By Famara Fofana

Stakeholders in Gambian football will on Saturday August 27 2022 decide who becomes the President of Gambia Football Federation – for the next four years – through an elective congress.

The two men in the race are incumbent Lamin Kaba Bajo and businessman Sadibou Kamaso, a man who was at the front and center of the campaign that landed Kaba his second tenure. The fact that Kamaso was until recently part of the team he is now bent on sending home makes this particular contest even more fascinating.

Pro-Kaba people are legislating a case for continuity, arguing that the incumbent should be given a chance to accomplish what he has since his first term been rolling out. It’s a campaign that has sustainability at the core of its tagline. On the flip side, it is the contention of the Kamaso fandom that after eight years, Gambian football yearns for a new leadership that would metaphorically clean the house in the shape of rebranding, remodeling, and restoring confidence. In between, there are those who also hold the view that none of the contenders can lay claim to be best in class. It has become a turbo-charged titanic affair, mimicking a battle of political heavyweights.

A Glance at the Recent Past When Kaba and Kamaso Shared Same Camp

On the 29^th of July 2018, when asked by journalist Lamin Del Fadera why Lamin Kaba Bajo deserved to be given another four-year mandate upon the completion of his first term, Kamaso, introduced in that special interview as spokesperson, said among other things:

“I believe people should vote in Team Kaba once more because there were promises that were made before Team Kaba came into GFF house and they said the first thing they were going to do was to bring sanity back to GFF house because before 2014, this is the only executive… actually…. that has served a full mandate without being dissolved after series of normalizations and troubles here and there, and bans from FIFA and the like.

“So, what we wanted to do is to ensure that sanity is brought back into the GFF house. Then, we said the mission…. the vision…. was to develop and promote healthy football community in The Gambia, stabilize and improve the financial and administrative infrastructure and with key focus on qualifying the team.”

Back then, Sadibou Kamaso maintained that most of those promises were delivered, citing a structured football calendar (November-June) as something that was lacking prior to the assumption of office by Team Kaba.

Four years on, the two men are singing from different hymn sheets. In fact, it is safe to say that the pair now share asymmetrical footballing visions for Gambia, even if their manifestos bear certain semblance which alone was enough to ignite accusations and counter-accusations of plagiarism from either side.

The Countdown

For months now, the race for the leadership of Football House has been akin to a high-stake party politics. Both sides appear to be running well choregraphed media campaigns – not least Sadibou Kamaso – whose PR team seems to have perfected the skill of image making. On social media, images of the man in the mould of an A-list corporate executive abound.

Endorsement videos of candidate Kamaso have also been in high supply on Facebook, including ex-national team players. Of all the endorsements that have appeared in his favour thus far, the one by one-time Youth and Sports Minister Mass Axi Gai, erstwhile National Sports Council boss Bori Darboe and former GFF supremo Seedy Kinteh would be the most notable. And given the well-documented past between the different GFF regimes, one couldn’t help but wonder whether that was a well calculated move by Kamaso and entourage to rub into his new opponent’s face.

Similarly, incumbent Kaba too has been having his own share of approvals. Among those who threw their weight behind the former diplomat and minister, as announced on the team’s Facebook page, are veteran sportscaster Tijan Masanneh Ceesay, Lamin Owens and Baboucarr Laos, who is reputed to be the record holder for The Scorpions longest serving skipper. The camps are not letting anything to chance in their charm offensive. It is proving to be a never-before-seen feud in terms of strategic content production and packaging aimed at winning hearts and minds.

Nonetheless, having operated within the inner sanctum of Gambian football, neither Kamaso nor Kaba would be under any illusions that the success of their respective presidential bid hinges entirely on immaculate photo-ops and well-crafted messages on the digital ecosystem. While most of those endorsements coming from high-profile individuals are capable of providing a feel-good factor or a psychological edge, how they translate into votes could be a different ballgame altogether.

