

One voter called Scott said he arrived at the voting station with his wife at 8:45 and encountered no problems at all. Scott disclosed that he was a Republican and so was voting for Romney.  Scott said his main concern was the economy and taxes. This writer also spoke to two young ladies, Theresa and Vickie, as they leave the polling station. They said voting was a smooth process despite the long line. They said they voted at the same location in 2008 and in both occasions voted for the Democratic contender. Both ladies reported their main concern to be student loans and healthcare. James, an African-American man from Atlanta who now resides in Kansas City also said he encountered no problems, and was voting for Obama. His main concern was socio-economic inequality and bad neighborhoods. Susan, a middle-aged White woman, very media savvy, said she voted Democrat and her main concern was women’s issues such as reproductive rights and equal pay. There was one very outspoken voter, Robert Scott, standing in the line to vote. He was approached by this writer for his opinion. Scott claimed he has a master’s degree in mathematics, and did not waste time in launching a vicious attack on the Republican vice Presidential candidate, Paul Ryan and his ideological goddess, Ayn Rand. Rand was a Russian-American objectivist philosopher whose philosophical views of individualism and self-interest appeals to many conservatives. Paul Ryan himself is an outspoken and controversial figure in his own right. The Ryan budget, which he authored as a congressman, as an alternative to the President’s budget radically reduced government spending and further deepened partisan divide.

President Obama’s victory was assembled largely from a coalition of minorities and progressives- African-Americans, Hispanics, women, young people and other minority groups. This has spelled big problems for the survival of the Republican party that continues to court older, conservative, White males.

LIMESTONE OUTCROP ON BLUE RIVER ROAD, KCMO: