By Fatou Sillah
Attorney General and Minister of Justice Dawda A. Jallow has rejected calls for his resignation, emphasizing that he serves at the pleasure of President Adama Barrow and will only step down if either he personally chooses to or is asked to by the president.
Speaking at a press briefing on Wednesday, Minister Jallow stressed that external pressures or public demands will not influence his decision.
“I am a minister; I am serving at the pleasure of the president. If something arises that makes me think I could no longer take this, I would resign. I don’t need somebody to advise me to resign, but until the president, at whose pleasure I am serving, decides to tell me, I think we need to part now; I am here, and I don’t get intimidated to do my job,” he said.
Addressing concerns about the ministry’s performance in court, Minister Jallow underscored that losing cases does not necessarily indicate inefficiency. He highlighted the independence of the judiciary, noting that courts are entrusted with evaluating evidence without executive interference.
“Which justice ministry do you see in the world that wins all these cases 100%? The courts are not controlled by us; that’s actually what we desired as a democracy. The courts are supposed to be independent,” he explained.
Minister Jallow further clarified the distinction between acquittal and innocence, stressing that an acquittal reflects insufficient evidence for conviction rather than proof of innocence.
“An acquittal simply means the court reached a verdict that the evidence is not sufficient enough to convict. This is completely different from whether the suspect did the offense or not,” he said.
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