The Attorney General and Justice Minister, Ba Tambedou, has clarified that President Barrow has not halted the Faraba Banta murder trial of five police officers and others but merely conveyed the request of the victims families for the case to be dismissed in the interest of peace and reconciliation.

Ba Tambadou has said in a press release issued today that the request for pardon “is still being considered” and described the press release from the Office of the President yesterday “as an unfortunate choice of words”.

“The request is still under consideration by the Attorney General, and the Office of the President was only consulted for its views on the request in light of the fact that the Faraba Banta incident on 18 June 2018 was of such national tragedy and importance that it warranted the establishment by His Excellency, the President, of a Commission of Inquiry under Section 200 of the 1997 Constitution.

“In this regard, the Office of the Attorney General affirms that the Office of the President did not, and has never attempted to, interfere with the exercise of this discretion, and therefore considers the recent press release from the Office of the President as an unfortunate choice of words.

”The Office of the Attorney General reassures the general public that the exercise of prosecutorial discretion is vested exclusively in the Attorney General which he executes mainly through the Office of Director of Public Prosecutions and the Inspector General of Police. This discretion is exercised with due consideration to several factors including the public interest, and the wishes of the victims’ families”.

Many Gambians were outraged with President Barrow’s pardon and accused him of interfering with the judicial process.

“There seems to be no justification for flouting the constitution in this manner. Due procedure doesn’t seem to have been followed”, said Musa Bah, a political commentator.