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The AI Assistant on the X platform said.

"Anengiyefa, a former criminal defence lawyer in England and Wales with decades of courtroom experience, chronicles introspective accounts of their legal career alongside vivid, non-touristy travelogues from African destinations like Botswana, Gambia, and Uganda on their blog "Things I Feel Strongly About." Their X activity centers on defending democratic principles, supporting Ukraine against Russian aggression, and challenging authoritarian narratives in global politics. With Nigerian roots, they highlight cultural authenticity and historical sites in their explorations, often critiquing issues like discrimination and homophobia in the region."

Banjul, Gambia 8

The Cape Point beach resort makes up the north-eastern part of the town of Bakau, in the Kombo St Mary District, in the West Coast Region of The Gambia, and is 12km to the west of Banjul capital. The district is a promontory and its beach area is where the River Gambia and the Atlantic Ocean merge at the estuary. To Cape Point's eastern coastline is a wide seafront of fine, golden sand, while much of its north-western coastline starts at sea level, then, as you head south west it rises up to over 15 metres, and is mostly characterised by laterite cliffs dotted with palms along a narrow strand. Further to its southeast are the brackish mangrove swamps of Cape Creek. 

Cape Point beach and its adjacent area is one of The Gambia's most family-friendly holiday resorts, and here the wide, beautiful strip of sand is lined with mature palm trees, grasses and thatched sunshades. You might also see some basalt boulders strategically placed along part of the shoreline to counteract erosion of the sands.  Although erratic currents make it unsuitable for swimming, it's perfect for sunbathing, volleyball, strolling, picnics, and making sandcastles, and there's a broad choice of restaurants and beach bars close by.

In the country as a whole there are often sightings of roaming livestock, so don't be surprised if you see the odd goat or cow trudging along the sand roaming and looking for anything edible to eat. There are also juice stands near the southern part of the main strand selling various juices such as mango, melon, coconut, baobab, orange and grapefruit.

Sunday is the main day when local Gambians come to the strand to relax with their families or play a bit of football or volleyball.

Not only is the district's shore area a tourist magnet it is also an exclusive residential location which has a large number of people from the diplomatic community, such as Britain's diplomatic residence, 'Admiralty House', well-to-do businessmen, politicians and some well established family compounds. The vast majority of these homes are within the triangle formed by the Kofi Annan Street, the Old Cape Road and Capepoint Road.

A Little History:

The promontory was 'discovered' by Portuguese navigators of this part of West Africa in the 15th century, and they named it 'Cabo de Santa Maria' (Cape of Saint Mary). The name overflowed to the nearby island (Saint Mary's Island) when the British established the capital Bathurst (now Banjul). It was part of 'British Kombo' in the mid 1800s

Source: Access Gambia

Promontory: "a point of high land that juts out into the sea or a large lake; a headland."

This, for me, was the most desirable part of the city. We approached it via the scenic Old Cape Road and crossed the narrow bridge over Cape Creek, an area covered with pristine mangrove swamps. I immediately made the connection to how similar the swamp looked, and smelt, with the mangrove swamps of the Niger Delta, but the swamps in Gambia are cleaner, and look similar to the way the mangrove swamp in the Niger Delta was many decades ago when I saw those swamps for the first time as a young child, with the added advantage of the swamps in Gambia having suffered no impacts of oil industry activities. 

Land and environmental degradation are a real problem in Nigeria due to the petroleum industry, and population pressure.

The Defence

Highbury Corner Magistrates at Islington was one of my haunts in those heady days of Criminal Law practice, together with Camberwell Magistrates in South London, and Thames Magistrates at Bow Road in the East. I also sometimes strayed off my usual stomping grounds and headed to West London to attend juvenile court in Hammersmith, and right across London to places as far apart as Hendon, Westminster or Bromley, wherever my instructions required that I attend.