For now, the opening salvos have already been fired. Lamin Kaba told The Fatou Network that he is one thousand percent a better candidate than his special brother (Kamaso), in view of he (Kaba’s) ‘records’.

Meanwhile, during the unveiling of his executive team, Kamaso, who is also General Secretary of Hawks Football Club, sarcastically taunted that by August 27, “we will separate the men from the boys.”

As it stands, both Kaba and Kamaso have unveiled their executive teams with their nominations already given a seal of approval by the Electoral Committee. Each camp can boast of highly experienced and/or educated individuals drawn from diverse backgrounds but with strong ties to Gambian football. These include ex-players, retired referees, and football administrators.

‘Promises Unfulfilled’ – Team Kamaso

Taking a rearview mirror during a studio interview with sports broadcaster Sara Camara, Team Kamaso’s Baboucarr Sey asked Gambians to be their own judge as regards the delivery of promises made by Team Kaba in their manifesto. Specifically, journalist Sey pointed out grassroots and youth football development, national football league development, professional league, regional football development, national team development, income generation as priority areas outlined by the current GFF executive for 2018 to 2022.

“Have they done it? Have our infrastructure been improved? Are we financially sustainable? Are we not always relying on FIFA and government? GFF has the means of generating funds and not only FIFA and government and not only focusing on FIFA and government? Is our league professionalized for four years?” Sey put it rhetorically.

Baboucarr Sey maintains that they are not indulging in any finger pointing, except that they are aiming the finger to things that are wrong. While he admits that work relating to football infrastructure falls under the remit of the government, he pulled no punches:

“It was this Gambia Football Federation that wrote to FIFA and told them that ‘we want to play football but our structures are not good. We want to renovate our structures.’ They wrote a very good proposal to FIFA to get them the amount of what —- will cost.”

Meanwhile, when asked how much this amount was, Sey said there were different projects with each having their own number and amount:

“But I can …. I can tell you ….to summarize … I don’t want to go 2014…. We are talking about 2018 to 2022, I can tell you for free …. that the Gambia Football Federation have spent 65 million dalasi on twelve projects … and none of these projects is ready.”

The Team Kamaso campaign manager also argued that for any decentralization to take effect, the infrastructure ought to be in place first, highlighting Serekunda East, Serekunda West, Banjul, Brikama, Gunjur, Jarra Soma pavilion, Busumballa grass pitch and pavilion, the swimming pool at the goal project as part of a dozen projects that did not go to plan.

“They sat for three years without playing nawettan. And we all know — all of us running clubs, we depend on this nawettan to recruit players for our teams — three years and counting — apart from the Covid. We don’t even have grounds to play. Gambians should be their own judge. We are not here to point fingers, but we are pointing fingers to things that are wrong.”

‘Monumental Achievements Made’ – Team Kaba

At a ceremony marking the launch of their 2022-2026 manifesto, the word monumental echoed loudly in Team Kaba’s appraisal of their performance dashboard. Despite the litany of charges levelled against him and team, the incumbent Lamin Kaba Bajo wasted little time in reminding everyone that today the Gambia occupies a respectable spot in the global footballing community thanks to Scorpions’ first-ever qualification and eventual participation in the Africa Cup of Nations, finishing sixth in Cameroon.

“Other categories of national teams (men and women) have registered remarkable strides in the past four years. Absolute decentralization of football has been achieved in the Gambia under my leadership with every region now represented in the national league.

“We continue to ensure that league clubs, both national and regional levels, are supported financially, materially as well as conducting capacity building programs to be able to honor their competitive commitments. These supports are done across the gender divide,” Kaba highlighted.

In retrospect, the retired army captain did also touch on the issue of accountability and transparency even though he didn’t pinpoint any specifics as far as financial performance is concerned:

“In the last eight years, there’s absolute separation of powers between the executive committee and secretariat staff. We’ve never missed a single AGM where we present our annual reports, audited accounts in the previous year, present the budget for the upcoming year and many resolutions, all of which have been approved by the members.”

