The Edward Francis Small Centre for Rights and Justice welcomes the release of the coroner’s inquest report into the death of Omar Badgie of Mandinari in September 2025. The findings of the report have affirmed consistent accounts that his death resulted from police brutality, an entirely preventable and unjustifiable loss of life. We commend the Chief Justice for transmitting the report to the Ministry of Justice and urge the Minister of Justice and the Director of Public Prosecutions to act with urgency, diligence, and impartiality to ensure that all perpetrators are prosecuted and held fully accountable.
While we acknowledge this important step toward justice, we remain deeply disturbed that the State continues to be complicit in the loss of lives it is constitutionally mandated to protect. The Constitution and the Police Act establish the police as guardians of life, liberty, and property. Yet, recurrent incidents demonstrate a troubling pattern in which law enforcement officers deploy excessive and unlawful force against citizens, using state-provided authority, weapons, and resources to violate the very rights they are sworn to uphold.
EFSCRJ calls not only for the prosecution of the officers directly responsible for the brutal treatment of Omar Badgie, but also for the resignation of the senior officers who authorized, supervised, or failed to prevent these actions. Command responsibility is fundamental in any professional security institution. The failure of leadership to provide lawful direction and enforce discipline constitutes negligence that must attract consequences.
The killing of Omar Badgie adds to a growing list of cases of police brutality resulting in deaths and serious injuries, including the Faraba incident of 2018. These recurring violations point to systemic leadership failure within the Gambia Police Force. In this regard, we also call for the immediate resignation of the Inspector General of Police. A police service that persistently violates human rights cannot command public confidence or legitimacy.
These incidents further expose the stagnation and failure of security sector reform efforts, representing a grave betrayal of the national commitment to “Never Again.” Despite numerous recommendations aimed at transforming the security architecture, implementation remains grossly inadequate, which reflects a lack of political will and institutional commitment to meaningful reform.
Since independence, the Gambia Police Force has too often operated as an instrument against the rights and freedoms of citizens rather than as their protector. This historical pattern must be decisively broken. It is therefore unsurprising that public trust in the police remains consistently low, as reflected in various surveys. The time for rhetoric has long passed. What is required now is decisive action, accountability, and genuine reform to restore the integrity and purpose of the police service.
EFSCRJ reiterates its call for justice for Omar Badgie and all victims of police brutality. Accountability must not only be done but must be seen to be done. Only then can the country begin to rebuild trust in its institutions and uphold the rule of law.
2026: The Year of Empowerment – Empowered Citizens. Accountable Leadership.
