Ten percent of Gambian women between the ages of 25 and 49 had their first sexual intercourse at exactly 15 years of age with five percent of the men having their first sex at the same exact age, according to the 2019-2020 Demographic and Health Survey.

The survey which investigates the demographic and health situation of The Gambia covered 2019 and 2021 and was implemented by the Gambia Bureau of Statistics. The report was launched on Tuesday.

In the report, early marriage among women in The Gambia is relatively common as roughly one in five young women aged 15 to 19 are currently in union, compared with less than one percent of men in the same age group.

Still, the survey’s findings on the age at first sexual intercourse showed ten percent of women aged 25 to 49 had sexual intercourse by age 15 while five percent of the men had sex by age 15.

The survey also said 44% of women aged between 25 and 49 had intercourse by age 18 while 67 percent of the men in the same age bracket had their first sexual intercourse by age 25.

The United Stated Ambassador to The Gambia Richard Carl Paschall has lauded healthcare improvements in The Gambia and called for investments in maternal healthcare.

On Tuesday, May 18, 2021, representatives of the United States Government joined the Government of The Gambia at the national dissemination of the 2019-2020 Gambia Demographic Health Survey (DHS), US Embassy Banjul said in a statement.

The statement added: “Held at Sir Dawda Kairaba Jawara International Conference Center, the U.S. Ambassador to The Gambia, R Carl Paschall, accompanied by Dakar-based USAID Deputy Mission Director Dr. Zeric Smith, joined the Vice President of The Gambia, the Minister of Health, and The Gambia Bureau of Statistics to highlight the trends in health outcomes. The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) provided both technical and financial support for the survey totaling $400,000.

“The DHS results demonstrate positive improvements in the area of maternal care with 84% of births attended by a skilled provider, compared to 57% in 2013.  Additionally, the modern contraceptive prevalence rate also doubled from 8% in 2013 to 17% in the 2020 DHS.  Despite noticeable progress in some areas of health, more needs to be done to advance child health. Infant mortality increased from 34% to 42%, and children under 5-mortality increased from 54% to 56% deaths per 1,000 births.

“The data from the DHS will help stakeholders make informed decisions on areas that need improvement. More details on the report can be found via https://www.statcompiler.com/en/.

“Globally, the DHS Program, funded by USAID, has provided technical assistance to more than 400 surveys in over 90 countries. The breadth and depth of the information collected in DHS surveys is recognized as the gold standard for monitoring country progress in improving health outcomes.. The United States Government, through USAID, will continue to support the DHS surveys in The Gambia. This support will include building the capacity of the Bureau of Statistics in collecting and analyzing survey data. The United States Government supports activities in The Gambia which promote stronger health systems for all.”

The National Audit Office has been awarded ‘best performance audit prize’ by the by African Organization of Supreme Audit (AFROSAI-E) on Monday for its ‘impressive audit’ into emergency obstetric care in the Gambia.

In the past 2 years, there has been a rising concern among the citizenry about maternal mortality in Gambia, prompting the NAO to probe emergency obstetric care in public health facilities under Ministry of Health and Social Welfare in 2020. The audit covered from January 2017 to 31 December 2019.

“We noted that some key Medical tools or certain important maternal and neonatal assessment equipment are not adequately available in some of the facilities visited. These include Suctioning machines, Oxygen cylinders and dopplers,” said the report published on NAO website.

“Furthermore, 58% of the facilities go for outreach programs without portable haemoglobin-meter (HB meters) at the trekking stations for testing HB. It should be noted that these are crucial to saving a person’s life or performing any procedure, detect and diagnose the problem/disease at a very early stage that aids the health facilities to provide prompt care and treatment.”

The competition received 107 reports from 18 countries in English-speaking Africa. The reports submitted for the prize, according to AFROSAI-E, covers a wide range of issues including public health, environment, e-governance, technology, among others.

“The aim of the prize is to benchmark good practices in performance audit and to highlight efforts made by performance auditors around the region (Africa) by providing parliaments and other stakeholders with quality performance audit reports…,” said AFROSAI-E.

