politics
-
The sudden withdrawal of Talib Bensouda from the United Democratic Party’s (UDP) flagbearer race—and his resignation as the party’s National Organizing Secretary—has sent shockwaves through Gambian politics. This isn’t just another internal party dispute; it is a symptom of deeper structural challenges within the UDP and, by extension, The Gambia’s fragile democracy. As the country
-
BANJUL, The Gambia—In a small nation celebrated for its 2016 democratic revolution, a crisis is unfolding within the United Democratic Party (UDP), The Gambia’s largest opposition force. As the 2026 presidential election approaches, the UDP—once a symbol of resistance against dictatorship—is tearing itself apart over an agonizing question: Should 76-year-old leader Ousainou Darboe, a five-time presidential
-
Baba Hydara’s eyes hold a grief that time hasn’t softened. His father, the outspoken journalist Deyda Hydara, was gunned down in cold blood nearly two decades ago, a brazen assassination widely attributed to the regime of then-dictator Yahya Jammeh. Baba testified before Gambia’s Truth, Reconciliation and Repatriations Commission (TRRC), baring his family’s wound to the
-
BANJUL, The Gambia—Last March, Gambians witnessed a quiet assault on their democracy. As parliament debated a critical elections bill, it erased a Supreme Court-backed guarantee of diaspora voting rights. Now, tens of thousands of citizens abroad—whose remittances fuel 20% of the economy—face an impossible choice: financial ruin or democratic exile. They must now spend exorbitant
-
The Gambia stands at a precipice. Once celebrated for ending Yahya Jammeh’s 22-year dictatorship through the ballot box in 2016, the nation now risks backsliding into the very autocracy it overthrew. President Adama Barrow’s pledge to deliver a “legacy” of constitutional reform—including presidential term limits and an absolute majority voting system—rings hollow amid a cynical
-
BANJUL, The Gambia — A farmer stares at cracked earth where millet should stand. Drought has scorched his fields, but it is not nature alone he battles. His children eat one meal daily. School fees are a dream; medicine, unthinkable. His government, shackled by debt and austerity demands from Washington, has stripped away the supports
-
BANJUL, The Gambia – Imagine a nation blessed with sun-drenched beaches, a vibrant river artery, and resilient people. Now imagine that nation systematically bled dry for six decades by its own leaders. This is The Gambia’s reality since independence in 1965. Corruption isn’t merely a problem; it has been the defining operating system of successive
-
Banjul, The Gambia — The sun still sets beautifully over the Atlantic, painting the beaches in gold and crimson. Tourists sip cocktails in oceanfront resorts. But beyond the hotel gates, a dangerous transformation is underway. The Gambia, long celebrated as West Africa’s “Smiling Coast” and a bastion of stability, is being strangled by a surge in
-
In December 2016, Gambians everywhere celebrated the end of dictator Yahya Jammeh’s 22-year rule, a victory significantly fueled by diasporic activism, funding, and digital mobilization. Today, that same diaspora feels betrayed. In March 2025, Gambia’s National Assembly rejected a clause granting voting rights to citizens abroad, dismissing their constitutional claims and immense contributions. This decision
The Civic Scribe: Articles & Poems 