Imam Chebo Cham has questioned the faith of the executive director of National Aids Secretariat over sex workers comments he reportedly made.
“What Ousman Badjie did is that he insulted all Muslims in The Gambia. Maybe he could say ‘no Imam, I am a Muslim and I will not insult a Muslim’. But yes you insulted Muslims,” Imam Cham said on Friday in a sermon he dedicated to the issue of a relief package for the country’s sex workers. The Fatu Network understands a number of other Imams have also dedicated their sermons to the issue.
The Standard this past Wednesday quoted the executive director of National Aids Secretariat Ousman Badjie as saying his office is to implement a grant from the Global Fund specifically for, among other groups, addressing the needs of people living with HiV/Aids and sex workers.
“One of the proposed interventions recommended in that proposal is related to addressing the needs of the sex workers in the context of Covid-19, because there is evidence that sex workers will lose income, after the closing down of all the premises they go to earn income. And one of the proposals is to incentivize the sex workers and work with them within the next two months and give them some cash to mitigate the impact of income they continue to lose as far as Covid-19 is concerned,” Mr Badjie said while addressing a press conference marking World Aids Day, according to The Standard.
In a forthright sermon on Friday, Imam Chebo Cham ripped into the top NAS official saying he was promoting sex work in the country.
“The amount of poor people around, they are not helping anyone other than sex workers, those that sell sex. To give them money to say ‘since you’re suffering because places you go to got closed’.
“He is not a good citizen. He wronged God, he wronged the prophet, he wronged Islam, he wronged all Muslim.
“I think everyone knows what the punishment is for adultery. Scholars have said when God was asking us to avoid adultery, he didn’t say do not do it. He said do not go near it. If at all he still has some faith left in him, I would ask him to come out and apologise to Muslims,” Imam Cham said.
NAS officials have reached out The Fatu Network seeking to clarify that their comments have been misrepresented. They will be interviewed.
