The Black April Students’ Unrest in The Gambia

Year 2023, Volume: 5 Issue: 2, 183 - 196, 30.12.2023

Akpojevbe Omasanjuwa

https://doi.org/10.57082/mpsr.1301427

Abstract

Two isolated incidents in The Gambia spurred a student demonstration on April 10, and 11, 2000. The Gambia Students’ Union felt the government handled the issues which involve their members nonchalantly. The student body’s futile attempt to engage the government to redress the grievances compelled its members to vent their anger in the streets against a society they felt treated their colleagues unjustly. Government’s highhanded reaction escalated the demonstration to a full-blown riot that resulted in unprecedented casualties. Through qualitative method, the undercurrents which propelled the highhanded measures in quashing the riot constitutes the subject of this paper. It also questions, within the legal framework of Vicarious Liability and with the application of Karl Marx Conflict Theory, the motives propping the recommended punitive measures against some key law enforcement officers, a decision for which the conclusion of the article recommended adjudication. Viewed against the background of the protracted inherent security situation of the country, the article examines the entrenched causes of the riot received attention. In conclusion, the underlying causes is ascribed to social conflict instigated by class struggle in the politically polarized society.

Keywords

The Gambia, Students'Riot, Security, Conflict Theory, Vicarious Liability

Supporting Institution

Nil

Project Number

Nil

Thanks

Thanks

Kara Nisan Öğrencilerinin Gambiya'daki Gösterisi

Abstract

Gambiya'da münferit iki olay, 10 ve 11 Nisan 2000'de bir öğrenci gösterisine yol açtı. Gambiya Öğrenci Birliği, hükümetin üyelerini ilgilendiren sorunları soğukkanlılıkla ele aldığını hissetti. Öğrenci birliğinin, şikayetleri gidermek için hükümeti devreye sokmaya yönelik beyhude girişimi, üyelerini, meslektaşlarına haksız davranıldığını düşündükleri bir topluma karşı öfkelerini sokaklarda dile getirmeye zorladı. Hükümetin sert tepkisi, gösteriyi eşi benzeri görülmemiş kayıplarla sonuçlanan tam bir isyana yükseltti. Nitel yöntemle, isyanı bastırmak için sert önlemleri iten gizli akımlar bu makalenin konusunu oluşturmaktadır. Ayrıca, Dolaylı Sorumluluğun yasal çerçevesi içinde ve Karl Marx Çatışma Teorisi'nin uygulanmasıyla, bazı kilit kolluk görevlilerine karşı önerilen cezai tedbirleri destekleyen saikleri sorgulamaktadır; Ülkenin uzun süredir devam eden doğal güvenlik durumunun arka planına bakıldığında, isyanın yerleşik nedenlerini inceleyen makale dikkat çekti. Sonuç olarak, altta yatan nedenler, siyasi olarak kutuplaşmış toplumdaki sınıf mücadelesinin kışkırttığı toplumsal çatışmaya atfedilmektedir.

