Alagi Yorro Jallow’s article is not merely an opinion piece; it is a timely civic warning. It confronts an uncomfortable truth that many prefer to evade: democracy cannot survive when incitement is disguised as activism and recklessness is paraded as courage.
Lawyer Borry Touray’s inflammatory remarks do not belong to the realm of legitimate political expression. They venture dangerously into the territory of provocation, where words are intended not to persuade but to ignite.
Freedom of expression is not a license to undermine national peace. No society, whether African or Western, tolerates direct calls to violence. In every credible democracy, incitement is a crime — not a political right. Words that encourage bloodshed, especially in a fragile political environment, are not heroic; they are destructive. They do not advance democracy; they endanger it.
Alagi Yorro Jallow correctly reminds us that free speech has limits when it threatens life, stability, and constitutional order. The Gambian Constitution, like all serious legal frameworks, protects liberty while criminalizing violence and incitement. The law is not partisan. It does not wear party colours. It protects citizens — not egos, not ambitions, and not reckless rhetoric.
The Gambia Police Force therefore deserves commendation, not criticism, for charging Borry Touray with incitement to violence. This action is not political persecution; it is constitutional policing. The police acted to preserve peace, prevent chaos, and uphold the rule of law. A democratic state that fails to respond to dangerous speech becomes complicit in the violence that follows.
Selective outrage is the cancer of political morality. Those who shout the loudest today were often whispering — or silent — during the worst years of dictatorship. During Yahya Jammeh’s reign, when the constitution was trampled, tribes were insulted, and citizens disappeared, many who now perform bravery were nowhere to be found. Silence then cannot be rebranded as righteousness now.
As African wisdom teaches: “You cannot divorce your husband and claim your virginity.” One cannot be absent when courage is required and later claim purity through recklessness. One cannot ignore tyranny and later posture as a defender of democracy through incitement. History keeps receipts.
Alagi Yorro Jallow is also right to condemn all forms of incitement, regardless of source. Whether it comes from the opposition or the government, from ministers or lawyers, tribalists or populists — it must be rejected. Political loyalty must never be greater than loyalty to peace. A nation burns not only from the fire of bad leaders, but also from the silence of their followers.
Those who incite violence are not patriots. They are arsonists in borrowed uniforms. They exploit frustration, hunger for attention, and wrap recklessness in liberation language. But bravery is not noise. Courage is not volume. Leadership is not incitement.
The Gambia has suffered enough. This generation must refuse to inherit chaos wrapped in political slogans. Democracy is defended not by the loudest voice, but by the clearest conscience. The rule of law is not oppression; it is protection. Accountability is not punishment; it is preservation of peace.
Alagi Yorro Jallow deserves applause for saying what many think but fear to say: Cowardice in dictatorship cannot be redeemed by recklessness in democracy. Incitement is not activism. Hypocrisy is not patriotism. And silence in tyranny cannot be washed away by noise in freedom.
The Gambia’s future depends not on who shouts the loudest, but on who stands for justice when shouting is not fashionable. Let the law stand. Let peace prevail. Let hypocrisy be named. And let democracy be defended — not with violence, but with principle.
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