“The audit illustrates serious problems in the emergency obstetric care with far-reaching consequences. There is a consistent aspiration to analyze causes of the identified problems.”

“In this way, the audit report has what it takes to help the government to reduce obstetric complications, maternal deaths and eventually healthcare cost….”

Meanwhile, the Auditor General Karamba Touray has expressed delight that they “efforts in helping the government judiciously utilise scarce resources is recognized.”

AFROSAI-E, established in 2005, is a member-based institution with 26 Auditors-General from English-speaking African countries making up its Governing Board. It is the English language subgroup of AFROSAI, the African branch of the International Organisation of Supreme Audit Institutions.

A student at the University of The Gambia who accused his lecturer of violating his right has walked back his complaint.

Mustapha Ceesay lodged a complaint against Dr Charles Mendy with the National Human Rights Commission on May 14 said the lecturer violated his fundamental right to freedom of conscience, association, assembly and movement. He also charged that the lecturer violated his right to practise any religion and to manifest such practice.

According to Ceesay in his complaint, Dr Mendy wilfully held French 102 lecture online “without his knowing fully well that the University informed its staff and students that will it is on Eid break until 17th May”.

Ceesay has now written to the NHRC saying he is now withdrawing his complaint, in a dramatic twist to the matter on Tuesday.

He said in his Tuesday letter: “I hereby withdraw the said complaint after the lecturer concerned on 18th May apologised for the act, announced a postponement of the test previously slated for the 21st May 2021 to a latter day.”

Police have confirmed a stabbing incident at Westfield on Eid day.

Senegalese national Serigne Mbacké Fall was allegedly stabbed by unknown men who tried to rob him on May 14.

His father told Senegalese media his slain son was on his way to send some money to him when he met his brutal fate.

Police spokesman Lamin Njie confirmed the incident saying investigation is currently ongoing into the matter.

Members of the public who wish to volunteer information to assist in the investigation are encouraged to come forward, Njie added.

By Sarjo Brito

A burglary incident in old Jeshwang has left many in the community in a state of trepidation amid a surge in thievery, murder, among other criminal activities in the country.

The Bourgi family woke up to their worst nightmare on the night of May 15th when armed men breached their property which houses them and their auto spare parts shop, leaving with an approximate whooping amount of D16 Million.

A group of six men allegedly forced its way into the burglar-proof house after breaking one of the windows. Starting from the family’s rooms upstairs, the burglars ransacked the entire apartment looking for anything valuable they could steal.

The head of the family identified as Walid Bourgi was home at the time of the incident with his three daughters. Walid Bourgi recalled shots being fired in the air, bound, gagged and mercilessly beaten by the armed men.

A traumatised Bourgi explained: “I wanted to use the restroom and once I entered, I started hearing noise. So, my daughter came next to the door and asked if I was hearing this noise. I asked her if she knew where it was coming from, but she said no. And then suddenly she screamed, and someone opened fire.

“That is when I jumped from the toilet and when I opened the door of the toilet, the guy was straight in my face. I locked the door immediately and called my son, but he did not answer, so I pretended that I was talking to him, asking him to come home because we have thieves in the house to scare them off.”

The burglars became enraged at Walid’s attempt to scare them off and that was when the assault on him and his three daughters began.

“They broke the door of the toilet, entered and started hitting me and my daughters. They were mostly hitting on me. And they started throwing everything out of the cupboards. They found about D20,000 in my daughters’ cupboards and their gold which they also took,” he explained.

The rage did not stop as the armed robbers had a bigger plan in mind which was to access the safe in the shop where hard currencies were kept. But first they will have to overpower the male in the house by torturing him, forcing one of the daughters to use her survival instincts, leading them exactly where the cash was.

“They tried to drag me downstairs. Then they saw that I was pushing and pulling with them. They brought me in again. They took my watch and my phone from me. When they brought me back inside, they silo taped my daughters’ mouth and their hands, and they started hitting me. That was when one of my daughters gave them signs that she will lead them to the safe. She was not happy with what they were doing to me. So, she led them downstairs, opened the safe and they cleared everything,” Bourgi recounted.

