A nominated National Assembly member has strongly defended the enforcement of the death penalty in The Gambia which saw the execution of the nine death row inmates.

Seedy SK Njie was speaking yesterday in an interview with the Daily Observer at the APRC Bureau in Kanifing. According to him, the execution is legal and constitutional, saying it is in line with Section 18 of the 1997 Constitution of The Gambia, which calls for the death penalty.

Hon. Njie said that it is not the president or the National Assembly that put the death penalty in the Constitution, but the entire Gambian population. He said the president having been elected by 72% of the electorate, has all the cause to defend the principles, voices and the power of the majority of population through the Constitution of the country.  “We have just seen the implementation of the wishes and aspirations of the Gambian constitution,” he said, adding that, “the execution is legal, lawful, constitutional and sanctioned by the Gambian people”.

Njie further stated that the move would cease the increase in gruesome violent activities such as killing in the country, saying these are alien to The Gambia. “Even in Islam, the law is if you kill, you should be killed,” he said, adding the nine executed inmates have exhausted all the legal apparatus. He emphasised that the people of the country know that there is law and order and they also know that if there is no law and order we live like the law of the jungle as there will be no survival.

Violent acts, robbery, drug trafficking and arson, he said were alien to this country, saying this move is a signal to all Gambians and non-Gambians alike that the fundamental principles and laws of the country will not be compromised. He said Gambia is always known for her peace and stability and the development trend is always paramount. “Gambia is a sovereign, independent and democratic state in the face of the international community. Our sovereignty and integrity must be respected,” he stated.

The execution, he went on, will have an impact on the reduction of killings in the country, that it will send a reminder to the perpetrators that if they kill, they will be killed too.