Lawyer Ousainu Darboe, leader of the UDP
By Buba Gagigo
Lawyer Ousainou Darboe, the leader of the United Democratic Party (UDP), has confirmed to Kerr Fatou that he is in the process of preparing legal documents to take the Governor’s case to the Supreme Court.
This development follows the dismissal of a lawsuit by the Bundung High Court, presided over by Justice Aisatou Jallow-Sey. The lawsuit, filed by five members of the UDP, challenged the appointments of regional Governors and Deputy Governors within the Civil Service by President Barrow. The case was struck out due to the absence of the UDP members and their legal team at the scheduled hearing.
“I spent the entire day yesterday preparing my case for the Supreme Court. I was focused on the documents, which is why I came here; otherwise, I would have been in the United States by now. I didn’t want to wait until October, so I decided to address this matter now. In my understanding, when you refer to redeployment, it means transfer or posting. The president has no authority over civil service postings and transfers; that responsibility lies with the Public Service Commission,” Darboe told Kerr Fatou.
Darboe argued that appointing governors as deputy permanent secretaries constitutes a promotion, and it is not within the president’s remit to promote anyone within the civil service.
“That is a matter for the Public Service Commission. This is why I am bringing the issue to the Supreme Court: we cannot allow the government to act without accountability. That’s why we are advocating for the new constitution to ensure that the president cannot make any decisions he wants without due process. We said that these individuals are not qualified to be appointed as governors, so how can someone who is unqualified be promoted? Your initial appointment with the public service should be valid before any promotion can occur. If that appointment is not valid, then promotion cannot be justified. While the president does have the power to promote, the authority to do so is vested in the Public Service Commission, in my opinion,” the UDP leader said.
The UDP leader emphasized that they are determined to bring this matter before the Supreme Court to seek justice.
“However, our case was dismissed by the court, but we are currently appealing that decision to the court of appeal,” Darboe said in an interview that will air tomorrow at 17:30 p.m. on Kerr Fatou.
The lawsuit, which centered around the legality of the appointments of the Governors and Deputy Governors, invoked sections 123, 124, and 125 of the Local Government Act. The UDP members contended that the appointments were in violation of Section 123 of the Act, which stipulates that governors must be civil servants of a rank not below that of a director.