By Madi Jobarteh
In every democracy, the state exists to serve its people. Its institutions are established and empowered to deliver justice, maintain peace, and foster development. Officials who occupy public office are entrusted with the solemn duty to protect the rights and dignity of citizens. Yet, in The Gambia today, the very institutions meant to uphold these values are failing spectacularly; and instead of accepting responsibility, they have chosen to blame the very people who suffer most from their incompetence and corruption.
The events that unfolded in Mandinari and Lamin are a tragic reflection of this failure. A young man, Omar Badgie, lost his life in circumstances involving the police. Rather than treating this as a moment for reflection, accountability, and urgent reform, state officials have resorted to deflection and scapegoating. Reports indicate that the police are attempting to link the protests to GALA, an allegation that reeks of disinformation and calculated intimidation.
This narrative is not only false but also deeply dangerous. It suggests that the youth of Mandinari are mere pawns in a political game rather than citizens with legitimate grievances. The truth is far simpler and more profound: the youth of Mandinari are sovereign citizens exercising their constitutional right to protest, driven by anger and frustration at systemic police brutality and the indiscriminate use of teargas against their community. Their demonstration was not orchestrated by any group but by lived realities: poverty, injustice, and deprivation caused by decades of poor governance.
The failure of governance
The root of this crisis lies squarely with our state institutions and the officials who run them. It is not the youth of The Gambia who have mismanaged the economy, allowed corruption to fester, or failed to provide basic services. It is not the youth who have turned this country into a heavily indebted and fragile state. These failures are the direct result of decisions or indecisions made by those in power.
From the police to the ministries, from local government authorities to state-owned enterprises, there is a pattern of dysfunction. Institutions that are supposed to protect citizens instead prey on them. Laws that are supposed to uphold justice are manipulated to shield the powerful while punishing the powerless. This is why poverty deepens, why public trust collapses, and why communities like Mandinari are left with no option but to take to the streets.
Yet rather than confronting this reality, state officials seek to redirect blame. It is easier to accuse young people of being manipulated than to admit the truth: the government has failed. It has failed to create jobs, to ensure affordable living, to guarantee safety, and to deliver justice. This failure is not abstract; it is personal, and it has consequences measured in hunger, despair, and in the tragic case of Omar Badgie, death.
Weaponising blame and fear
By labeling the youth as criminals or political operatives, the state does more than simply lie. It actively endangers citizens by justifying repression. When young protesters are framed as enemies of the state, violence against them becomes excusable in the eyes of those who wield power. This is a strategy as old as authoritarianism itself: dehumanise the people, delegitimise their grievances, and distract from the crimes of those in authority.
But this strategy will not work. Gambians are not blind to what is happening. The death of Omar Badgie is a stark reminder that state violence is real, and that unchecked power always claims innocent lives. The attempt to smear the youth of Mandinari and Lamin is an insult to every citizen who has suffered from poverty, corruption, or injustice. It is also a dangerous provocation that risks further unrest.
The non-negotiable demand: Accountability
The solution to this crisis is not more teargas or more propaganda. It is accountability. State officials must be held to the same standards they impose on ordinary citizens. When a young man dies in police custody or during a police operation, there must be a full and transparent investigation. The Coroner’s Act is clear on this matter: a violent and unnatural death requires a coroner’s inquiry. This is not a favor to the family of the deceased; it is a legal and moral obligation of the state.
Similarly, public officials must stop hiding behind excuses. They must acknowledge their role in the policies and decisions that have led to widespread poverty, corruption, and underdevelopment. The Gambia’s challenges are not the result of unruly youth or external forces. They are the result of decades of failed governance. Until officials confront this fact, no amount of repression will bring peace or stability.
After all, how many ministers, police and drug law officers, parliamentarians, judicial officers, permanent secretaries, directors, and top officials from State House and the local government smoke ganja? Uncountable. Yet nothing happens to them. But they can kill an underprivileged, deprived, impoverished boy for holding a joint! Shame!
A call to action
The Gambian people deserve better. They deserve institutions that work, leaders who listen, and a state that protects rather than persecutes. To achieve this, we must reject the false narrative that paints the youth as the problem. Instead, we must see them for who they are: the victims of systemic failure and the bearers of hope for a better future.
The protests in Mandinari and Lamin are not threats to the state; they are warnings to it. They are a sign that the social contract has been broken and that citizens will no longer suffer in silence. It is now up to state officials to decide whether they will respond with humility and reform or with further repression, arrogance and denial.
The choice is clear. Either the state takes responsibility for its failures and begins the hard work of rebuilding trust, or it continues down the path of scapegoating and brutality – a path that will only lead to more anger, more protests, and more needless deaths. For the sake of The Gambia’s future, let us hope they choose wisely.
For The Gambia, Our Homeland