Grassroot football is an area faulted by many a critic of Kaba as leaving a lot to be desired, but as he takes stock of his team’s score card, the incumbent was bullish:

“We have developed and implemented clear and precise grassroot football development programs in collaboration with FIFA and CAF and Gambia schools football association. Giant strides have been made in the area of women football development and I can confidently say that gone are the days when parents and society frown at women football because of the policy direction, actions and interactions with FIFA and other stakeholders.”

 A Polarized Footballing Community

While the candidates are at it – in a way that is getting emotive and somewhat personal by the day – supporters of the two camps aren’t being kind to each other – at least – online. With every passing day, individual backers of Kamaso and Kaba put up strong arguments as to why their man deserves the GFF hot seat and what makes the other candidate ill-suited for the job.

Amid the tidal wave of bandwagon clambering and digital shadow-boxing between the two sets of camps, there also exist the neutrals. They belong in the constituency that believes neither Kaba nor Bajo has the answers to Gambia’s footballing problems. Germany-based football enthusiast Del Alexandra Dabo wrote earlier in July:

“If there must be a new face at GFF, it should be an outsider, not one that is an integral part of the system that perpetuate incompetence, ineptitude and corruption; neither man should lead the association. But if I have to choose, I prefer Kaba.”

Jon Mendy alias Ras Judah, a passionate fan and commentator of Gambian football, is holding the cards to his chest in his assessment of the two candidates eyeing the GFF presidency.

“Despite not having a horse in this race, this coming election is even of high importance to me because we are choosing someone who will make the decisions regarding Gambian football for the next four years.”

By his conviction, Judah noted that neither candidate is deserving of this position because of their ‘track records’:

“The FF under Kaba’s leadership had failed the football fraternity on several occasions, especially the experiences of players not receiving their allowances on time or being stuck due to bad logistical planning. The U-17 disqualification for age fraud is still fresh in my mind and that happened under his watch.

The Gambia not playing Nawettan for years owing to the unavailabity of grounds, according to Judah, is another reason why many Gambians yearn for change. When it comes to Kamaso, he has his reservations equally on account of previous connections with the establishment he is now critical of.

“I do not know much about him but the little I know warrants my decision not to jump on the Kamaso bandwagon. The biggest deterrent for me is knowing he was part of the Kaba camp. The camp went through so many scrutiny for alleged mismanagement of funds, corruption, and all. Kamaso was part of the set-up but not once did I read or watch him distance himself from the Federation. What has changed all of a sudden?”

Significantly, the 25,400 dollars (Scorpions’ hotel accommodation money) that reportedly went missing in Kamaso’s possession at Morocco’s Muhammed V airport in Casablanca is also proving to be a tangled web for the former GFF procurement committee Chairman. In spite of the multiple explanations advanced by him regarding that incident while enroute to the Angolan capital, Luanda as part of the Afcon 2021 qualifiers – how he voluntarily ended up repaying 600,000 dalasis in instalments, and how a GFF instituted inquiry cleared him of any foul play – doubts still linger in some people’s minds.

“It’s not unusual for people to lose their personal belongings during long trips but the way he explained the whole situation and the way he sounded defending himself against the allegations during the SULTAN Eye Africa TV interview led me to believe that I want to see a more level-headed, composed individual. Managing Gambian affairs requires a lot of cool personalities, great communication qualities, and on that occasion, he didn’t impress,” Ras Judah posited.

New Yundum resident and vocal youth leader Malang Bojang was equally scathing of the two candidates: “In as much as Team Kaba is not my topmost choice; I doubt as much Sadibou led leadership wouldn’t be any different. I think the stakeholders should for once do the honorable and be sincere to some of us the rogue supporters/fans of this beautiful game. You know Kaba and Sadibou aren’t any different if we are talking about our football.”

