By Hawa Demba

A substance referred to as “Kush” is wreaking havoc in The Gambia with 13 related deaths mainly youth, the 5^th national situation report (Sitrep 5) by the National Taskforce for Drug and Substance Abuse stated on 20^th August 2024.

A subsequent situation report (Sitrep 6) indicated a percentage increase of clinical cases with the age group 14-23 years as the ‘most affected’ with 96% male, followed by 24-33 and 34-43; while 54-63 has none. The total cases (143) were reported by 10 health facilities in the country, with the Kanifing General Hospital recording the highest cases (52.5%), followed by Edward Francis Small Teaching Hospital (EFSTH), which recorded 29.5% cases.

The substance is ‘mostly’ consumed by the mentioned age group, with symptoms such as drooling saliva, swollen tongue and lips, pain and restlessness- which accounted for 64.7%. It also triggers abusers to sleepwalk, bang their heads against hard surfaces and walk into moving traffic resulting in very tedious situations. The National Taskforce for Drug and Substance Abuse “KUSH” records revealed.

Commissioner Pa Bojang, Chairperson, National Taskforce for Drug and Substance Abuse “KUSH” shared that the preliminary analysis of ‘Kush’ indicated the presence of chemical components such as Cannabis sativa, Cannabis indica, Moringa leaves, Fentanyl and Tramadol. He revealed that Sukuta Zoo, Tallinding, Bundung, Faji Kunda, Bakoteh in the Greater Banjul Area and Nyamanarr village in the Upper River Region are ‘the biggest Kush markets’ in the country.

In the Gambia, it is a public perception that drug abuse especially, among the youth, is not for pleasure, but for stress, anxiety, and depression relief. The perception also includes peer influence and curiosity as other causes of substance abuse in the country.

A former ‘Kush’ abuser, who claimed to have started taking the substance due to unemployment, shared his experience with this medium. “This country is very hard … I have searched everywhere for a job, but to no avail. So, I got depressed and frustrated, and I felt this (taking ‘Kush’) was the only way to better my life,” he recalled.

How does ‘Kush’ affect health?

A senior mental health nurse at Kanifing General Hospital, Amadou D. Jallow, said that taking the substance involves ‘the risk of dying’. Other health implications of taking the substance include post-traumatic stress disorder, among others.

“The health implications of Kush are the risk of dying and swollenness of the tongue which blocks the airways and makes the individual suffocate or not be able to have oxygen in his or her system and as a result causing the individual to lose oxygen in the brain which would eventually lead to death. The other health implication is, the patient can have psychological problems- that is behaving like a psycho in which the individual can be hearing voices that are not real, acting restless and aggressively, and he/she might not be able to sleep like before,” he explained.

Health workers encounter challenges when treating cases with the manifested symptoms of the substance. A nurse at a local facility, Tuti Kujabi treated a patient in a ‘critical condition’ with such symptoms.

“When the escorts came with the boy with his tongue out and eyes rolling, I got terrified… I’m glad I treated him, and I will continue to help because abandoning them is not the right decision. We have recorded three critical Kush patients on that same day. I treated one patient and my colleagues treated two during their night shift and these are very young boys who are aged from 14-25,” she shared.

The government explored measures to tackle the substance blamed for the 13 deaths. The efforts include the constitution of a national task force to look into the matter. Despite this, there is no scientific proof of its connection with the deaths due to the lack of a laboratory in the country. The senior mental health nurse, Jallow confirmed this challenge.

“It is still unknown as to whether those people are affected by Kush or not because there is no laboratory to test the urine or blood samples of victims that are suspected of consuming the substance. Even the analysis that has been done so far shows that there is some content of Cannabis but the rest of the components is still not known,” he revealed.

Fight against the substance

A review of Drug Law Enforcement Agency seizure statistics from 2020 showed that the institution has not registered any seizure of ‘Kush’. It also showed that 7g of suspected Kush was reportedly seized in 2021- with an increase in regional seizure of 9g in 2021. There were no seizures in 2022, while the weekly seizure statistics for 2023 showed a fluctuating trend with 7,353,121kg seized. However, no seizures were made in January and February of the year.

The Drug Law Enforcement Agency, Gambia (DLEAG) enforces all drug laws and regulations in the country and brings perpetrators to justice.  At a press conference, DLEAG Director General, Demba Ceesay, told journalists with certainty that his agency’s fight against drugs is ‘winnable’.

“We are working tirelessly with our men and women at the DLEAG to instil in them the right aptitude (and) to better equip them for the task they have signed up for. Our fight against illicit drug trafficking and abuse has not been helped by situations in some parts of our communities. We, therefore, call on all cross-sections of Gambian society to join the bandwagon in the fight against drugs,” the DLEAG leadership said.

