The Cadi Appeals Selection Committee, chaired by Abdou Karim Savage, the Chief Justice, comprising the Attorney- General and nominee of Supreme Islamic Council recently appointed the Chairman and members for the Cadi Appeals Panel in accordance with the provisions in the Constitution.

Alhagie Ousman Jah and Alhagie Essa Foday Darboe’s appointments were also renewed as members of the panel, while Alhagie Masohna Kah and Sering Mohammed Yunus Kah are appointed as new members of the panel.

According to a news release issued yesterday, from the Office of the Judicial Secretary, Alhagie Omar Ahmad Secka, a member of the previous panel and former assessor of the Cadi Muslim Court, was appointed as the new Chairman. Chairman Secka, aged, 36, who graduated from the Islamic Sharia Law at the Islamic University in Medina, Saudi Arabia taught at various institutions, including Omar Bun Khatab Islamic School at Latrikunda. He is currently the Head of the Department of Islamic Studies at the Greater Banjul Senior Secondary School.

The release added that following the changes introduced in the Cadi Court System by the 1997 Constitution, Chairman Secka was appointed in 2000 to the Muslim Court as an assessor. He was later upgraded to become a member of the Cadi Appeals Panel, a position he held until his recent elevation.

The release further stated that in 2004, Chairman Secka was among a group of nineteen Cadi assessors, judges and Sharia scholars who underwent a month-long training in Sharia applications and procedures in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

It could be recalled that the Cadi Appeal Panel was created under the 1997 Constitution, clothed with appellate jurisdiction and powers over appeals from the decisions of Cadi Muslim Courts and District Tribunals in matters of Sharia Law. Since its establishment in 2004, the panel was headed by Hon. Justice Abdullahi Sabo Tahir, a High Court Judge with a background in Sharia from Kano, Federal Republic of Nigeria. The Chairmanship then became vacant when Justice Tahir concluded his tour of duty and returned to Nigeria.

The Constitution was then amended to allow the selection and appointment of a qualified Gambian with proven knowledge, experience and integrity to head the panel. With the appointment of a chairperson and members, the release stated that the Cadi Appeal Panel will soon resume its operations.