A Direct Rebuttal to Dr. Lamin Manneh: The Right Meaning of “Militia”

By Yaya Dampha Coordinator NPP Diaspora Sweden

Dr. Manneh, before you dismiss the term “militia” as a dangerous fabrication, it is important to ground this discussion in facts, law, and the plain meaning of words. The term “militia” is not a vague political insult — it has a clear and universally understood meaning: a group of civilians organized to act like an armed or enforcement body outside the official state security apparatus, often self-appointed to enforce laws or protect political interests.

Militias may or may not carry firearms — what defines them is that they operate outside state authority, taking law enforcement into their own hands.

The 2021 Pre-Election Reality Before the 2021 presidential election, the United Democratic Party (UDP), through its senior official Ebrima Dibba, formed and led a squad of young men and women touring the country. These groups visited communities with the stated purpose of stopping certain individuals from registering as voters — people the UDP believed were “not Gambians.”

This action was not backed by a court order. It was not sanctioned by the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC). It was not conducted by the police, immigration, or any legal body mandated to determine citizenship or voter eligibility. Yet The Gambia’s electoral laws already provide: A clear process to challenge voter eligibility during registration. The establishment of a Revising Court by the IEC to adjudicate disputes over eligibility. By bypassing this legal process and physically intervening in communities to decide who should or should not be registered, these UDP youth squads acted as self-appointed enforcers of the law. That is, by definition, militia behaviour.

Why This Matters Dr. Manneh, the danger here is not in using the word “militia,” but in normalizing political groups taking over functions reserved for state institutions. Whether armed or unarmed, once a political party mobilizes its own force to enforce its own interpretation of the law, it undermines both the constitution and the electoral process. To deny this reality is to rewrite history. Gambians witnessed it. They saw groups moving from village to village in the name of “preventing fraud,” intimidating would-be registrants, and creating a climate of fear. No amount of press conferences or legal threats will erase that collective memory. Conclusion The truth is simple: If a group is organized by a political party, operates outside the law, and enforces political objectives through intimidation — it is a militia. What happened in 2021 under Ebrima Dibba’s leadership meets that definition. Refuting this with rhetoric instead of facts only deepens public mistrust. Gambia’s democracy does not need private enforcement squads, no matter which party they serve. It needs parties that trust the law, not bypass it.