Criminal Law was always my favourite since from being a law student all those decades ago. And it was criminal defence, not prosecution. An unsuccessful attempt to join the Crown Prosecution Service as a prosecutor only reinforced this thought in my mind that I enjoyed being a criminal defence lawyer; visiting my clients when they were in police custody, or in prison - Wandsworth Prison, Brixton Prison, Wormwood Scrubs, Pentonville - getting to know them; seeking the most favourable outcomes for them, even when I knew they were guilty as hell. I guess there was a naughty side of me that took delight in this - siding with the bad guys, well, sort of.

Later when I moved on to more desk-bound roles, although equally intense and stressful - but better remunerated, the work was not quite as exciting, as, for example, springing my client out of jail who had been in custody for months and denied bail repeatedly; or successfully arguing for a suspended sentence for my client, even though I knew they deserved to be sent to prison. My overseas training was advantageous, because it came with the advocacy skills of a barrister that solicitors who are trained solely in England and Wales do not normally possess. I was involved in several Crown Court matters as well, the court where the more serious cases are tried, and where I sat behind barristers whom I had instructed. 

Given the limited audience rights of a solicitor in England, namely, audience rights limited to the lower courts, tribunals, panels, and so on, it is those lower court cases, especially some particularly fierce cross-examinations of prosecution witnesses that have remained in my thoughts for longer, since the advocacy itself was always my stronger side. 

Berekum, Ghana

The Berekum roundabout is a roundabout in the city of Berekum, Ghana. The roundabout is located on the main Berekum-Sunyani Highway. The statue of the woman with a baby on her back and a basket on her head is the most iconic symbol of this pleasant regional city.

Based on oral tradition there were three Akan people groups who originally migrated and settled in the area now known as Berekum. The first branch to arrive, known as the Awasu people, are said to be migrants from Denkyira now residing in Biadan. (I visited Biadan yesterday).

Berekum, nicknamed "The Golden City", is the capital of Berekum East Municipal in the Bono Region of Ghana. The city had a population of 62,364 as of 2012. The native language of the Berekum people is the Bono Twi. This nickname of Golden City was coined by Queen Elizabeth II upon her arrival here on the invitation of then President of Ghana, Kwame Nkrumah, during her visit to this country shortly after its independence. The name has stuck since.

The city is located in the Berekum Traditional Area in which the paramount chief or the Omanhene is Daasebre Dr. Amankona Diawuo II.

These photos of the roundabout were taken from a moving vehicle yesterday, but I've walked past it several times, mostly in the evenings. Berekum is 32 km from Sunyani, which is close to where I'd had my first month-long sojourn in Ghana just over a decade ago. These regional towns and cities offer a more intimate appreciation of life in Ghana.

Banjul, Gambia 7

The Boeing 737 MAX 8 has a range of approximately 3,550 nautical miles (6,570 km). This allows it to operate on medium-haul and some long-haul international routes, thanks to its improved fuel efficiency compared to previous models.

Definitions:

Medium-haul 1,500 – 4,000 km

Long-haul more than 6 – 7 hours and more than 4,000 km.

My flight from Banjul to Istanbul will cover a distance of 5,367 km. It is a long-haul flight. This particular aircraft with reg. TC LCN is the very one I will be flying on. It was delivered to Turkish Airlines in June 2021. This is the first time I'll be flying on such a long flight, 7 hours, in a mid-sized airliner, although I've previously done 4 – 5 hour flights on the 737-800, and 5 hours on the even smaller Embraer ERJ190 regional jet from Abuja to Nairobi. 

The world’s longest scheduled commercial Boeing 737 MAX 8 route is operated by Brazilian carrier GOL Linhas Aéreas, flying nonstop between Brasília International Airport  in Brazil and Orlando International Airport in the United States - Distance 3,777 miles (6,079 km), Flight Time approximately 8 hours and 15 minutes. 