The Electoral Committee – Misgivings and Clarifications Thereof

Ahead of the August 27 elective congress, there have been rumblings in certain quarters that GFF General Secretary Lamin Jassey’s ties with the Electoral Committee could compromise the fairness of the electoral process. Jassey, by the way, also happens to be the Secretary to the electoral body. His role, as clarified at a media briefing and subsequently published in the GFF website on June 30^th, is to “take part in the activities of the Committee in a consultative capacity.”

The committee’s Vice Chair, Saikou B. Jarjue maintained that the electoral process would be “guided by the GFF Constitution, the Electoral Code, and the FIFA Code of Ethics as enshrined in the GFF Statutes.”

Quizzed over concerns over the EC’s impartiality, GFF’s Communications Director Baboucarr Camara said:

“That’s just a fiction of people’s imaginations because the General Secretary doesn’t have any vote, influence or decision-making power in the Electoral Committee.

“His inclusion in the committee is clearly provided for and defined by the GFF Code in Article 5.2 which states: ‘The General Secretary of the GFF shall serve as the Secretary of the Electoral Committee. He shall take part in the activities of the Committee in a consultative capacity.’

“Thus, he is responsible for the related logistical matters and takes care of administrative matters.”

Camara, citing Article 5.6, adds that the Electoral Committee may also be assisted by members of the general secretariat at any time, provided they are not standing as candidates for elected posts.  Regarding the election of the electors themselves (Electoral Committee Members), the GFF Communications chief explained that, that was done by members of the GFF during the last Annual General Meeting in December of 2021 in line with Article 30.2 of the federation’ Constitution, which he quoted as thus.

“Elections shall be conducted by an Electoral Committee which shall be elected by the General Assembly in the AGM before the elective congress in compliance with the electoral code.”

Who Has Voting Right?

According to the General Secretary of the Gambia Football Federation, a total of 77 votes are at stake in the upcoming GFF elective congress. The following power brokers will decide between Kaba and Kamaso and the executive team either man sells to the public.

16 First Division Clubs

18 Second Division Clubs

7 Regional Associations each with 4 votes

5 Allied Associations each with 3 votes

For clarity purpose, the allied associations comprise Gambia Football Coaches Association, Gambia Football Players Association, Gambia Football Referees Association, Women’s Football Association, and Secondary Schools Sports Association

Infrastructure – a Common Denominator for Both Camps

When it comes to their blueprint for the development of football in the Gambia, both Kaba and Kamaso on paper are very clear in their intentions should they win the GFF presidency. While a gamut of issues has been identified in their respective manifestos such as resource mobilization, women’s football advancement, player welfare, capacity enhancement, etc., INFRASTRUCTURAL development occupies a central plank of either candidate’s programs and policies.

Already, Team Kaba, on their scorecard, concede that infrastructure is one of the key factors hindering rapid football development in the Gambia. Nonetheless, they underscore their resolve to improve mini-stadiums in phases even as they admit delays in the completion of certain grounds. “The planned works will continue to ensure that we improve on the standards of the said stadiums to conform to CAF standards in hosting local and international club matches.”  There is a caveat though given that their intended infrastructural works are contingent on the availability of FIFA Development Funds.

Similarly, Team Kamaso, as spelt out in their manifesto, dubbed The Starting XI, recognizes Standard football pitches as “one of the most pertinent instruments to promote, develop and improve football in any society.” It recognizes that “football cannot be called beautiful if it is being played on pitches that fall very short of standard playing pitch.” They argue that the lack of standard playing pitches has not only impeded Gambia’s football development, but also negated the careers of its sportsmen. To execute this, Kamaso and team say they will undertake a holistic approach alongside park owners/custodians, municipalities, area councils, governors and the government to develop playing grounds for better player protection and production.

While it remains unclear where the pendulum will swing on the big day, what is evident is that the race for Football House is testing past loyalties to the limit, reopening some old wounds as well as putting the state of Gambian football under some sort of forensic scrutiny that is galvanizing public interest like never before.  It is a run neither Kaba nor Kamaso is prepared to lose.

