Thousands of demonstrators protested on Wednesday 23 July, accusing the current government of corruption and demanding justice for several scandals that have rocked the whole country.
Handwritten posters bearing the phrases “People! Power!” and “Gambians are not slaves to corruption” were carried by the demonstrators.
Fallou Gallas Ceesay, program and administrative director for the youth movement Gambians Against Looted Assets (GALA), stated, “Corruption is endemic in this country, and we have been living under pillage and plunder for so long.”
The GALA demonstrators, along with thousands of supporters, said they were calling on President Adama Barrow to address corruption and demanding accountability at the Westfield Monument, a common downtown destination for protests.
“We have seen so many investigations that have exposed a lot of alleged corruption in this country and the president is not doing anything about it” , Sucre Mike, a demonstrator, stated.
The protesters delivered petition letters to the National Assembly, the president’s office, and a number of government agencies.
Approximately 70 children under the age of five who died in 2022 after using an over-the-counter cough medication manufactured by India-based Maiden Pharmaceuticals were the subject of one of the petitions, which was delivered to the Ministry of Health.
A second petition regarding a Russian oil deal in which government officials were reportedly paid kickbacks was delivered to the Ministry of Petroleum and Energy.
GALA spokesperson Omar Saibo stated, “To ensure that corruption becomes the thing of the past, not just the youths turned out today, but the entire country.”
Financial scandals, such as the funding of COVID-19 and an embezzlement scam by the Gambia Ports Authority, were among the major embezzlements denounced.
