By Omar Bah
A recent Afrobarometer survey has revealed that a significant majority of Gambians support the use of the death penalty for serious crimes.
In February 2018, President Adama Barrow announced a moratorium on executions, and by September of the same year, The Gambia ratified the protocol.
But despite these steps, the death penalty remains in Gambian law for certain crimes, and efforts continue to fully repeal it.
According to the report published on Monday, approximately 80% of respondents believe that the death penalty is a fair punishment for crimes such as murder, with support consistent across various demographic groups.
Judges/magistrates
The survey revealed that trust in key Gambian institutions, including the judiciary, is declining. The survey indicates that perceptions of corruption within these institutions have increased significantly since 2018.
Specifically, more than four in ten Gambians (43%) perceive judges and magistrates as corrupt, contributing to a broader distrust in the courts and the judicial system. This erosion of trust is compounded by widespread dissatisfaction with the government’s efforts to combat corruption, with 86% of Gambians expressing dissatisfaction in this regard. The government has since disputed the survey’s findings, arguing that they reflect subjective opinions rather than factual assessments.
According to the survey, more than four in 10 citizens (43%) say that “most” or “all” judges and magistrates are corrupt while fewer than half (46%) of survey respondents say they trust the courts “somewhat” or “a lot”.
“Almost half (48%) of respondents say that judges and magistrates “often” or “always” decide cases based on the influence of powerful people, rather than based on the law.”
The report added that fewer than half of citizens think ordinary people can obtain justice in the courts while 44 percent of Gambians say they feel “somewhat confident” or “very confident” that ordinary people who are wronged can obtain justice in the courts.
“Only about one-third of citizens say they could probably find legal advice (34%) and afford to take a legal problem to court (31%), if necessary. About four in 10 think such a case would be resolved fairly (39%) and within a reasonable time period (38%),” the survey added.
The report revealed that only 10 percent of Gambians say they are aware of legal aid services that are available in their community.
“Three in 10 citizens (31%) say they would turn to the police to resolve a legal problem, while others would look to elders or traditional leaders or courts (20%), family members (16%), or religious leaders (6%). Only 2% say they would go to a lawyer or a local court.”
According to the report, the majority (56%) of Gambians say that people are “often” or “always” treated unequally under the law while six in 10 (59%) say officials who break the law frequently go unpunished.
