The recent arrest and charges against Borry Touray by the Gambia Police Force are illegitimate, selective, and politically motivated. They constitute yet another attempt to suppress, intimidate, and punish opposition and critical voices for actions routinely committed by ruling party officials without consequence. This discriminatory policing confirms an increasingly dangerous pattern: the politicization and weaponization of the Police and Courts to shield the President and the NPP while harassing critics for exercising their constitutional right to free expression. This trend reflects authoritarian rule.
For years, the Inspector General of Police Seedy Muctarr Touray and predecessors have consistently failed to act on countless public incidents involving ruling party officials who engaged in insults, incitement, hate speech, and defamatory attacks. Instead, the Office of the IGP has been quick to arrest, detain, invite for questioning, and impose trumped-up charges on opposition members, activists, journalists, and citizens whose only “offence” is to criticize the President or his Government.
It is a matter of public record that Baboucar Bahoum, a prominent NPP supporter, continues to repeatedly insult opposition leaders such as Ousainou Darboe, Mamma Kandeh, and MC Cham Jr. Fatoumatta Jahumpa Ceesay, the Gambian ambassador in South Africa, labelled UDP National Assembly Members “domi haram.” Demba Sabally, a cabinet minister and NPP deputy president, openly incited political violence by declaring his willingness to shed blood for President Barrow’s re-election. Ismaila Ceesay, Minister of Information, publicly insulted Gambians in the diaspora, journalists, activists, and political opponents including Essa Faal and Kemo Bojang. Saihou Mballow, a presidential advisor, engaged in tribal rhetoric and demonization of opposition figures. The list does not even capture the many journalists arrested, detained, and charged or verbally assaulted by the President and his ministers.
Yet not a single police action has been taken against these individuals simply because they are allies and supporters of the President. In July 2024 in Brikama, Pres. Adama Barrow himself set the dangerous tone when he made one of the most shocking and irresponsible statements ever uttered by a sitting Gambian president, wishing death upon a political opponent, Ousainou Darboe:
“Today, I take an oath that I will continue to be President until Ousainou Darboe dies… Until he dies and I receive news of his death and I bury him myself… then I would retire from the Presidency.”
Meanwhile, during the just-concluded politicized “Meet the People Tour”, the President, ministers, and NPP surrogates continued to spew incendiary rhetoric, tribal insinuations, and divisive propaganda with absolute impunity. None of them were ever invited to the police headquarters. Why then Arrest Borry Touray?
The answer is clear: This arrest is politically motivated and designed solely as political harassment to protect the President and the Government from accountability. These actions of the police constitute what is described as politicization and weaponization of law enforcement and the justice system which are the primary hallmarks of dictatorship.
While dictatorship entails extrajudicial actions such as torture, enforced disappearance and summary executions, it is also a system in which laws and institutions are hijacked and turned into weapons to arrest, detain and charge citizens through the due process.
One could recall how former dictator Yaya Jammeh, using the police and courts, caused the arrest, detention, trial, and imprisonment of citizens including ministers such as Ousman Jammeh, generals such as Lang Tombong Tamba, journalists such as Pap Saine and many, political opponents such as Femi Peters, and uncountable ordinary citizens. Not that any of these individuals committed a crime, but because of executive overreach, control and interference with the law enforcement and justice system, the due process was hijacked and manipulated to unjustly punish opponents, critics and ordinary citizens who disagree with the regime.
The arrest of Borry Touray is therefore the latest highlight of this unfortunate trend, hence it is neither the first nor unusual. Since 2017, Pres. Barrow has been using the police and courts to arrest, detain and jail opponents and critics in broad daylight. For example, within months of taking office, opposition figures such as Fabakary Tombong Jatta of APRC and Mamma Kandeh of GDC were invited to the police because of their expressed opinions. In the same year, March 2017, a single mom Fatou Badgie was charged for insulting the President though the case was eventually dropped.
In early 2018, it was the turn of Seedy Njie of APRC who was invited for questioning. In late 2018, UTG professor then Dr. Ismaila Ceesay was detained at police headquarters. In 2019, several members of the Three Years Jotna group were arrested and sent to Mile 2. In 2020 and 2023, my humble self was invited for questioning and detained.
In 2022, Comedian Muhammed Darboe was invited to and detained at the Senegambia Police station for his comical opinions. In September 2023, two UDP members, Momodou Sabally and Sherrifo Bayo Sonko were arrested for their political statements. In October 2023, Comedian Alhagie Bora was also detained for his comments about coups in Africa on a television show. He later successfully sued the Government.
This trend continues in May 2025, when GALA leaders were arrested and detained to be followed by another arrest and jailing of over 40 youths for merely protesting high data price and unconstitutional removal of the Auditor General. They are still undergoing trial under bogus charges. In July 2025, one lady, Mariama Naba Darboe was sentenced by the Brusubi Magistrates Court to pay a D40,000 fine or serve one month in prison for insulting Pres. Barrow. The list goes on.
Thus, the arrest of Borry Touray follows a consistent pattern of politicization and weaponization of the police and courts to suppress divergent and dissenting opinions and criticism of the Pres. Barrow and his Government. It is therefore necessary that citizens are alert to the political trajectory of this country to recognize that the Gambia is drifting towards, if not already under dictatorship. The Gambia Police Force and the Judiciary are human rights protectors. All attempts must be made to ensure that they are neither politicized nor weaponized just to prevent citizens from holding the Government accountable.
For The Gambia, Our Homeland