Banjul, Gambia 6

Anne-Marie Javouhey, SJC (November 10, 1779 – July 15, 1851) was a French nun who founded the Sisters of Saint Joseph of Cluny. She is venerated in the Roman Catholic Church. She is known as the Liberator of the Slaves in the New World.

In September 1823, at the request of the British government, she left for St. Mary's in Gambia, a holding place for about 400 slaves taken from Moorish vessels. (Gambia's capital, Banjul, was then known as St. Mary's. This name was later changed to Bathurst, and, during my lifetime, changed again to Banjul). Here she worked tirelessly to help the victims of an epidemic in the area. The governor then asked her to go to Sierra Leone. Again she focused her efforts on tending to the sick and injured. After three months, there was an outbreak of yellow fever; again Javouhey recovered, but was so very weak that she returned to France.

This building in the photos is the remains of the hospital where she worked when she was at Banjul (St. Mary's). The building stands in a corner within the premises of the Edward Francis Small Teaching Hospital, a tertiary referral hospital and the largest in the country originally founded by the British colonialists in 1853.

The street that runs alongside this modern hospital is named after this French nun who nursed sick slaves.

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Banjul Central Mosque, Banjul, The Gambia

King Fahad Masjid is the most prominent masjid in Banjul, the capital city of Gambia. The two minarets of the masjid grace the skyline of the city and the architecture of the masjid represents the variation in the Islamic architecture in Banjul.

The modern architecture of the masjid has given the traditional style a new meaning. The entrance is hemmed by an open round arch and the minarets are octagonal. The bright colours of the masjid offer a pleasant feel. The masjid was built in 1988 and replaced the 1930 masjid as the main masjid of the city. It can easily accommodate up to 6,000 worshippers.

Article 7 of the Gambia constitution identifies Sharia as a source of law in matters of personal status and inheritance among members of communities to which it applies.

Islam entered the country in the fourteenth century AD, because the Arab merchants and Berbers who came from Northwest Africa through the Sahara to market their goods were originally Muslims. They were able to spread the Islamic religion among the indigenous populations.

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The Catholic Cathedral in Banjul

Christianity came to stay in The Gambia with the establishment of a British garrison and settlement in the island of Banjul in 1816. Different church societies were invited to provide the spiritual needs of this growing settlement.

Hagan Street 1900

Anne Marie Javouhey (1779 - 1851), foundress of the sister of St Joseph of Cluny, was the first Catholic Missionary to come in modern time to the Gambia - she came with two sisters with a laywoman in 1821 and worked and lived in the hospital. She however could not stay long in the country. Only the Methodist Church was active in the Gambia during those first years.

It was after the establishment of the church in Senegal that an uninterrupted presence of Catholicism in the Gambia could also be seen. The migration of the people to the settlement since 1816 include Catholics and others open to becoming Catholic. Two Priests took residence in Banjul by 1849 to serve this population and Church began its slow but steady growth. The Banjul mission was under the Apostolic Vicarate of Dakar. It was concentrated in Banjul but around 1876 it began looking beyond to the Kombos and provinces

By 1905, Fr. John Meehan took up his appointment in the Gambia. It was his destiny to maintain and give quiet growth to the church. In 1931, the Holy See declared the Gambia “Sui Juris” and Fr. Meehan as ecclesiastical superior. Under him , the church was to develop towards an independent mission and diocese. In 1951, Fr. Michael Maloney was named Prefect Apostolic and consecrated first Bishop of the diocese of Banjul on 6 May 1958.

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Arch 22 is a commemorative arch on the road into Banjul in the Gambia. It was built in 1996 to mark the military coup d'état of July 22, 1994, through which Yahya Jammeh and his Armed Forces Provisional Ruling Council overthrew the democratically elected Gambian government of President Dawda Jawara. The arch was designed by Senegalese architect Pierre Goudiaby, who also designed the Yundum International Airport at Banjul and the African Renaissance Monument in Dakar, Senegal.

Our Lady of the Assumption Cathedral, Banjul