By Buba Gagigo
The University of The Gambia (UTG) has called upon Dr. Alieu Gibba and Dr. Matarr Njie to appear before its Disciplinary Committee following their accusations against the university, alleging delays in the promotion of senior staff and unfair treatment of Gambian academic staff.
In a letter dated July 17, 2024, UTG informed Dr. Gibba that his response to the Governing Council’s inquiry, issued on July 15, 2024, regarding “(a) Complaints of Delayed Promotions by UTG Senior Staff, and (b) Allegations of Injustice Against Gambian Academic Staff at the University of The Gambia,” was deemed unsatisfactory. Consequently, Dr. Gibba was summoned to attend a hearing of the Disciplinary Committee to investigate the matter.
“Your letter dated 17th July 2024 by which you gave an unsatisfactory explanation to the Governing Council’s letter of 15th July 2024 in re: “(a) UTG Senior Staff Complaints of Delayed Promotions and (b) Allegations of Injustice Against Gambian Academic Staff at the University of The Gambia,” refers. Consequent upon your unsatisfactory response, above-referred, you are hereby requested to attend the hearing of the Disciplinary Committee, convened to investigate and determine the matter,” UTG wrote to Dr. Gibba,” the UDP management said.
The university’s letter further instructed Dr. Gibba to appear before the committee on Wednesday, August 28, 2024, at 1:00 pm in the PEACE Building Conference Hall, Kanifing Campus. He was advised to bring any documents or evidence to substantiate his allegations against UTG’s management, emphasizing the importance of his cooperation to ensure a fair determination of the case.
“You are advised to hold and present any document and other evidence that will be needed to enable you to establish your allegations against the Management of UTG. Your cooperation is highly required, to enable the committee to determine the matter on its merit,” they stated.
Prior to this, the UTG management had written a letter on 10th July 2024 requesting Dr. Alieu Gibba to provide evidence to substantiate his claims within 48 hours of receiving the letter, along with ‘plausible’ justifications as to why disciplinary action should not be taken against him.
In his response, dated July 17, 2024, Dr. Gibba maintained that his statements, as published in the media, were made in good faith, exercising his constitutional rights to freedom of opinion, thought, and conscience, and that he believed them to be true. He further argued that any clarifications or justifications should come from the Vice-Chancellor and his management, not from him.
“Therefore, at this point in time, if there is anything to be clarified or justified with regards to this matter, it should be from the Vice Chancellor and his Management, and certainly not from us,” Dr. Gibba replied.
In relation to this matter, Dr. Ensa Touray, President of UTG Senior Staff, has also written to the Vice-Chancellor, urging him to reconsider the decision to pursue disciplinary action against Dr. Gibba and Prof. Njie. Dr. Touray expressed concerns that the disciplinary proceedings might be a pretext for the illegal termination of their services, and advised the Vice-Chancellor to retract the decision before it escalates.
“I hope this email finds you well. I have been contacted to confirm the reliability of your attempt to set up a disciplinary committee in collaboration with the governing council against Dr. Alieu Gibba and Prof. Mattar in connection to the allegations of anomaly in the promotion process. It is further alleged that it is a ploy to illegally terminate their services. Please rescind your decision before it is too late.
“To terminate someone’s service is not an easy job and is a long process. The Governing Council and UTG Management have in turn accused the two senior staff members (Dr.Gibba and Prof. Njie) of committing adultery, embezzlement, using the university to solicit private funds, nepotism, false declaration of academic credentials, etc,” Dr. Ensa Touray concluded.
The UTG management has, in turn, accused Dr. Gibba and Prof. Njie of several serious allegations, including embezzlement, nepotism, and the false declaration of academic credentials, among others.
Below are the allegations UTG management claims Dr. Gibba has made against them:
A. Promotions of academic staff are usually not on merit and the promotion process is based on favoritism and nepotism, with critics of UTG Management being sidelined and alleging victimization of UTG Management critics regarding promotion matters.
B. He cited the example of particular staff believed to be friendly to Management who was quickly promoted from the rank of Assistant Lecturer to Full Professor within four to five years contradicting the Conditions of Service.
C. Promotions are purportedly conducted verbally (without fulfilling the requirements) or by voting, citing a famous professor who now works in Government promoted to the ranks of Senior Lecturer, Associate Professor, and eventually to a Full Professor without a single journal publication.
D. The 2023 promotions were unjustifiably delayed and the Vice Chancellor seems reluctant for some unknown reasons to validate promotion recommendations for 2023 despite repeated demands.
E. The Vice-Chancellor is purportedly reluctant to validate promotion recommendations for 2023, despite repeated written demands from the affected academic staff.
F. And that Dr. Gibba drew a parallel between Gambians and non-Gambians/foreigners in UTG; and proceeded in uttering a discriminatory tone against non-Gambian Professors, Deans of Schools, and Members of Senate, casting aspersions on the authenticity of the foreign professors.
UTG management asserts that these allegations have damaged the university’s reputation and violated Chapters 9.6.1 and 9.6.2 of the Conditions of Service, 2007.
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