THE GAMBIA: APPOINTMENT OF ATTORNEY GENERAL

C O N F I D E N T I A L BANJUL 000701

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/15/2016
TAGS: PGOV PREL PHUM GA
SUBJECT: THE GAMBIA: APPOINTMENT OF ATTORNEY GENERAL

REF: BANJUL 691 AND PREVIOUS

Classified By: AMBASSADOR JOSEPH STAFFORD, REASON 1.4 (B AND D)


1. (SBU) The GOTG cabinet reshuffle that President Yahya
Jammeh initiated in mid-October (reftels) is now complete,
with the November 13 filling of the vacant position of
Attorney General/Secretary of State (minister) for Justice.
The GOTG announced the appointment of Kebba Sanyang, a young
(age 36) magistrate and graduate of law schools in Sierra
Leone and Ghana. Sanyang is unknown to us, but our contacts
express hope that his rapid ascent in The Gambia's judiciary
is an indicator of energy and competence.


2. (C) COMMENT: It remains to be seen whether Sanyang will
have the inclination -- or the autonomy under an increasingly
autocratic Jammeh -- to help reverse the current negative
human rights trend here by, for example, promoting greater
respect for the rule of law. As previously reported
(reftels),Sanyang's predecessor, Sheikh Tijan Hydara, was
widely viewed as among the cabinet's weakest performers and
few regret his departure. The fact that it took Jammeh almost
a month to find a successor to Hydara is testimony, according
to our sources, to the reluctance of potential candidates in
private legal practice to take on the portfolio -- in part
due to the occupants' relatively brief tenure. Sanyang is
reckoned to be the eleventh Attorney General/SOS Justice over
the past twelve years. END COMMENT

STAFFORD