Whilst everyone tried to wrap their head around what happened, some are left wondering how the armed thieves made it into the property even when it was burglar-proof, with cameras mounted at every angle.

“They were about five to six people. Some stayed with us and some went downstairs. And some were even down waiting in the car. They turned all the camera’s off and took the decoder with them. They removed the whole recoding system for the CCTV, cut the wires and removed everything,” Bourgi said.

Asked in monetary value how much the burglars got away with; Walid dropped the shocker.

‘’They went with a watch also (Rolex watch) worth about USD20,000 and some gold. They also went with Dollars, Euro, CFA and other hard currencies. If you want to put them equivalent to dalasi, they are almost about D16 Million,” Bourgi said.

Walid Bourgi said crime has become prevalent in the country, adding that recent times and trends have become scary.

“This is becoming profoundly serious. If these people can break your burglar-proof [home], enter your house while you are awake and bring weapons with them, threaten you, hit you, I am afraid it will get to a point when they strike during the day. The pestle they had, maybe it was not real, but it looked like a real pestle and sounded like one. I did not see any holes, that is why I assume it was artificial with rubber bullets. But in the future these people will come in with real weapons and it will be more dangerous,” he said.

A student at the University of The Gambia is seeking redress at the National Human Rights Commission after he accused his lecturer of violating his right.

Mustapha Ceesay who is reading development studies at the varsity filed a complaint against Dr Charles Mendy that the lecturer violated his fundamental right to ‘freedom of conscience, association, assembly and movement guaranteed under Section 25, subsections 1b and c of the 1997 Constitution’. He also charged that the lecturer violated his right to practise any religion and to ‘manifest such practice as guaranteed by Section 25, subsection c of the 1997 Constitution’.

In his letter to the chairman of the National Human Rights Commission on May 14, Ceesay Dr. Charles Mendy wilfully held French 102 lecture online without his “knowing fully well that the University informed its staff and students that will it is on Eid break until 17th May. Less than a quarter of the registered students were present as a result, he claimed.

“Thereon, Mendy held the lecture to the end without regard for the UTG notice and the Eid celebrations I and other colleagues absent were engaged in because the UTG granted us the permission.

“Evidence on the platform also revealed that during the lecture, he had slated 21st May for a test and gave guidelines to those present. And further held another lecture in the afternoon to the disadvantage of many more,” Ceesay then told the NHRC chairman in his letter of complaint.

He said the lecture did not only violate the UTG announcement but also his fundamental right to freedom of conscience, association, assembly and movement. He also said his right to practice any religion has been violated.

He then asked of the NHRC to “instruct Dr. Charles Mendy to postpone the French 102 test slated for Friday 21st May to Friday 28th May 2021 because I have missed the lecture before, during which vital information such as test guideline and other issues relevant have been discussed”.

Ceesay also asked the commission to instruct Dr. Charles Mendy to repeat the said lecture delivered on Friday on 14th May on Friday 21st May to give him the opportunity to benefit from whatever is discussed.

He said elsewhere: “Instruct Dr. Charles Mendy to grant me a public apology for wilfully violating the said constitutionally given right of mine; and instruct Dr. Charles Mendy to apologise for giving false information that the break announced by the UTG is for the management only.”

United Democratic Party has issued a statement calling for an end to raging violence between Israel and Palestine.

The Israeli army has in past days been engaged in airstrikes in Gaza as violent confrontations erupted between Israel and Palestine.

UDP said today in a statement signed by leader Ousainou Darboe: “Throughout the EID holidays Gambians and the rest of the world have watched with horror and consternation the violent attacks of the Israeli Defence Forces on Gaza.  The escalating situation in Israel and Palestine affirms once more that intractable conflicts can only be solved through peaceful negotiation.

