The
National Assembly in Banjul on Wednesday approved the “Information
Communication (amendment) Act 2013” which allows 15 years jail time for
spreading “false news” against the government or public officials online.
Section 173A of
the Internet related offences also allows for a fine of D3 million (about USD$100,000)
if a person uses the internet to “spread false news against the Government or
public officials”.
The new law also
provides the same punishment for persons who “Incite dissatisfaction or instigate
violence against the Government or public officials”, “caricature, abuse or
make derogatory statements against the person or character of officials”, “impersonate
any public official”, “blackmail any person”, or “threaten to commit a criminal
offence against any person”.
A person who
commits an offence under the above is liable, on conviction, to a fine of D3 million
or imprisonment for fifteen years or both, the bill stated. This section shall
apply to all persons without regard to the place from which the offence was
committed.
 |
| Information Minister, Nana Grey Johnson, claims "Gambians have waged concerted efforts to pit people and security officials against their Government". |
Nana Grey Johnson,
who brought the bill to the National Assembly for approval, claims: “In the
recent past, some citizens have waged concerted efforts to pit the people and
the security officials of The Gambia against their Government.”
“They do this by
inciting the people to engage in unpatriotic behaviour, spreading false news
and engaging in criminal defamation against Government officials,” the Minister
of Information, Communication, and Information Infrastructure, said on 3 July,
2013.
Such tendencies, if
unchecked, are a recipe for “chaos and instability” in any country, he added.
According to him,
this Information Communication (amendment) Act 2013 seeks to provide for the
deterrent punishment of such persons who are engaged in such “treacherous
campaigns” against The Gambia both within and outside The Gambia.
Written by Modou S. Joof
Follow on Facebook: The-North-Bank-Evening-Standard
No comments:
Post a Comment
The views expressed in this section are the authors' own. It does not represent The North Bank Evening Standard (TNBES)'s editorial policy. Also, TNBES is not responsible for content on external links.