Dear Editor,
We woke up yesterday, Saturday, November 29th, to yet another national embarrassment: a sudden “threat” of Yahya Jammeh’s return and a shameless press release from the Barrow government announcing the arrest of Sana Manjang, one of the notorious Junglers of the Jammeh regime. According to them, this sudden burst of “action” is the result of The Gambia and Senegal working hand in hand to apprehend Sana and his accomplices. They proudly remind us that Sana and others were named in the TRRC report.
What a pathetic, hollow, and insulting press release.
Who does this government think it is fooling?
The TRRC recommendations, which Barrow shamelessly refused to act upon, are now eight years old. Eight long years during which victims waited, cried, begged, and died without justice. For Barrow to suddenly pretend to care is not just late; it is disrespectful, dishonest, and unforgivable. Barrow has just had a rude awakening that the TRRC was never a decoration. It was a roadmap for justice, healing, and prevention.
This is the same Barrow who betrayed the struggle that brought him to power. He allied with the very forces who never wanted him to be president in the first place. He turned the diaspora, the backbone of the fight against Jammeh, into his enemy. He fought tooth and nail to block our votes. He betrayed Gambians, betrayed our institutions, betrayed the international community, and spat on the sacrifices that brought freedom to our people.
He obsessively courted Jammeh’s friendship at the expense of the whole country, an insult to our collective efforts at a time when wounds were still raw from the dictatorship. I, in particular as an honorary adviser, earnestly cautioned him about the danger and irresponsibility of aligning with Jammeh at that time and its ramifications on our new democracy, but it was brushed aside. I resigned. He misses stuff. He does not grasp things. Myopic. A simpleton.
And before the ink on their press release could dry, rumours of a botched coup attempt were already circulating. Again, who are they fooling?
Former dictator Yaya Jammeh has openly declared that he will return to The Gambia in November, and he meant it. He was reportedly set to land this Saturday, or perhaps Friday, his favourite day, were it not for the alert and professional intervention of Senegalese forces. Let’s be clear: probably if not for Senegal, Jammeh could have walked right back into the State House today, catching our sleeping president and his government completely unaware. Now Jammeh is on the loose.
And what would have happened?
Jammeh would have been welcomed by the same harmful elements Barrow inherited, empowered, and placed on pedestals. They would slide back to him effortlessly, calling him Papa and Babili Mansa, restoring his 22-year reign of terror on a silver platter. Barrow would be left to rot, or worse, eliminated, plunging the country into unimaginable chaos.
Only in The Gambia do we have communities actively praying for a dictator’s return, a direct result of Barrow’s catastrophic leadership. A government so incompetent and so out of touch that they didn’t even know a coup plot was unfolding right under their noses.
Thank God for Senegal, our ever-alert neighbour who, even if not acting for us, always protects the integrity of its borders. Without them, Jammeh could have knocked on the gates of State House himself, waking Barrow out of his cluelessness.
This government has destroyed The Gambia’s image and destroyed our chance at a new democracy. Destroyed our momentum as a rising beacon on the continent. In 2016, the world stood with us. We were a symbol of hope, courage, and possibility.
Barrow dragged all of that into the mud with his naivety, stubbornness, complacency, and yes, his near-criminal cluelessness. I once thought “clueless” was just political banter. But it fits his leadership like a glove.
If we do not act swiftly, we are doomed. Barrow, out of negligence and ignorance, will hand this country back to Jammeh or to other ruthless opportunists waiting in the shadows.
Their limp press release shows everything: a government asleep, disconnected, incompetent, and unworthy of the trust of our people.
Gambians across all divides know that our country deserves alert, responsible leadership, not the complacency and confusion we are witnessing today. It is time to lead. As we look forward, we must remember that our existence as a nation depends on unity and purpose. Let us protect our future together. Gambia needs steady hands and courageous leadership because hope cannot live where leadership sleeps.
This moment in our nation’s history demands absolute clarity: Never Again, We Will Not Let Dictatorship Return. We have seen firsthand that Bad Leadership Is a Threat to National Security, and the events of Saturday proved that 2026 must be the year leadership changes, or The Gambia will fall further into instability. If not for our very professional and alert neighbours, Gambia would have plunged into unmanageable chaos.
Gambians are tired. Gambians are hungry. Gambians are exhausted. And God forbid Jammeh is allowed to return; the chaos will swallow us all.
We must relieve Barrow of his post in 2026. Our survival depends on it.
Fatou Jaw Manneh
Aspiring Presidential Candidate