Part 1
By Bubacarr Komma

Journalism is under siege. It is crawling in a very slippery road heading to an unbelievable danger, yet many choose to be spectators because that is the most convenient thing to do. It is confronted by a well-organized and a powerful force United Democratic Party (UDP). A force that is united on a purpose or an ideology.

This is a force that has lot of intellectuals that will intellectually defend every single thing about them. One must be intellectually astute in order to say anything about the force otherwise you are subjected to intellectual ridicule and bullying.

Consequently, most of the intellectual in the country who are presumed to be independent don’t want to take any risk to say anything about this force. They choose to be spectators, and this include virtually all journalists.

If one can somewhat intellectually defend his position against the force, yet they have another force that use a weapon of intimidation. “Fighting words”, bullying, innuendo and reputation destruction.

And many would say, “this is difficult to bear, and I don’t want to reduce myself to that level”. Therefore, they end up subjecting themselves to self-censorship.

This is also a force that has civilized and intelligent people who appear only when things went completely out of hand. And this is what they will argue, “Well this is not the official position of the force/UDP. None of our executive member has ever made such pronouncement or acted in that manner. These are militant who we have no control over and they are entitled to their opinion just like any other person. Therefore, it is hypocritical for people to generalise”.

Isn´t this not a strange argument? How often did they distance themselves from those who are constantly waging a war against `Journalism`? Virtually, not a single time. Which is terrifying.

Hence Lamin Njie´s recent incident with the force is what has triggered this article, then let us factually analyse it. Even though it is not an isolated case, but part 1 will be limited to only that incident.

Mr. Njie requested an interview with Ousainou Darboe the party leader of UDP through the Communication Officer of the party Almami Taal and his request was granted, and a date and time was scheduled. Only to go there with his whole team and get denied on the dictates of the militants.

Well, the adversaries may argue that it is not compulsory on anyone to grant an interview to a journalist. That is not my contention. My problems are after he was denied the public shaming, bullying and intimidation he has faced afterword is appalling beyond forgiveness. And when journalist and media proprietors ignore this would be to their own peril.

Another fear is, an interview that was arranged by an executive member of a party only to be turned down by the leader of the party on the dictate of some militants.

The adversaries were arguing that the said journalist is unethical and bias. Some accused him of being rude to Mr. Darboe. Which I cannot confirm neither deny, because I have not come across anything that was either written or uttered by Mr. Njie that did not fall in the realm of journalism. Journalism or free expression can be provocative.

Can there be any useful thing a human being can say without offending anyone? That can likely happen when you are addressing an individual or small group of people. In fact, to think you should risk offending others.

Gambian media should be steadfast and hold the UDP to account on the same scale and level as the NPP, the ruling party. The only difference between the UDP and NPP is that one party is in power and the other is waiting to be in power. So, UDP must be accountable. It must stop its elements from bullying journalist and people who dissent. When UDP Secretary General Ousianou Darboe recently attacked verbally Pa Nderry Touray of Star FM, few media carried the story despite the fact that the verbal attack was uncalled for. But ten days later when President Barrow spoke about Madi Jorbateh, the whole media reported the matter. This is unjust and dangerous bias against Barrow. The Gambian media must not nurture UDP to become untouchable, then if they come to power they will be untouchable?

Therefore, no matter what socio – cultural or religious gerrymandering the force might resort to, Journalism will triumph.

ANALYSIS By Chido Mutangadura

After failing to win legislative elections by a wide margin, Barrow will struggle to control the constitutional reform process. Despite Adama Barrow’s comfortable win in December’s presidential elections, his party failed to clinch a convincing majority in recent National Assembly polls. Without the deciding vote, it will be difficult for Barrow to govern and ensure that long-overdue constitutional reforms work in his favour.

In the December poll, the president garnered 53% of the vote, with his closest contender Ousainou Darboe managing just 27.7%. Barrow’s National People’s Party (NPP) failed to replicate these gains in the National Assembly elections held in April this year. The NPP fell short of securing the majority, with a final tally of 24 seats (out of 58), including the president’s five nominated legislators.