Keywords

The Gambia, Students' Riot, Security, Conflict Theory, Vicarious Liability

Project Number

Nil

References

• Alfred, L. B. (2001). “The Tulsa Race Riot of 1921 in the Oklahoma Supreme Court,” 54 Oklahoma Law Review. 67 https://digitalcommons.law.ou.edu/olr/vol54/iss1/12.
• Arnold H., & Perfect, D. (2008). The Historical Dictionary of The Gambia Edited: Jon Woronoff. The Scarecrow Press, Inc.
• Attorney Generals Chambers & Ministry of Justice https://www.moj.gm/downloads
• Barata, K. et. al. (1999). "From Accounting to Accountability: Managing Accounting Records as a Strategic Resource [info DEV 980121-] Report to the World Bank Info. DEV. Programme." International Records Management Trust., http://www.irmt.org/documents/research
• Baskin, E., Osborne, G., & Roach, L. (2018). Commercial Law 4th Edition. Oxford University Press.
• Bansah, D. K. (2015). The Role of Western Democratic System of Governance in Exacerbating Ethnic Conflicts in Africa: The Case of Ghana's Democratic Dispensation, 1992-2012. Peace and Conflict Management Working Paper, 2:1-11.
• Chiricos, T., Pickett, J. T. & Peter S. Lehmann (2020). In book: Criminal Justice Theory: Explanations and Effects Chapter: 4 Routledge
• Dobbs B. D. (2000) The law of Torts. Hornbook Series. West Group, St. Paul Minneapolis.
• Ewoh, A. I. E. (2000). "Civil Society and Democratization Processes in Africa," African Social Science Review: 1 (1) 1- 10.
• Gambia Bureau of Statistics: Number of Schools Providing Secondary Education. https://www.gbosdata.org/data/21-senior-secondary-education/677-secondary-secondary-education-schools-national
• Gambia Constitution (1997) Protection of Fundamental Human Rights section 25 1(d). 287, http://scholarship.richmond.edu/masters-theses.
• Gambia Daily Observer. (June 10, 2002). https://allafrica.com/stories/200206100205.html
• Geoghagan, A. D. (2007). Felony Disenfranchisement Legislation: A Test of the Group Threat Hypothesis. PhD diss., University of Tennessee. https://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_graddiss/175
• Hassoum, C. (2014). Tribute: Louise Antoinette Njie (1922-2014). Gambia Point Newspaper. (May 7, 2014) https://thepoint.gm/africa/gambia/article/tribute-louise-antoinette-njie-1922-2014
• Investophobia Team. (2022). Independent Contractor: Definition, How Taxes Work, and Example. https://www.investopedia.com/terms/i/independent-contractor.asp
• Marcus, N. C. (2023), When “Riot” is in the Eye of the Beholder: The Critical Need for Constitutional Clarity in Riot Laws, 60 American Criminal Law Review. 281. https://scholarlycommons.law.cwsl.edu/fs/419
• Morris D. (2001). Vicarious Liability Rules. https://www.davidsonmorris.com/employer-vicarious-liability/
• Ngo Q. M., & Haghighi, D. Pari, Burstein F. (2015). A Crowd Monitoring Framework using Emotion Analysis of Social Media for Emergency Management in Mass Gatherings. ACIS 2015 Proceedings. 108. https://aisel.aisnet.org/acis2015/108
• Omasanjuwa, A.& Tarro, M. L. (2021). “A Week of Mayhem: The July 30 Insurgency in the Gambia.” Journal of Universal History Studies, 4:1, 1-29.
• Omo-Bare, I. (1990) Military and Civilian Regimes in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Comparative Analysis of Public Policy Outputs and Outcomes. LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses. 5085. https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_disstheses/5085
• Paul, D. (2008) Principles of Modern Company Law Sweet and Maxwell.
• Rauterberg, G. (2020). “The Essential Roles of Agency Law,” 118 Michigan. Law Review. 609. https://repository.law.umich.edu/mlr/vol118/iss4/3
• Sallah, M. T. (1990). “Economics, and Politics in the Gambia.” Journal of Modern African Studies, 28:4, 621-48.
• Schoedinger, D. (1969). “Riot Control Legislation: A Necessary Evil,” 46 Denver Law Journal 152. https://digitalcommons.du.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=3617&context=dlr
• Soomaroo L., & Murray V. (2012). Disasters at mass gatherings: lessons from history, in PLoS currents. 2012 March 12.doi:10.1371/currents. RRN1301
• Statutes Of The Republic Of South Africa (1996). Constitutional Law Constitution Of The Republic Of South Africa No. 108. https://www.gov.za/sites/default/files/images/a108-96.pdf
• Steele, J. (2010) Tort Law Test, cases and materials. Second edition, Oxford University Press.
• The Gambia Gazette (2017). The Gambia Gazette Publication on Prerogative of Mercy for Ousainou Darboe and Co-defendants https://www.thegambiatimes.com/the-gambia-gazette-publication-on-prerogative-of-mercy-for-ousainou-darboe-and-co-defendants/
• Thompson, A. (2010). An introduction to African Politics. Routledge; Taylor and Francis Group London and New York.
• Todd, Stephen et al. (1997). The Law of Tort in New Zealand. Brooker’s Ltd. Wellington.
• Truth, Reconciliation and Reparation Commission Act (2017) https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5a7c2ca18a02c7a46149331c/t/5a8451b4e4966bfad91329e9/1518621128178/truth%2C+reconcilation+and+reparations+commission+act%2C+2017.pdf
• Truth, Reconciliation and Reparation Commission Report. (2020) Volume 6 April 10 & 11 2000.