In a petition to the government, the youth wing stated: “It is within this context that the UDP Youth Wing is writing this petition conscious of the principle that President Barrow led Government eloquently expressed in the Janneh Commission Report White Paper thus: “the Government has not lost sight of the prevailing governance environment created by former President Jammeh at the time.”
The young protesters stated that in most cases, members of the business community, in their dealings with former President Jammeh, were motivated by sheer greed and opportunism; while those who served in public office were mostly motivated by a combination of fear and self-preservation.
The anti-corruption protest has also called on the government to also take into account the fact that The Gambia is currently going through a “fragile political transition to democratic rule” after over two decades of authoritarian rule, reminding the government of its main objective, as reflected in this White Paper, on the recovery of monies stolen and/or misappropriated from the State by former President Jammeh, his family members and close associates.
“It is the submission of the humble petitioners that the governance environment created by former dictator Jammeh has not changed and his closest political associates have been appointed to the leadership of the National Assembly. This undermines the transitional justice process. The recovery of monies stolen and or misappropriated from the state has so far not been transparently explained to the people or satisfactorily accounted for by the Barrow Government.”