Global Initiative Against Transnational Organised Crime (GITOC) designed a research study into ‘Kush’ in Sierra Leone with the Clingendael Institute. The research aimed to support civil society and authorities in West Africa, and the rest of the world to develop evidence-based responses by providing more data.

Initial tests using an FTIR spectrometer by the global initiative showed that the substance contains synthetic cannabinoids and significant natazenes. The components of the substance are sprayed onto marshmallows and other leaves. The report provided no official figures on the death toll in West Africa related to ‘Kush’, but authorities in Sierra Leone said that the numbers are tragically significant.

‘Kush’ is said to be a ‘toxic poly-mixture’ that has detrimental effects on health and causes death. Its possession, distribution and trafficking are illegal under the Gambia’s related laws, including the Drug Control Act of 2003.

Ends

Editor’s note: This story has been produced under Freedom House (Promotion of Right to Justice) Investigative Journalism Fellowship 2024. However, the story has been independently produced in accordance with the ethics of journalism.   

By: The Fatu Network Editorial

Chief Magistrate Pa Modou Njie, who was arrested and interdicted last week in connection with an alleged drug case, has been formally charged with several offenses, including abuse of office, fraud, breaches of trust, and the removal of property under lawful seizure. Njie, who served at the Bundung Magistrates Court from August 2023 to November 2024, is accused of ordering the removal of 104 blocks of cocaine from the exhibit store and disposing of 31 blocks (weighing 51.9 kg).

In court, Njie was granted bail set at three million dalasi, with two sureties, each required to provide a bail bond of one million five hundred thousand dalasi or property valued at three million dalasi, to be assessed by state valuers.

Njie has been released on bail as investigations continue.

By: The Fatu Network Editorial

The upcoming Economic, Trade, and Investment Forum in Banjul, scheduled for December 19-20, 2024, at the Sir Dawda Kairaba International Conference Centre, will see the representation of Gambia’s President Adama Barrow and Senegal’s President Bassirou Diomaye Faye.

President Barrow will be represented by His Excellency Vice President Muhammed BS Jallow, while President Faye’s representative will be His Excellency Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko. The forum, under the theme “Harmonization of Friendlier Business Environment,” aims to strengthen bilateral ties, boost trade and investment, and enhance the ECOWAS protocol on the free movement of goods, services, and people.

Discussions will focus on sectors including trade, transport, energy, agriculture, ICT, and joint infrastructural projects, with collaboration between The Gambia’s GIEPA and Senegal’s APIX being a key highlight.

Stay tuned for more updates!

Editor’s Note: This post has been updated to reflect that President Barrow will be represented by Vice President Muhammed BS Jallow, and President Faye will be represented by Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko at the forum.

By Istaou Jatta

The Gambia Government has taken steps over the past decade to provide free education for all public schools. With support from the World Bank, the initiative gave birth to the banning of all forms of levies in public and subvented schools.

While the effort leads to a significant increase in enrollment, a question still lingers over the quality of such services. This is confirmed in the 2018 Education Summary Report 2019, which reiterates the challenges being faced in improving student performance in public schools.

Evolution of Gross Enrollment Rates by Educational Level 2015- 2019

By contrast, the private schools performed better than the public schools in the National Assessment Test during the same period.

Experts, teachers and school administrators interviewed said the underperformance of students in public schools may be attributed to delayed payment or the insufficiency of the school improvement grant.

Late and insufficient

The SIG is an eleven-year World Bank-funded initiative that gives missionaries and public schools extra resources to improve education. The payment to schools is determined by their enrollment. The fund provides D100 for a student at the Lower Basic School, and D150 for those in ‘designated hardship areas’.

It pays D575 for students in Upper Basic Schools, which increases to D675 for ‘designated hardship areas’. The highest, D1440, is paid for each student sitting GABECE while D29 is paid towards the printing of results at the level of the school.

“The SIG doesn’t come early, sometimes it comes very late. Sometimes, we would go up to the time we are to write the exam but there is no money because SIG has not been paid,” said Musa Bah, the principal of Mbulumbu Senior Secondary School, in the North Bank Region. According to Louis Moses Mendy, the Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Basic and Secondary Education, the delay doesn’t come from their ministry.

“We don’t have control over when finance releases the money which is not only for MoBSE but generally for all the sectors,” said Mendy.

