By Omar Bah
A new Afrobarometer survey has indicated that most Gambians do not believe the courts deliver fair, affordable, or timely justice, with large majorities describing the system as unequal, expensive, and prone to impunity for the powerful.
The findings come from Afrobarometer’s Round 10 access-to-justice module, conducted across 38 African countries including The Gambia in 2024/2025. In The Gambia, the results paint a stark picture of public sckepticism toward the judiciary, even as the country continues post-2016 democratic reforms.
Fewer than half of Gambians say they trust the courts, are confident that ordinary people can get justice through them, or believe they could afford to take a legal problem to court. Across Africa, only 50 per cent of citizens express confidence that ordinary people can obtain justice in the courts, and just 43 per cent think cases are likely to be resolved in a reasonable time.
According to the report, a majority of Gambians say people are “often” or “always” treated unequally under the law, and majorities say powerful people who break the law often go unpunished.
At the continental level, 59 per cent of Africans believe people are frequently treated unequally under the law, and nearly half think powerful individuals get off too lightly.
The report further revealed that fewer than half of Gambians think they could afford legal assistance or court costs if needed. Afrobarometer’s broader Africa analysis also cites high costs, long delays, corruption, and lack of legal counsel as major obstacles. Citizens report that courts are slow, with only 43% of Africans believing cases will be resolved in reasonable time.
In Afrobarometer Round 9 in 2022, about 43% of Gambians believed “most” or “all” judges and magistrates are corrupt, and perceptions of widespread corruption increased across most institutions since 2018. Overall, 81% of Gambians said corruption in the country increased “somewhat” or “a lot” in the past year, up from 32% in 2018.
The judiciary and police remains one of the institutions struggling most with public skepticism despite reform efforts since President Adama Barrow’s 2016 inauguration. Solicitor General Hussain Thomas has said the government is “working to build a system where every Gambian can have confidence that their rights will be protected and that the law will be applied fairly, regardless of who they are”.
Low confidence in formal courts pushes many Gambians toward informal mechanisms. Across Africa, 26% of citizens say they would first go to traditional leaders, traditional courts, or elders to resolve legal problems, compared to 41% who would go to the police and 7% to local courts.
Afrobarometer concludes that access to justice “is far from a reality in The Gambia,” with citizens pointing to a legal system they regard as untrustworthy, unfair, unaffordable, and unlikely to deliver justice in a timely manner. Only a minority think judges and magistrates usually put the law above the influence of powerful people, and most Gambians would likely seek resolution outside the formal justice system if confronted with a legal problem.
The findings underscore ongoing challenges for The Gambia’s reform agenda, where building public trust in the judiciary is seen as a pillar of democratic consolidation.
The new report, based on 50,961 interviews across 38 African countries in 2024/2025, shows that while many citizens would turn first to the police or local courts to resolve legal problems, about one-quarter prefer traditional leaders, traditional courts, or elders.
Only half of Africans believe ordinary people can obtain justice through the courts. Majorities say people are frequently treated unequally under the law, and almost half think powerful individuals who break the law get off too lightly.
