Dear Editor,
On Friday August 22, 2025, young Gambians gathered outside the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority (PURA) headquarters in Kairaba Avenue to demand affordable internet and to be heard. The protest, led by Gambians Against Looted Assets (GALA), was a peaceful call against Pura’s recent decision to set a D50 per gigabyte price floor for mobile data a move that has made internet access harder for students, small businesses, and everyday citizens.
But instead of listening, the police responded with warnings. They declared the protest “unauthorised” and threatened legal action against anyone who joined.
This raises a serious question: When will our policemen understand that protest is not a crime it is a right?
What is protest, really?
Protest is not about violence. It’s not about causing trouble. It’s about people coming together to say, “This is not fair.” It’s protected by our Constitution and by international human rights laws. It’s how citizens speak up when decisions hurt their lives. The youths were protesting against a policy that raised data prices by over 243%, removing affordable bundles and hurting digital access.
They are not asking for favours they are demanding fairness.
What should the police do?
Police officers are meant to protect citizens not silence them. Their role is to keep the peace, not to block peaceful gatherings. When they treat protestors like criminals, they break trust and weaken democracy.
Instead of threats, the police should have provided security and allowed the protest to happen safely. That’s what true service looks like.
What needs to change?
Training in human rights: Policemen need to understand that peaceful protest is legal and protected.
Respect for Youth Voices: Young people are not enemies of the state they are the future of it.
Dialogue over force: authorities should listen, not intimidate
To our policemen: We respect your work. But please remember protest is not rebellion. It is a cry for justice. It is a sign that people care.
To our leaders: Policies must serve the people, not just companies. When youth rise up, it’s because they believe in a better Gambia.
Let’s build a country where speaking out is safe, respected, and protected. That’s how we grow. That’s how we heal.
Omar A Suwareh
Final year political science student UTG
An enigma in Gambian social media discourse
Dear Editor,
In the noisy arena of Gambian social media, where allegiance is measured by who you defend and betrayal is judged by who you criticise, I stand as an enigma. A man who refuses to be boxed into the narrow cages of camps, tribes, or political colours.
I am Melville Robertson Roberts and if my voice unsettles, it is because I choose to speak truth, not to please, but to awaken.
When I write in defence of Lawyer Ousainu Darboe, I am showered with praise by his supporters and condemned by NPP loyalists. Yet, when I acknowledge the virtues of President Adama Barrow, I am quickly branded a defector “on my way to NPP.”
If I showcase my excellent friendship with the First Lady, tongues wag that I am singing my way into government corridors.
When I remind Talib Bensouda’s admirers that leadership requires patience, constitutional discipline, and respect for processes, I am insulted and accused of being a Yanks Darboe sympathiser. And when I highlight the injustices suffered by Talib himself, I am told I am chasing clout.
This is the Gambian paradox: you are celebrated when you echo a camp’s chorus, and vilified when you sing your own truth. But I refuse to be a parrot. I refuse to be owned by any political machinery. I will not silence my conscience to be accepted into a camp, nor will I bend my convictions to secure favours.
When will The Gambia understand that I do not lick boots, nor do I beg for recognition? I am content. I am fulfilled. I live with dignity in the UK, not in desperation or dependency.
I am satisfied with my intellect, my education, and the principles that govern my life. I have worked in government before and I resigned on principle. That should tell you everything. I was never fired but resigned when I felt the conditions were not right and an injustice being meted out against me.
I need nothing from anyone, except the space to speak my truth. My allegiance is not to Darboe, Barrow, Bensouda, or Jammeh. My allegiance is to The Gambia, its people, its future, and its integrity.
When I write about Yahya Jammeh and that all cannot be bad about him and that his good deeds cannot be washed away by false political narratives, I am accused of being an APRC sympathiser. But those who know me understand that my words are never for clout, never for reward, they are born of conviction.
I am not afraid to applaud where there is merit, nor to criticise where there is fault. I know this makes me inconvenient, unpredictable, ungovernable by political camps and that is exactly why my voice matters. Because independence of thought is rare in our society, and those who dare to hold it must often stand alone.
Appreciate me not because I agree with you, but because I refuse to betray myself. Respect me not because I echo your sentiments, but because I choose honesty even when it costs me. I belong to no camp. I seek no reward. My loyalty is to truth and country.
So, let it be known: I am Melville Robertson Roberts. An enigma, yes. But an enigma that speaks not for applause, not for positions, but for The Gambia, unapologetically, unbought, and unbowed.
Melville Robertson Roberts
UK
