By Kebeli Demba Nyima,
Atlanta
Looking at the disturbing videos and images that have flooded social media these past days, one is compelled to ask whether The Gambia is once again sliding back into dictatorship.
Ordinary citizens, some merely bystanders, others demonstrators exercising a constitutional right, have been brutalised, rounded up, and dragged into police trucks in scenes reminiscent of the darkest days of the Jammeh era.
At the centre of this latest wave of repression stands a man called Sarr, now quickly becoming the new Musa Jammeh of the “junglers.” Brutal, unrefined, and unrestrained, his behaviour reveals a dangerous cocktail of ignorance and impunity. In one widely circulated video, Sarr threatened to charge a fellow senior officer simply for failing to arrest protesters fast enough. Even more troubling was his refusal to return the hand salute of RSM Sainey, a gesture that in any professional security service signifies mutual respect and discipline. That Sarr ignored such a fundamental tradition of military and police protocol exposes not only his personal arrogance but also the profound erosion of professionalism within the Gambian security sector.
The salute incident in particular should trouble any serious observer of the country’s security institutions. A hand salute is not a mere courtesy; it is the bedrock of respect and mutual recognition that binds armed and uniformed services together. For a junior officer to ignore it is insubordination, but for a senior officer to refuse to return it is a breach of professional conduct of the highest order. To make matters worse, Sarr went further by publicly threatening RSM Sainey, who had shown him nothing but deference and respect. Such behaviour is unbecoming of any officer, let alone one entrusted with authority, and in any disciplined service it would trigger immediate investigation or dismissal. That it has not is yet another reminder of the deep rot in the Gambian police force.
Much has been said about Security Sector Reform (SSR), yet these events prove that it has amounted to little more than an expensive façade. Millions of dollars in taxpayer and donor funds have been squandered, but the Gambian police continue to act like a militia rather than a service entrusted with upholding law and protecting rights. What Gambians witnessed this week is not policing; it is persecution. It is not law enforcement; it is lawlessness in uniform.
The lesson from history is clear. Unlike Jammeh’s era, when impunity was concealed by censorship, today’s world is awash with smartphones, high-speed internet, and digital archives. Every act of brutality is filmed, uploaded, and stored. Every baton strike and unlawful arrest is preserved in servers from Washington to Geneva. Those who now wield power with arrogance may soon discover that their images and dossiers are already in the files of international human rights organisations and embassies. When governments change, as they inevitably do, they may find themselves answering for crimes they once thought buried.
As a security analyst, I see three likely outcomes if President Barrow is allowed to continue ruling beyond 2026. The first is the consolidation of authoritarian rule, with the police reduced to the private militia of the presidency and the silencing of dissent institutionalised. The second is the eruption of social unrest, where repression and economic hardship combine to make the country ungovernable. The third is the risk of regional destabilisation, with The Gambia exporting its instability and weakening Ecowas’s fragile peace architecture.
The extra-judicial actions of the police under Barrow cannot be tolerated. Gambians must resist the return of tyranny dressed in new clothes. The international community must also act, by applying pressure, withholding aid where necessary, and reminding Barrow that repression is not governance. For too long, Gambians have endured corruption, incompetence, and creeping authoritarianism. They must not now be caged again by men who mistake the uniform for a licence to oppress.
The warning is stark: if this descent continues, The Gambia will once more stand condemned in the court of history, and those responsible, Sarr and his ilk, will not escape the reckoning.
The international community must therefore take the same decisive approach with Barrow that it once took with Jammeh. The lesson of 2016 remains fresh: when regional and global powers stand firm, dictators and pretenders to democracy have no option but to yield. Barrow must be made to understand that he cannot rule The Gambia indefinitely, nor can he entertain the political fantasy of a third term without consequences. Just as Jammeh was forced into exile, Barrow too must be pressured into shelving his wet dream of perpetual rule before the country is dragged back into the abyss.
It is evident that Barrow does not govern on the basis of popular support. Mounting evidence shows that the past elections were neither transparent nor credible, with systematic manipulation of the process in his favour. The recent prosecution charges against Alieu Njie, the Chairman of the Independent Electoral Commission, stand as a damning reminder of how deeply compromised the electoral machinery has become under his watch. In such circumstances, the opposition must put aside their narrow ambitions and unite with a single purpose: to remove Barrow through lawful and peaceful means before he destroys the fragile democracy for which Gambians have already sacrificed so much.
History provides a sobering warning. In countries where the international community looked away, repression was allowed to fester until it culminated in catastrophe. From Guinea under Alpha Condé to Côte d’Ivoire under Laurent Gbagbo, the refusal to act against leaders who manipulated constitutions and clung to power through force ended in bloodshed and national collapse. The Gambia is treading that same perilous path. If the world continues to watch silently, the result will be unrest, exile, and perhaps even conflict that will consume the nation and reverberate across the region. Now, before it is too late, pressure must be applied, alliances built, and accountability enforced, for only then can The Gambia be saved from repeating its own tragic history.
