While investigating our story on the suspension of magistrate Surahata Danso, we were fortunate to be reminded about a famous court saga of State vs. Sherrif Mustapha Dibba at the High Court in Banjul in 1981.
The State here refers to the first republic of The Gambia and Sheriff Mustapha Dibba of blessed memory, was a main opposition leader at the time.
Following the Kukoi Samba Sanyang-led bloody 1981 coup, the opposition leader was among hundreds of Gambians accused of treason. But he was acquitted and discharged.
In that judgement, the presiding judge, Ayola slammed state 54 witness, a controversial and influential traditional chief, Sanjali Bojang as the greatest liar of the century. He survived it.
In contrast, if chief Sanjali Bojang could be described as a liar, what is there to punish magistrate Surahata Danso for, for cautioning chief Yahya Jarjusey and reprimanding him for acting irresponsibly, if the court truly believes, he acted so?
But again, we have reminded ourselves that we are not in the first republic. This is the second republic of The Gambia.  
However, like the first republic, since the second republic is claiming to be democratic, it should needs not to be reminded that judicial independence is a crucial element of a democratic society.
This power frees judges and magistrates from political pressures that might prevent them from impartially enforcing the rights and principles guaranteed by the Gambian Constitution.
Without this principle, the system of separation of powers and checks and balances among the three branches of government cannot exist.
The information we gather is that Danso’s suspension is linked to his reprimanding of chief Yahya Jarjusey. The judicial secretary refused to indicate to us whether or not this is true.
The office of the chief justice should explain, especially now that termination of the services of judges and magistrates have become commonplace. Worst is that no reason is given to the public and in most instances those fired do not have the slightest idea as to why their engagements were terminated.   
This is not helping The Gambia. In fact, in the words of the chief justice, Gambians are losing confidence in the judiciary. Who is to be blamed for this?
If the judiciary is interested in restoring public confidence, the building of courtrooms and furnishing the bench with computers, are not enough.
What counts is judicial independence. Judges needn’t fear punishment for using their best judgment to interpret the law.
Without it, continuity and stability in our legal system cannot be guaranteed nor can the public be assured that disputes can be resolved fairly and impartially.