By Mariam Sankanu, The Republic
Gambian police have opened an inquiry into the activities of Project Rescue Children (PRC), a UK-registered charity whose fraudulent activities were exposed by an investigation conducted by the British Broadcasting Corporation and The Republic in July.
The PRC, founded by Adam Whittington— a former soldier in the Australian army and an officer in the British Metropolitan Police– was registered in The Gambia in September 2021. The charity staged two fake operations in the country to arrest a supposed rapist who evaded police arrest and to rescue a baby girl who was being trafficked by unknown persons.
The child, later named Mareya and adopted by Adam as father and the former UK director of the charity Alexandra Rose Betts as mother, was reportedly being taken care of at a rescue center in Kuloro.
The investigation by The Republic uncovered evidence showing rescues and arrests in Gambia claimed and used by Adam and PRC to raise funds for his charity were false. The child the PRC claimed they rescued from traffickers was never trafficked, and does not live in a rescue center. And the place the charity published online as its rescue center in Kuloro was actually the family house of the charity’s Gambia director, Ebou Bass— a juice bar owner on the beach who was the charity’s lead investigator in the country.
In August, the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Welfare established a 5-member taskforce to investigate the allegations published by The Republic and the BBC. In its findings, the taskforce confirmed that the rescue operation and arrest PRC claimed to have carried out in Gambia were false.
“We recommend that The Ministry of Gender, Children, and Social Welfare through the Ministry of Justice take immediate action to deregister Project Rescue Children,” said the taskforce in a 9-page investigation report seen by The Republic.
“We recommend that the Ministry of Gender Children and Social Welfare and the Gambia Police Force immediately investigate Adam Whittington and his associates for their fraudulent activities including; the falsification of birth certificate bearing the name of a Mireya, a baby that never exists, false claim of the existence of a facility that never exists and the exploitation of *Bintou and the family.”
On September 10, the Ministry wrote to the Inspector General of the Police to investigate PRC in order to “prosecute any individual or entities found to be involved in illegal activities” and “ensure the protection and rehabilitation of any child who may have been affected” by their activities. The police spokesperson, Modou Musa Sisawo, said the crime management unit of the police is handling the investigations.
Alex finds Mareya (Bintou*)
Alex Betts, a social media influencer, was in the UK when Mareya was reportedly rescued. She became the child’s adopted mother without going through any sort of process. She told The Republic the entire adoption which failed to follow the established process in the Gambia was Adam’s idea.
But what Betts didn’t know though was that Mareya did not exist as at the time the PRC claimed to have carried out a rescue mission in Gambia. It was in March, 2022, when Adam knew of her expected trip to The Gambia that he— with the charity’s Gambia director who is a native of Kuloro, found a roleplay for Mareya in his village.
Bintou*, the roleplay for Mareya, would be introduced to Betts during her stay. But Betts was never allowed to take the child nor did she know that she has a mother. After she returned to the UK, the relationship between Betts and Adam fell apart. With it, any contact with Bintou.
But now, thanks to the investigations by The Republic, not only did Betts know the true story about Bintou, she is also in touch with her mother, Fatima, and supporting the family. “Alex has been sending us money. Every month she sends the child’s allowance and I use it for her upkeep. I buy her food and clothes,” she told The Republic.