The party’s lacklustre performance follows a series of missteps in Barrow’s first term. He enters his second term amid popular discontent over The Gambia’s struggling economy, heightened insecurity and a stalled reform process.

This is in sharp contrast to the optimism that characterised the start of Barrow’s presidency when he ended Yahya Jammeh’s 22-year autocratic rule. Barrow came to power in 2017 after a campaign by the United Democratic Party (UDP) under the Coalition 2016 banner (together with six other parties).

Barrow made lofty promises in his first days in office, adopting an ambitious National Development Plan that aimed to ‘deliver good governance and accountability, social cohesion, and national reconciliation and a revitalised and transformed economy for the wellbeing of all Gambians.’

Unfortunately, political tensions soon arose, driven by a power struggle between the president and the UDP’s leader Darboe. Barrow’s decision to serve a full five-year term after committing to only three years widened the rift between him and the UDP. He sacked several high-level opposition figures from government and removed Darboe as vice-president as his relationship with his former coalition partners deteriorated.

In 2020 Barrow officially ended his alliance with the UDP when he formed the NPP. Since its launch, the NPP has faced an uphill battle to establish itself within The Gambia’s political space.

Apart from steep competition from the UDP, Barrow and his party also had to contend with a serious challenge from the Three Years Jotna movement. The movement was formed to oppose Barrow’s decision to serve a full five years after promising just three as president. Following a wave of protest, the grouping was banned in 2020.

Faced with increasing political pressure, Barrow made the controversial move to align with Jammeh’s party, the Alliance for Patriotic Reorientation and Construction (APRC). This raised ire from survivors of Jammeh-era human rights violations who feared that the president’s new allies would impede the prosecution of perpetrators.

The Truth, Reconciliation and Reparations Commission’s final report submitted on 24 December seemed to have laid the victims’ concerns to rest. The commission has recommended criminal trials for the accused, including Jammeh, for crimes ranging from murder to sexual assault.

Barrow urged the public to be patient as a white paper is prepared on implementing the commission’s proposals. But questions remain about the president’s commitment to the process, especially in light of his alliance with the APRC.

The outcry against the NPP-APRC coalition was one of the many signs that Barrow’s party would struggle to secure support. The NPP’s recent electoral performance confirms that citizens remain sceptical of the party.

Without a convincing majority in the National Assembly, the president is five seats short of the votes he needs for a quorum to pass ordinary bills. He also lacks the three-quarters majority required to make constitutional amendments. Party support in the National Assembly will be critical to Barrow’s handling of stalled constitutional reform that has remained unresolved since his first term.

The Gambia’s constitutional review process was halted in September 2020 when the National Assembly rejected the draft constitution that would have replaced the 1997 constitution. Notably, the draft contained a new clause limiting a president to two terms, whereas Barrow can run for another term under the current constitution.

The existing Jammeh-era constitution is however deeply controversial, which leaves Barrow with two options – revise the rejected draft or amend the current constitution to add new provisions. Either one of these processes would be cumbersome and require three-quarters of National Assembly votes followed by a national referendum.

If a new constitution is adopted or the current one amended, Barrow may try to ensure that the term limits are not applied retrospectively, and executive powers are not severely curtailed. Barrow has promised The Gambia a new constitution with term limits but remains tight-lipped on whether he would stand for another term.

Even if Barrow can get the APRC and independent legislators to back him, he would still need at least one vote from the UDP to get the required tally. This suggests he is unlikely to garner the support to ensure constitutional provisions in his favour.

So the president’s second term will be a delicate balancing act between maintaining his political legitimacy and consolidating his power. He faces the predicament of continuing his tenure under a controversial constitution or reforming the constitution and, in the process running the risk of limiting his executive power.

By: Madi Jobarteh

In the swearing ceremony of the new Cabinet members, both the President and Vice President made very good speeches. They condemned corruption and malfeasance and re-echoed the very purpose of public office as they called for strong leadership, responsive policies, performance, and accountability that will impact on the quality of life in the country.