“The senseless and continued Israeli bombardment of Gaza will have devastating consequences for more than two million people who have been suffering under an illegal Israeli blockade for 14 years. As is always the case, it is civilians who will bear the brunt, with their homes and livelihoods destroyed. Every effort must be made to dissuade both sides from further escalation, and to end the violence that is causing fear, death and misery on both sides.

“The horrific images also demonstrate that unless the root causes of a conflict are addressed, in this case the illegal occupation by Israel of Palestinian land and the denial of the Palestinian people’s right to self-determination, there will never be peace.

“The latest violence was sparked by an Israeli court decision to evict a group of families from their homes in the Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood in East Jerusalem to make way for Israeli settlements. The sight of women and children being evicted from the homes their families have lived in for generations brings back painful memories of apartheid South Africa – of forced removals and land dispossession of the last century. Being forced from one’s home at gunpoint is a trauma not easily forgotten, and is carried across generations. For all who believe in equality, justice and human rights, UDP cannot but be moved and indeed angered, at the pain and humiliation being inflicted on the Palestinian people.

“Israel’s actions are a violation of international law. They show a total disregard for successive United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolutions that call for an end to the occupation of Palestinian land and for the fulfillment of the rights of the Palestinian people.  Since Israeli security forces launched assaults on worshippers at Al Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem last week, the violence has now engulfed the Gaza Strip, large parts of the West Bank and a number of Israeli cities. It has claimed the lives of dozens of people, including children.

“According to the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) at least 40 children have been killed in Gaza since 10 May. Over half of them were under 10 years old. It is also deeply troubling that Israeli forces last week destroyed a multi-storey building that housed a number of media organisations, such as Al Jazeera AP Reuters etc sending a chilling message to media reporting on the violence.

“UDP calls on all parties involved to show restraint, to respect human life, and to cease the current hostilities. Far too many lives have been lost to this intractable conflict. The continued occupation of Palestinian land and the suffering of the Palestinian people is a blight on the conscience of humanity.

“As a Political Party UDP is committed to being part of international efforts aimed at reviving a political process that will lead to the establishment of a viable Palestinian state existing side-by-side in peace with Israel, and within internationally recognised borders. The two-state solution remains the most viable option for the peoples of Israel and Palestine, and must continue to be supported.

“As firm believers in justice and freedom, UDP stands with the Palestinian people in their quest for self-determination, UDP also support their resistance against the deprivation of their human rights and the denial of their dignity.”

The army has announced live firing exercise involving troops.

In a statement, the army said troops will engage in live firing on Tuesday May 18 at the Tintiba firing range in Foni.

Furthermore, the army said the same troops will conduct a field training exercise at the Lance Corporal Bojang Memorial Range in Brikama from Tuesday to Friday.

Citizens living nearby are urged not to panic.

President Adama Barrow has said an effective way to address the continuing rise in the price of food commodities would be to transform subsistence farming to agric-business.

The president stated this while addressing the nation on the occasion of this year’s Eidul Fitr.

The president said: “The inputs and equipment provided in the Agriculture sector also confirm our commitment to development. Our objective is to support the farming community so that agriculture is transformed from subsistence farming to agric-business. This is an effective way to address the price hikes of essential commodities and avert food insufficiency.

“To achieve our goals, I reiterate my call for every citizen to support the Government’s development efforts by engaging in productive ventures. The responsibility rests on all Gambians to participate actively in improving their lives and overcoming the unnecessary reliance on food importation.”

UDP leader Ousainou Darboe has repeated that his party is not a Mandinka party contrary to misgiving in some quarters.

“And I’m particularly happy that Mr Willan joining with us here is sending message, loud and clear, to the Manding-phobics. That Mandinka-phobia has no place in this country. You are demonstrating that United Democratic Party is constituted, is comprised of several tribes in this country. And those who are on the false track with their Manding-phobic agenda, you have shamed them. This party is not a Mandinka party,” Darboe said while welcoming former ‘Barrow For Fives Years’ executive official Abdou Willan.

Willan joined UDP along with Omar Sanyang last week – who was also a member of the pro-President Barrow group’s executive.

