Top lawyer calls for boycott of ‘plagiarized’ constitution

By Sainey Darboe:

Gambians should withhold support to the draft constitution in defense of national pride because it’s “plagiarized” contrary strenuous denials by the body tasked with cobbling together a new constitution.

The charge was made by barrister Lamin J. Darbo in response to comments by Constitution Review Commission Chairman who claimed the document represents the views of Gambians.

Lamin Darboe retorted in an article made available to GunjurOnline :

Barrister Lamin J.Darbo of Dabanani Law Centre

“In an interview with Fatu Network, the Chair of the Constitutional Review Commission (the Chair) failed to refute the charge that the CRC significantly plagiarised provisions of the 2010 Constitution of Kenya (Kenya 2010), at times lifting whole sections and transplanting them into the Draft of a proposed new Constitution for The Gambia (the Draft).

And this notwithstanding claims by the CRC that the Draft embodies views of Gambians garnered in an involved national and international consultation process with them.  

Exclusive views of Gambians indeed!

Rather extraordinarily, the Chair of the CRC, a Justice of the Supreme Court, and potential next Chief Justice given the personnel dynamics of that Court, complained about theorising by those who failed to participate in the process.His anger was palpable.

Was I worried?Obviously!

In July 2018, I contended that the CJ or his designee should not chair the CRC as it was in conflict with the doctrine of the separation of power. I argued: “Even a rudimentary understanding of the doctrine of separation will substantiate the contention that this type of law making is not a core function of the judiciary and must therefore not be chaired by the CJ or his designee from amongst the ranks of the active judicial bench”.

He added:

“However plagiarising is designated, be it ‘international best practice’ or ‘adaptation’, the CRC was not constituted to engage in copious copying and pasting of any constitution.

What happened to coincidence of thought expressed originally! Gambia’s national pride should prevent it supporting this so-called Draft for the ages”.