The letter, signed by APG President Sheriff Mohammed Kijera, was also addressed to the Chief of Staff and Minister for Presidential Affairs, Office of the President, Attorney General and Minister for Justice, IMF President, World Bank President and others.
Below reads the full text of the letter:
“Dear Secretary General and Distinguished Excellencies
We write to draw your attention to cascading governance and deepening crisis of accountability and rule of law in the Republic of The Gambia, characterized by the government blatant disregard for the rule of law, rampant corruption, and lack of political will to address fundamental issues such as constitutional reform, security sector reform, electoral reform and strengthening the oversight democratic institutions for constitutional safeguards.
Over the years corruption has become widespread and endemic across the Barrow led government ministries, agencies, and state owned enterprises has hollowed out of public services and undermined public trust. Recent audit reports emanating from the National Audit office reveals heinous financial discrepancies and grand embezzlement of public funds by officials of government departments, ministries and state owned enterprises. Hundreds of millions of dalasis were misappropriated by officials of the Independent Electoral commission and Gambia Ports Authority, and the recent findings and scathing report from a parliamentary inquiry implicating individuals on alleged corruption, bribery, tax evasion and money laundering tied to the sale of 36,935.614 metric tons of petroleum products valued at 30 million dollars.
The government of Adama Barrow has failed to take meaningful action against corruption within its ranks, particularly among senior officials due to political patronage, and seriously compromised the oversight functions of the National Audit office. This has been clearly manifested in the president’s persistent abuse of power, and the unlawful removal of the Auditor General from office without due process that demonstrates a blatant disregard for the rule of law on a vested approach to stifle independent oversight.
The government of Adama Barrow established the Janneh commission of inquiry to investigate the financial misappropriation of former president Yaya Jammeh and his close associates. The commission concluded its mandate with a recommendation submitted to the government for implementation. The president made a mockery of the Janneh commission of inquiry recommendations by pardoning and promoted to senior government positions, the most notorious of the adversely mentioned individuals who were banned by the commission from holding public office and recommended for prosecution. The Barrow administration unlawfully disposed Jammeh’s frozen assets, the public servants entrusted to oversee the process of investigation, valuation and sales of former president Jammeh’s assets and some close associates of the Barrow regime became the buyers who walked away from the auction with significant number of Jammeh’s assets.
The UN Peacebuilding fund generously supported The Gambia’s transitional justice project, and provided the resources to enhance inclusive participation of stakeholders and strengthened the capacities for the transitional justice processes, including the establishment of the Truth Reconciliation and Reparations Commission (TRRC) and the implementation of its recommendations. However, three years after the TTRC submitted its recommendations to the government, the hope of victims still lingers on thin thread, and their plight is not taken seriously by the government. A government that is heavily depending its justice system on foreign aid, has little interest in upholding justice and accountability.
Security sector reform was a cornerstone of The Gambia’s transitional justice program, it is essential for lasting peace and stability for the country. It has been deprioritized and hasn’t been quite methodical as it supposed to be. Despite promises of reform, and more than 7 billion dalasis provided in grants to support the program, the Gambia government has yet to implement a comprehensive program to address the abuses committed by the security forces of the former regime, and the current regime has adopted a pattern that continue as modus operandi in the security forces. More Gambians are experiencing insecurity in their communities and homes, crime rates have plummeted, and the police paramilitary forces have replaced the jungulars of Yaya Jammeh in brutalizing and terrorizing critics of the government, the most recent case was the arrest and torture of innocent youths that were out in the streets to protest a legitimate concern for the high volume of corruption in the government, and the lack of serious action taken by the government for accountability. The lack of progress continues to create an environment of fear and insecurity.
There is a constitutional impasse that the government’s persistent refusal to introduce a new constitution undermines democratic institutions and exacerbates political instability. The Barrow administration spent over 116 million dalasis to draft a new constitution, and the government itself killed the bill to adopt the draft by deputies at the National Assembly.
The actions of the State not only violate the fundamental human rights of The Gambian people but also pose a serious threat to peace and national stability.
We respectfully urge the United Nations, ECOWAS, African Union, European Union, Gambia’s bilateral donor partners, and Multilateral donor Agencies to deploy a coordinated strategy that includes:
- Publicly calling for a reversal of the recent electoral amendment act to ensure free and fair contest, and allow incoming voices.
- To sanction The Gambia government to immediately reinstate the Auditor General and respect all constitutional checks and balances.
- Conditioning technical and financial assistance on demonstrable progress in security sector reform and independent anti-corruption prosecutions.
- Support a transparent process backed by the UN legal and constitutional experts for the Restitution and proper stewardship of Yaya Jammeh era frozen assets.
Your collective leverage is critical to avert a slid back into authoritarian practices. The people of The Gambia look to international partners to uphold the values of accountability, the rule of law and inclusive democratic processes. We stand ready to provide further information or facilitate high level engagement.”