Comedian Kitabu has pushed back at suggestions he is playing about being president saying: I don’t think I will sit and lie.

“I will not sit and make empty statements. Politics or no politics, president or no president, one should think of the next world. Lying is not why I’m out. I’m out to become president for Gambians, to develop Gambia,” Kitabu told Tonya Kessa, the biggest weekly show hosted by Alagie Muhammed.

According to Kitabu, many journalists have asked him previously and he has made it clear he was serious about his plans.

“The radios have asked me and I clarified, newspapers too. Some came up to my house and I had interviews with them. So I don’t think I will sit and lie,” he said.

An imam who prays in Mandinka in Guinea has got tongues wagging amid his arrest by authorities in Guinea.

Imam Nanfo Diaby in Kankan, Guinea Conakry, was arrested after leading Eid-ul-Fitr prayers in his local Madingo language instead of Arabic, DW reported on Friday.

According to DW, Guinea’s Office of Religious Affairs has previously warned Nanfo to refrain from the practice described as blasphemy.

Angry protesters attacked his mosque, and the police arrested him along with some of his followers, DW said.

See a video of him leading his congregation in prayers;

A man died after being stabbed by his friend at a party in Kolda, Senegal on Saturday, according to Senego.

Senego reported Sunday Sambarou Balde succumbed to his stab wounds at the Kolda regional hospital on Sunday. He is from Medina Cherif.

A manhunt has been rolled by for his alleged killer after he reportedly fled.

The European Union has come through on its longstanding threat of sanction against former Guinea military leader Captain Moussa Dadis Camara.

Local media in Guinea reported Sunday the EU has declared Camara persona non grata and would have his assets frozen. Four of his former collaborators including Toumba Diakite who is now in jail in Guinea are also hit by travel ban and seizure of their assets in EU countries.

Dadis seized power in Guinea in 2008 but his rule was short-lived as he got ousted after a confrontation with his top military aide Toumba Diakite.

He was shot in the head by Diakite when he tried to arrest him over the massacre of civilians at a stadium in Conakry in 2009.

Gambia Democratic Congress has boldly stated The Gambia is crystalising into a narcotics hub alongside a frightening human costs due to crime.

“Make no mistake. Gambia is crystalizing into a narcotics hub alongside a frightening human cost of the surge in crime rate,” GDC said in a statement signed by leader Mamma Kandeh.

The statement added: “The Gambia Democratic Congress (GDC) view with deep concern the myriad of credible reports about the world’s deadliest illicit drugs gaining inflow into our country cum the growing spate of internal criminal activities such as murder, burglary/robbery with arms among others.

“The issue of massive tons of illicit drugs or narcotics being intercepted here and there in the country as well as at some of our border posts is not just alarming; it is rather deeply disturbing considering the dangerous consequences of the presence of these drugs in our society.

“Recently, officers of DLEAG confiscated more than 2 tons of cocaine with an estimated street value of more than $80-million US dollars (4.5 billion dalasis) at Banjul Seaport on 7th January 2021.

“In another development, large quantities of suspicious medicinal drugs being moved from The Gambia were intercepted and seized at the Keur Ayib, Gambia-Senegal border post.

“It is noteworthy, that narcotics of the manner of those gaining entry into the country are capable of engineering violence in our society at an unprecedented rate and, not the least, fostering the breeding of criminal groups, insurgents and terrorists along with the devastating consequences they have on the health and security sectors as has been experienced by some of our sister nations.

“It is a well-known fact that in recent years, the Latin American drug cartels appear to have shifted their attention to supplying the lucrative European market by developing networks in West Africa, and our country is now their focal point with the aid of some local collaborators who they pay in both cash and drugs such as cocaine, while creating a local consumer market for the drug.

“We may not be able to appreciate the social and economic impact as well as the attendant human costs the presence of these drugs in our midst is having on the country’s economy.

“Basically, all the money earned from criminal activities such as drug-trafficking has to be laundered, once  the money-laundering channels are created, it is inevitable that they will be used to conceal the gains obtained from all kinds of criminal activities in the future.

