Latest news with #Gambians
First Post
30-07-2025
- Politics
- First Post
The Gambia: Massive Protests Against Government Corruption Scandals In Banjul
The Gambia: Massive Protests Against Government Corruption Scandals In Banjul | Firstpost Africa Gambians hit the streets of the capital, Banjul, to protest against President Adama Barrow's government. The protesters marched through the city, chanting "power" and "people", carrying handwritten placards that read- "Gambians are not slaves to corruption". The demonstrations were against the alleged government corruption. The protesters sought justice over a series of recent scandals that rocked the country. The demonstrators said they were demanding accountability and called on President Barrow to tackle corruption. The demonstrators also carried petition letters to several government ministries, the President's office, and the National Assembly. These petitions listed the corruption scandals linked to the ministries. See More
eNCA
24-07-2025
- eNCA
Stigma haunts Gambians accused in state witch purge: study
BANJUL - The years have passed but the stigma remains for Gambians accused of being witches, who were detained more than a decade ago under the abusive dictatorship of Yahya Jammeh, research revealed. Hundreds of people, many of them elderly women, were targeted under the eccentric west African dictator's 2008-2009 purge on witchcraft. The victims were taken to his compound and other secret locations where they were subjected to beatings, rape and forced to drink hallucinogenic concoctions. The episode created lasting psychological and social scars that endure not just for the victims but also their families and communities, according to a new study in the Journal of Community and Applied Social Psychology. The research, funded by the United Nations Development Programme, involved interviews and surveys in the five communities most affected by Jammeh's witchcraft purges, located in western Gambia. Under the study, led by researcher Mick Finlay of the UK's Anglia Ruskin University and conducted in collaboration with the University of The Gambia and Nottingham Trent University, a total of 153 people were interviewed and 128 surveyed. Although many of the participants believed the witch hunts were organised to frighten people not to speak out against Jammeh (89 percent) or to create divisions (87 percent), a full quarter also believed the threat from witches was real, according to the research. To keep citizens in a permanent state of fear during his 22-year rule , Jammeh wielded a potent mix of brute force, mysticism and pervasive superstition -- including beliefs that Jammeh had supernatural powers. Belief in witchcraft has strong roots in The Gambia, particularly rural areas, where witches are said to cause illness, infertility, financial misfortune and death, and are additionally believed to eat children. The fact that the witchcraft accusations were state-orchestrated makes the situation unique, Finley told AFP. Normally, witchcraft accusations are "more gossip and rumour", he said in an interview. Against the state-backed nature of these witch hunts, victims felt the issue should be dealt with at the community or even government level. "The victims often said, you know, we want the government to come out and tell everybody that we are not witches," Finlay told AFP. There are "really simple things in terms of mending people's reputations that need to happen after dictatorships and war", Finlay added. A Truth, Reconciliation and Reparations Commission (TRRC) to investigate human rights abuses carried out under Jammeh's rule between 1994 and 2017 recommended the establishment of a law making witchcraft accusations illegal. - People 'avoid us' - Approximately 41 deaths occurred during the witch hunts, with victims also suffering long-term health issues from being forced to drink toxic liquids, beatings and other abuse, according to the TRRC. Research for the new report, which was conducted in 2022, revealed that victims were the targets of shaming, mocking and gossip and often felt unable to attend traditional cultural events. "People tend to avoid us", one victim told the researchers. "We don't go their funerals or their naming ceremonies." Self-isolation was also reported, as was stigmatisation of victims' families, children and larger communities. To conduct the purges, Jammeh invited Guinean and Malian witch hunters into The Gambia, while his Green Boys and Girls vigilante group and the armed forces also helped carry out the roundups, according to the report. While the exact motivation behind the episode is unclear, Jammeh believed that witches had killed his aunt. Victims were taken to a compound in the southern village of Kanilai where Jammeh lived. There, they were generally held for several days while being forced to drink noxious liquid and sometimes bathe in an herbal concoction. Although a wide variety of community members were invited to participate in the survey, researchers said those comfortable with talking about stigmatisation could be over-represented, while those with a fear of witches could be under-represented. After losing an election to current President Adama Barrow in 2016, Jammeh fled The Gambia the following January for Equatorial Guinea.