By default, they publicly acknowledged and vindicated the efforts and voices of unrelenting activists, investigative journalists, fact-checkers and vocal citizens! Barrow and Joof have both confirmed that public office is not to seek privileges and self-aggrandizement and vowed that the corrupt state of affairs has to change.

This was the sweetest part delivered by none other than the President himself.

“Your appointments to Cabinet have come at a time when Gambians want Government to be held accountable. This is an era in which the citizens are better informed and politically more active. They now enjoy uncensored freedom of expression, association and participation in national issues, and are determined to fight corruption. As a result, public figures must think, act, and behave differently in the national interest.”

I wish President Adama Barrow had said these words in January 2017 and made sure he took frantic actions to back those words! If he had done so or listened to those conscientious voices of activists, today in 2022 he would not have said these words which are clearly lamenting that corruption, inefficiency, and negligence are the order of the day in his Government, shamefully.

But words are meaningless if they are not backed by actions. I hope the President and Vice will make sure that their words will be matched by the right actions! That’s called integrity!

Integrity is words matching with actions. This is not a western idea, but that integrity as a virtue can be found in our cultures and religions as well as in our families. Integrity is what distinguishes a good person from a villain. Integrity is what makes a person trustworthy, consistent, honest, and dependable.

As we welcome the new Executive team, I have no congratulatory messages for any of them. Rather I remind them of integrity. I remind them that public office is sacred. Public officials carry life and death by the decisions and actions they take. Literally, people live or die depending on the actions of public servants! Therefore, no public official is small, especially if you hold the highest position as President, Vice President, or Minister and so on.

It is to remind the Cabinet that to hold public office is the highest honour a citizen has. Public office is the sole property of the entire people. The power, authority, and legitimacy of public office are derived directly from the people. Hence when a citizen is elected or appointed into public office, you carry the collective power, authority and will of the people. It’s a trust in which citizens surrender their rights to enable public officials to serve them. Therefore no one has a right or excuse to betray that public trust!

To serve in public office is not a favour. Public officials do not give any charity. Rather the citizens pay them abundantly with incredible privileges, incentives and benefits that serve them a lifetime. Ironically and insultingly, most of the citizens who pay these public officials only receive back poverty, deprivation, high cost of living, unemployment, lack of opportunities with poor, erratic, and expensive services! This is true simply because public officials would neglect their duties, abuse their office, plunder public wealth, underperform and abuse the rights of their citizens. Shamelessly.

Therefore, let us put it to President Adama Barrow and his entire Cabinet that citizens owe them nothing. They owe citizens everything. We should not be kind to them, nor will we undermine them. Rather, we will mercilessly, uncompromisingly, and vigorously hold them accountable. We will scrutinize every word, decision, action and even their appearance! If they don’t like that, so be it! Get out of public office!

The past five years have been a disaster for the country which was presided over by none other than most of the ministers in this Cabinet. If they had performed well between 2017 and 2022, we should not have been in these dire straits. But they failed. No reforms; no system change of any significance. Poverty of the people is as widespread as corruption and inefficiency of public officials from top to down! There is widespread suffering and frustration thanks to the underperformance and recklessness, and negligence of public officials.

The time has come for Barrow to match words with actions! I did not expect any of the ministers in his first Cabinet would be maintained because they failed the country in their first five years. So, if he maintains these same people, one wonders how he will succeed this time around. Therefore, good words are not enough. Let the right actions be taken to show us that he is true to what he says. As citizens, we should record their words to hold against them every day.

On my part, it is neither my job nor do I have any inclinations to congratulate public officials. My job is to check them. So, I want to tell Pres. Adama Barrow and Vice President Alieu Badara Joof let their nice words be backed by real and meaningful actions. Citizens want action to change their lives for the better! Let them show the country that they are men of integrity who are leading a Cabinet with Integrity. Let them prove that they are not fake, corrupt, and hypocritical! Let them show Gambians that they are leaders the people deserve!