Components of SIG expenditure

A good number of issues with the payment going to finance are critical to learning. For example, the excursion of students, purchase of teaching and learning materials and payment of some auxiliary staff (Source:  Guidelines on the use of SIG for Senior Secondary Schools)

But even where it is paid, there are still concerns over its insufficiency. “… Whatever they used to determine D100 (for each student at Lower Basic School) eleven years ago is not realistic today,” argued Essa Sowe, the secretary general of the teachers’ union. “This means that what a D100 could do some eleven years ago, it cannot do now.”

Sowe believes the poor performance of students can be attributed to the late payment SIG, though the amount itself is insufficient to cater for the educational needs of the students.

“It is obvious that when the materials are not available we will not have effective teaching and learning,” said Sowe.

When teachers had “enough”

The final month of the first term of the school year nearly ended. The teachers from grant-aided did not receive their salaries and the first term of the School Improvement Grant for the mission was not paid. But this time, the teachers’ union has had enough.

On December 2nd, the Union commenced a sit-down strike which ended shortly after the government paid the SIG. In a statement, the Union said the delay in the payment of SIG has caused “significant distress and financial hardship” for its members.

 Before the payment was effected, at least one day of class was disrupted by the strike.

“… There are certain things that are taught in the classroom that require excursion for students to properly understand. This is funded by the SIG,” said Essa Sowe, the deputy secretary general of the Union.

Ends

Editor’s note: This story has been produced under Freedom House (Promotion of Right to Justice) Investigative Journalism Fellowship 2024. However, the story has been independently produced in accordance with the ethics of journalism.   

By Hadram Hydara

Ahead of the ECOWAS Heads of State meeting on December 15, the Alliance of Victim-Led Organisations in The Gambia (AVLO), alongside victims, local and international civil society organizations, and concerned citizens, have petitioned ECOWAS to support the establishment of a Special Tribunal for The Gambia to ensure justice and accountability for human rights violations occurring from July 1994 to January 2017, as documented by the Truth, Reconciliation, and Reparations Commission (TRRC).

The petition, signed by over 300 individuals from 22 countries, has been handed to The Gambia’s Ministers of Foreign and Defence to present to the ECOWAS authorities.

“As individuals are unable to speak directly during these statutory meetings, the final letter (attached), received over 300 signatories from 22 countries and has been entrusted to The Gambia’s Ministers of Foreign and Defense, Honourables Tangara and Njie respectively on Wednesday, 4th December 2024, to carry it forward to their counterparts and, ultimately, to the ECOWAS Authorities of Heads of State for their consideration,” AVLO said in a letter addressed to regional bloc ECOWAS.

The proposed tribunal aims to ensure justice and accountability for human rights violations in The Gambia from July 1994 to January 2017, as documented by the Truth, Reconciliation, and Reparations Commission (TRRC).

The petitioners argue that ECOWAS has a legal and moral obligation to assist in prosecuting those responsible for crimes such as extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances, and torture.

“We, the undersigned victims, victim associations, civil society organisations in the ECOWAS block, local, and international partners, and concerned citizens of the world write to respectfully urge you to endorse and actively support the establishment of the Special Tribunal for The Gambia, as proposed by the Government of The Gambia and recently deferred by the ECOWAS Mediation and Security Council. This Tribunal is critical to ensuring justice and accountability for the serious human rights violations and crimes that occurred in The Gambia between July 1994 and January 2017,” the petitioners noted in their letter.

The establishment of the Special Tribunal, alongside The Gambia’s Special Prosecutor’s Office and the Special Criminal Division of the High Court, would facilitate the investigation and prosecution of international crimes, providing closure for victims and their families.

The petition emphasizes that ECOWAS’s support would demonstrate a firm stance against impunity and promote human rights and the rule of law in the region.

By Michaella Faith Wright

Omar Touray, President of the General Tipper Truck Drivers Association, has emphasized the significant challenges faced by sand miners in The Gambia, such as high sand costs and restricted access to legal quarries, yet the association remains committed to effectively supporting its members despite these difficulties.

Speaking exclusively to The Fatu Network, Touray revealed that the scarcity of legal quarries in the country has significantly driven up the cost of sand. “We don’t have enough quarries where we can buy sand legally, and this affects our operations. However, we have been able to manage and survive as an organization despite these challenges,” he stated.

Touray emphasized the importance of the association’s internal rules and regulations in maintaining stability. “Every driver must purchase a ticket for D150 before operating. This system ensures that we have funds to address emergencies, such as medical needs, without placing additional financial burdens on our members,” he explained.

Looking ahead to the 2026 elections, Touray urged young people in The Gambia to make informed decisions when choosing leaders. “I want all youth to choose wisely and understand what they want for the benefit of the country,” he said.

The General Tipper Truck Drivers Association remains committed to supporting its members and navigating the challenges within the sand mining sector.