Africa-Press – Gambia. The recent incident in Farafenni, where the entire records of the Magistrate Court were destroyed by fire, is indeed regrettable. However, in this digital age, such an event should not be a catastrophic setback.
The burning of physical files, while unfortunate, highlights a much larger issue—the need for The Gambia to fully embrace digital recordkeeping in its justice system and other public institutions.
In the 21st century, information and records are no longer meant to exist solely on paper. Countries around the world have long adopted digital databases where court documents, case files, and administrative records are safely stored in the cloud or on secured servers.
This not only ensures easy retrieval but also provides protection against disasters such as fires, floods, or theft. If The Gambia’s judicial system had fully digitised its records, the Farafenni incident would have been a minor inconvenience rather than a total loss.
The tragedy should therefore serve as a wake-up call rather than a national crisis. It underscores the urgency of modernising the justice sector by introducing electronic filing systems, digital backups, and reliable cybersecurity frameworks. The Ministry of Justice, in collaboration with the Judiciary and ICT experts, must fast-track this transition.
With digital storage, even if a courthouse burns down, records remain intact, accessible, and secure. This is the power of technology—and it is high time The Gambia harnessed it. The Farafenni fire should not paralyse the justice process; instead, it should inspire reforms that make such losses impossible in the future. In an era where data is king, no court’s history should be left at the mercy of flames.
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