For The Gambia Our Homeland

By: Sidi Sanneh

Speaker Fabakary T. Jatta is quoted as saying the reason African presidents are disinclined to relinquish power is because they are afraid of the payback and humiliation they’ll suffer at the hands of their successors should they vacate power voluntarily.

He made this argument in advocating and promoting the return of Yaya Jammeh amidst the related events. First, he became Speaker of the National Assembly and his fellow traveller and former APRC soul-mate Seedy Njie who became his Deputy Speaker to jointly manage Barrow’s legislative calendar.

The Speaker was campaigning unabashedly with such unethical fervour and with neither shame nor relent, while halfway around the world, a member of Jammeh’s infamous hit squad known locally as “The Junglers”, was being tried in Germany for crimes against humanity. A similar charge awaits another Jammeh associate, his former Interior Minister who has been in custody in Switzerland for nearly three years. There’s yet a third alleged human rights abuser in custody in the U.S. being investigated for a similar charge.

While Germany, Switzerland and the United States are observing the spirit and letter of international law, by contrast, The Gambia – the crime scene – where the gruesome atrocities took place is busy concocting embarrassing excuses for not doing the right thing by bringing the perpetrators to justice.

The machinations of the government of Adama Barrow are a never-ending Kabuki dance routine, choreographed by Barrow and fueled by the APRC-faction led by Speaker Jatta designed to truncate the transitional justice process to appease Yaya Jammeh. Barrow saw this as a way to build a workable coalition, as well as to entice Jammeh, to buy into the enterprise.

Their plan has not worked because they failed to get Jammeh onboard – an unsurprising outcome because Jammeh knows he will never set foot in The Gambia without providing a full account of his 22-year presidency to the Gambian people, as well as to the international community.

Yaya Jammeh is also aware that Barrow’s unilateral decision is worthless because the alleged crimes against humanity committed under his 22-year watch cannot be expunged from the record by a presidential pardon independent of the victims of the dictatorship, as well as the international community having a say in the matter.

Bai Lowe’s case in Germany should serve as a reminder to the government of The Gambia that the matter extends beyond the shores of The Gambia and the reach of those at home trying to scuttle the process. The accused have committed crimes against humanity. The long arm of international law will trace them, investigate them, and judge them from wherever they may be.

Speaker Jatta’s efforts to stymie the transitional justice process started very early in Adama Barrow’s administration. In fact, the two commenced meeting in December 2017, almost a year after Barrow assumed office which, ultimately and unfortunately, culminated in the nominations and election of the two as Speaker and Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly to the chagrin of many Gambians including the management and staff of the Victims Center.

In their letter to President Adama Barrow, Sheriff Kijera, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Center expressed their concern about the nomination of Fabakary T. Jatta and Seedy Njie by citing that “these two individuals…do not only represent the brutal dictatorship that The Gambia endured for 22 years…the two men were also key pillars of the power behind the tyranny of former President Jammeh.”

In his role as the last Information Minister, appointed in the final days of the regime of Yaya Jammeh, Seedy Njie almost plunged the country into civil strife for refusing to recognize the results of the presidential elections. We now have these two insurrectionists as Speaker and Deputy Speaker of Gambia’s National Assembly responsible for shaping and guiding President Adama Barrow’s legislative agenda through parliament.

The backlash resulting from the nominations of these two was immediate. It was a shock to many Gambians including our development partners, all of whom view the transitional justice program as an integral part of our economic, political, social and cultural recovery and healing process.

The Gambia cannot, and will not, emerge from 22-years of dictatorship whole without a thorough and unabated truth and reconciliation process which was the main mission of Gambia’s Truth, Reconciliation and Reparations Commission whose Report is now on life support. The TRRC Report looks like it will meet the same fate as the Janneh Commission and the Constitutional Review Commission Reports i.e. in Adama Barrow’s office dustbin.