Morocco World
23-07-2025
- Politics
- Morocco World
Gambian FM: Gambia Will Continue to Support Morocco's Autonomy Plan
Rabat – Gambia's Foreign Affairs Minister Sering Modou Njie reiterated his country's support for Morocco's Autonomy Plan as a credible plan to end the dispute over Western Sahara. 'This is the position of Gambia and all Gambians. We will continue to promote and stand ready to support the Moroccan autonomy plan. We believe this is a credible plan,' the Gambian minister said today in Rabat. He made his remarks following his meeting with his Moroccan counterpart Nasser Bourita, where he reaffirmed his country's readiness to continue to support the Moroccan initiative. Gambia has been among the staunch supporters of Morocco's territorial integrity. The country further reflected this full support and recognition in January 2020, when it opened a general consulate in Morocco's Dakhla. Dakhla and Laayoune host over 30 consulates from African, Caribbean, and Arab countries, all of whom have voiced their explicit support for Morocco's sovereignty over its southern provinces in Western Sahara throughout the years. For Rabat, the opening of the consulates strengthens the vocation of the region as the African continent's gateway to Morocco. The region of Dakhla hosts several representations, including those of Haiti, Organization of Eastern Caribbean States, Suriname, Senegal, Gambia, Guinea Bissau, Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Togo, Equatorial Guinea, Democratic Republic of Congo, Cape Verde, Djibouti, and Burkina Faso. Laayoune, meanwhile, hosts Jordan, Bahrain, UAE, Burundi, Central Africa, Comores, Malawi, Zambia, Eswatini, Sao Tome and Principe, Gabon, and Cote d'Ivoire. Gambia's reaffirmation comes as Rabat has been witnessing a momentum of support for its sovereignty over its southern provinces in Western Sahara, in a stark contrast to Algeria's hostility, challenging Morocco's territorial integrity by backing Polisario's separatism claims. Tags: algeria western saharaGambia and morocco
France 24
12-06-2025
- Politics
- France 24
Kenyan policeman arrested in blogger's death as hundreds protest
15:21 Issued on: In tonight's edition, Kenyan authorities arrested a police constable in the death of a political blogger who was in custody, as angry protests rage in Nairobi. Also, Gambians have been growing increasingly worried by the devastation being caused by a growing fishmeal processing industry on their shores. And Nigeria's cost of living crisis has reached the relatively affluent class of dog owners, who are struggling to feed their pets because of soaring food costs.
Arab Times
10-05-2025
- Politics
- Arab Times
27 people arrested in protest in Gambia over sale of former dictator's assets
BANJUL, Gambia, May 10, (AP): Protests in Gambia over the sale of a former dictator's assets led to the arrests of at least 27 demonstrators and two journalists, who were later released, police said Monday. The protests in the West African country's capital of Banjul began after an investigative report by local media that accused the government of selling former dictator Yahya Jammeh 's assets at below market value. A group called the Gambians Against Looted Assets, or GALA, led the protest. According to a government statement Monday, the sale went through a "legally grounded process.' "At all times, the government acted within the confines of the law and in the public interest,' the Ministry of Justice said. "We condemn the (Inspector General of the Police) denial of our rights to protest and we will take none of it. We call on all Gambians to stand in opposition to this unlawful behavior of the police and come out in the thousands to take to the streets,' GALA spokesperson Omar Saibo Camara said at a news conference earlier this week. Camara was responding to the government's announcement that it had denied their request to protest. A government commission was created in 2017 with the goal of looking into the financial dealings of former President Jammeh and his advisers. The commission concluded on Sept. 13, 2019 with a report indicating that the former president had stolen up to $362 million from the country. His two-decade-long rule was marked by arbitrary arrests, enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings, according to rights activists. Along with political opponents, Jammeh also targeted journalists and members of the gay community. Jammeh now resides in Equatorial Guinea.