“These economic and financial consequences of the drug trade make any possible economic benefit for the community, other than those the narcotic trade itself may bring, harder to see.

“Presently in the country, at the social level, domestic drug use is growing, with the resultant addiction and violent crime; addiction to cocaine for instance, and especially crack, is reportedly rampant.

“From a long-term perspective, the attraction of the drugs trade for our disenfranchised youth may undermine social control mechanisms that prevent crime and violence. So far, our youth faced with unemployment and few opportunities are being largely drawn to both the drug trade and its attendant use.

“In our present-day society where over 65% of the population live below the national poverty line, and 80% of the poor are between 18 and 35 years old, and unemployment being pervasive makes our youth vulnerable to the evil effects of the growing spate of drug entry into the country. And if this is not properly checked, the future of this nation may be doomed.

“Another very worrying scenario is the stunning growth in violent crimes and lawlessness in the country. The 2020 annual report produced by the Overseas Security Advisory Council (OSAC) in conjunction with the Regional Security Office at the U.S. Embassy in Banjul assessed The Gambia as being a HIGH-threat location for crime. But, what is more troubling is that, since 2020, the growing wave of serious crimes; murder, armed robberies, human trafficking and drug smuggling in the country has grown astronomically far above the rate identified last year. This provokes a serious cause for concern, especially in the effectiveness of the political will of the government in power to combat crimes and insecurity in the land.

“In April and May 2021, there were countless cases of robbery with arms in various locations of the country and it is almost becoming a norm. A few days ago, a burglar invaded a home in broad daylight at 7:30 am. In addition, another armed robber operation was carried out at Kololi in broad daylight too. Murder has also become rife.

“Last April, a grade 12 female student Marie Mendy was gruesomely murdered. In another development, the Gambian Police Force is investigating a case of the suspected murder of one Marang Jaw of Mandinaring Village in West Coast Region which occurred on the 11th May, 2021.

“The rate of crime in the New Gambia is scary. This calls for an awakening of the required political will to track the root of these crimes by empowering the nation’s national security apparatus particularly at the points of entry into the country with the needed infrastructure and morale, strengthening the cooperation of the surrounding sister-nations to enhance a tighter border control mechanism and above all increasing opportunities of employment for our young people which can help in making the crime rate fall.

“Employment opportunities can be increased by opening the doors to small-scale industries for our youth. It will make them gainfully busy in productive work which will decrease their predisposition towards crime.

“There is also a great need to combat the menace of poverty in the country which relates to ear- marking deliberate policies for economic empowerment of the masses.

“We hope that the government of The Gambia will listen to the growing list of outcries from among our people over the painful and pathetic situation that we face today as a people.”

President Adama Barrow got a little casual on Saturday when he treated National People’s Party executive officials to a lunch.

The NPP officials were feted at a massive lunch at State House on Saturday with Jaliba Kuyateh entertaining.

In a video posted by Barrow Media Empowerment, the NPP officials including Vice President Dr Isatou Touray rained money on Jaliba. The president himself approached Jaliba clapping in the air as his wife helped him dance.

The United States has concluded The Gambia has again proven to be a leader in religious tolerance.

On May 12, 2021, Secretary of State Antony Blinken released the 2020 International Religious Freedom Report, an annual publication documenting the status of religious freedom in every country.

The report covers government policies violating religious belief and practices of groups, religious denominations and individuals, and U.S. policies to promote religious freedom around the world. The U.S. Department of State submits the reports in accordance with the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998.

The US Embassy Banjul said in a press release: “This year’s report on The Gambia details a climate of broad religious tolerance and acceptance and constitutionally-provided freedom of religious choice.

“The report includes information about the U.S. Embassy’s engagement with religious communities. The report notes that the country continues to build on its longstanding traditions of tolerance. As in past years, The Gambia has once again proven to be a leader in religious acceptance and freedom of religious choice.”

The full report, including The Gambia country narrative, can be found online at: https://www.state.gov/reports/2020-report-on-international-religious-freedom/gambia/