By Katim Seringe Touray
The removal of the Auditor General of The Gambia, Modou Ceesay, from office was a sad moment in Gambian history.
On September 10, 2025, the Office of the President (OP) of The Gambia announced that President Adama Barrow had made changes in his Cabinet, including the appointment of Modou Ceesay, the Auditor General (AG) at the National Audit Office (NAO) as Minister of the Ministry of Trade, Regional Integration, and Employment (MoTIE).
For a President who has made at least 12 Cabinet reshuffles and Ministerial (re)assignments since coming to office in January 2017, a Cabinet reshuffle is no news. Normally, the drill is this: the OP announces the Cabinet reshuffle, Gambians yawn in boredom and move on with their lives. But the September 10, 2025 Cabinet reshuffle was different because things did not go as planned.
Civil society groups, activists, some National Assembly Members, and the Gambia Bar Association protested the deployment of Mr. Ceesay to MoTIE, pointing out that his removal as AG contravened constitutional and legal due process, and a threat to NAO’s ability to provide a much-needed and effective oversight of government finances.
For its part, the NAO issued a press release on September 11, 2025 to the effect that Mr Ceesay, the AG, had “officially responded [to] and respectfully declined” his appointment as Minister of MoTIE. The press release also said that Mr Ceesay was dedicated to serving as AG, and executing the Constitutional duties of his position.
On September 14, 2025, the NAO released a statement from Mr Ceesay, reaffirming that he was not informed of his appointment as Minister of MoTIE prior to receiving his letter of appointment. Further, he said he had not accepted the offer neither verbally, nor in writing. He said that he formally rejected the offer as soon as he received his appointment letter, and concluded by saying that he remained “committed” to carrying out his “constitional duties” as the AG.
Mr Ceesay reported to work on September 15, 2025 at the NAO, where Gambia Police Force (GPF) officers found him in his office. The GPF asked him to follow them out of his office, but he refused saying that was entitled to know why he should follow the GPF officers out of his office. In the end, the GPF had their way, and he was forcibly removed from his office.
The OP denied Mr Ceesay’s claims, and announced on September 15, 2025 that he had verbally accepted his appointment as Minister. As such, the OP said, he was given his appointment letter, and his replacement was later appointed as AG. The OP also said that on September 12, 2025, they received Mr Ceesay’s September 11 letter turning down his Ministerial appointment. The OP further clarified that Mr Ceesay was appointed Minister of MoTIE solely because of his qualifications and experience, and not because of an intent to interfere with the “operations” of the NAO, or its “audit publications” [sic]. Although Mr. Ceesay’s replacement has taken over the reins at the NAO, that is not the end of the matter because Mr. Ceesay intends to file a lawsuit contesting the legality of his removal from office.
Given the conflicting accounts of the circumstances around Mr Ceesay’s controversial appointment, someone is not telling the truth. Irrespective of where the truth lies, the live streamed confrontation and forcible removal of Mr Ceesay from his office at the NAO is one of the lowest points in history of governance in The Gambia. The confrontation in Mr. Ceesay’s office had ample media coverage, and happened against amidst a vibrant protest by activists, some of whom were arrested by the GPF.
Mr Ceesay’s removal from office has drawn the attention of international organizations such as the South Africa-based Mwamko, the “Pan-Africanist” NGO which called for the release of two of the detained Gambian activists, one of whom is a member of the Mwamko Central Organising Committee. Even more importantly, the INTOSAI-Donor Cooperation for Supreme Audit Institutions (INTOSAI-DC) expressed “great concern” about Mr Ceesay’s removal. This pronouncement is especially important because INTOSAI is a globally-reconised NGO which sets standards and provides guidance for public audit, and INTOSAI-DC includes some of The Gambia’s most important development partners and donors. As such, the INTOSAI-DC opinion has weight, and the Gambia government should heed it.
The manner of Mr Ceesay’s removal as AG is a stain on the Gambian conscience, and the reputation of the present Government and its commitment to transparency and accountability. The issue is especially sad because of it had a global audience, and undoubtedly has caused some reputational harm to our government and country.
Mr Ceesay’s removal from office is also sad because it demonstrates a leadership failure in the country. The matter could and should have been solved by discreet consultations and dialog mediated by our religious leaders and elder States(wo)men, but it wasn’t. Twenty two years of former President Jammeh’s Dictatorship left the country morally bankrupt, and as such, most Gambians leaders today are neither willing nor able to mediate such issues because they are one or more the following: corrupt, compromised, partisan or hypocrites.
Mr Ceesay’s removal from office, and the ensuing protests and condemnations, as well as the government’s attempts to justify its actions, also yet again demonstrate the increasingly adversarial relationship between the government and Gambian youths. It also comes at a time of increasing political tension the country in the lead up to the December 2026 presidential elections.
The ruling NPP of President Barrow should thus ask itself whether they will win the elections through confrontations and conflict, or by using tact and political maturity to address the issues their critics raise. My advise to them, for what its worth is this: ask yourself a simple question everytime a crisis starts to brew: how can we de-escalate it?
The Barrow government should also bear in mind that people can only take so much: once they have their backs against the wall they will, at a minimum vote against President Barrow in the next presidential elections. In the extreme, God forbid, The Gambia will end up like Bangladesh and Nepal did with violent student- and youth-led uprisings against corrupt governments. That is not going to do anyone, President Barrow especially, any good.
