By a Concerned citizen
I write this with tears in my eyes and a heavy heart. I am far away in the States, but my soul is restless for my beloved Gambia. I served this government faithfully for over a decade in different sectors and rose to the senior management level before I departed for my PhD degree (ongoing). Today, I am ashamed, hurt, and angry at what is happening to our institutions, our Constitution, and our people.
To the Government of The Gambia
Mr President, your oath of office is to defend the Constitution and protect the laws of The Gambia, not to break them. The forced removal of Auditor General Modou Ceesay is unconstitutional, unlawful, and immoral. Section 158 of the 1997 Constitution and the National Audit Office Act clarify that the Auditor General cannot be removed except under specific conditions and procedures. None of those conditions has been met.
Sending plain-clothes police officers to drag a constitutionally protected officer out of his office is a direct attack on democracy. It is the kind of action Gambians rejected in December 2016 when they said “enough” to dictatorship. Do not drag our nation back into those dark days.
To my fellow Gambians
My people, dictatorship is not an event. It is a process. It starts small, silencing one man, then one office, then one institution, until an entire nation is silenced. That is what is happening before our eyes.
Do not be fooled; today it is Modou Ceesay. Tomorrow it could be you, your children, your freedoms. We must resist peacefully but firmly. We must demand that our Constitution be respected. We must remind those in power that sovereignty belongs to the people, not the presidency.
To Mr Ceesay
You stood your ground with dignity. You refused a political appointment and chose instead to serve your country in the office where the law placed you. For that, you are being punished. But history will remember you kindly. Gambians at home and abroad are with you. Stand firm. Challenge this illegality in court. You are not alone.
To Mr Sowe
Brother, this is your moment of truth. You may sit in the Auditor General’s chair today, but sit there on a foundation of broken laws and violated principles. Do not be a tool for destroying the very institution you are meant to serve. If you genuinely love The Gambia, you must refuse to be used. Redeem yourself, and history will forgive your past. But if you compromise, the stain of this moment will follow you forever.
My final word
The Gambia Bar Association has spoken clearly, and the President acted outside the law. International partners are watching, Gambian youth are watching, and we in the diaspora are watching. The President must immediately reverse this unlawful action and reinstate Modou Ceesay to his rightful office.
If the law can be violated at the highest levels with impunity, then no Gambian is safe.
We must defend our democracy before it is too late.
