By Yaya Dampha
NPP Diaspora Coordinator, Sweden
The recent article by Dr. Baba Galleh Jallow, written under the banner of the so-called Never Again Network, opposing President Adama Barrow’s potential third-term bid, is not only intellectually shallow but legally unsustainable and morally hypocritical.
Before Dr. Jallow attempts to posture as the national conscience on matters of democracy and constitutionalism, he owes the Gambian people a clear explanation for the deeply troubling legacy he left behind at the Truth, Reconciliation and Reparations Commission (TRRC)—an institution he served as Executive Secretary.
The fundamental question therefore arises: who is Baba Galleh Jallow to lecture the Gambian people about democracy when the very institution he administered left many genuine victims unrecognized while elevating questionable testimonies to official status?
The Constitution, Not Baba Galleh Jallow, Determines Presidential Terms
Let us begin with the law.
The 1997 Constitution of the Republic of The Gambia, which remains the supreme law of the land under Section 4, clearly provides that the presidency is determined through democratic elections every five years.
There is no constitutional provision limiting a president to two terms in the current constitution.
Therefore, President Adama Barrow seeking another term—whether a third or otherwise—is not unconstitutional. It is simply a democratic right that must be decided by the Gambian electorate at the ballot box.
Dr. Jallow’s argument is therefore a political opinion disguised as constitutional authority.
In any genuine democracy, the decision does not belong to activists, networks, commentators, or former TRRC officials—it belongs to the sovereign will of the Gambian people.
Coalition Agreements Are Not Constitutional Law
Dr. Jallow’s argument about the 2016 coalition agreement is equally flawed.
While the coalition may have politically proposed a three-year transition, the reality remains that political agreements do not override constitutional law.
Once President Barrow was elected under the 1997 Constitution, his mandate became a five-year constitutional term, just like every other president elected under that same constitution.
No coalition document signed among political actors can supersede the legal authority of the constitution. To argue otherwise is to promote constitutional confusion dressed up as moral outrage.
The Hypocrisy of “Never Again”
The phrase Never Again should carry profound moral weight in The Gambia. It symbolizes a collective commitment to justice for victims of past abuses.
Yet under the leadership of Baba Galleh Jallow’s Secretariat, the TRRC produced outcomes that many victims consider deeply discriminatory and profoundly unjust.
One must therefore ask: how did the Commission determine who qualifies as a victim?
Why were individuals with clear historical records of arrest, torture, persecution and forced exile excluded from recognition?
Why was Musa Saidykhan—an internationally recognized torture survivor—excluded from the official list of victims?
Why were victims like myself, Yaya Dampha, and the family of the late Almamo Manneh, who was extrajudicially executed, not recognized by the Commission?
If we were not victims, why were we invited to testify before the TRRC?
Our testimonies are on record. The historical facts are documented.
Almamo Manneh was extrajudicially executed, just as Harouna Jammeh was.
Musa Saidykhan was tortured and permanently maimed, just as Bunja Darboe was.
Yet the TRRC under Baba Galleh Jallow’s Secretariat segregated victims—recognizing some while ignoring others.
Meanwhile, individuals whose testimonies raised serious credibility questions somehow found themselves included in the official reparations framework.
This raises troubling questions about transparency, methodology and integrity in the Commission’s victim determination process.
Accountability Must Begin with the TRRC Leadership
Before Baba Galleh Jallow lectures the nation about safeguarding democracy, he should first explain to the Gambian people:
What criteria did the TRRC use to determine who qualifies as a victim?
Who made the final determinations within the Secretariat?
Why were legitimate victims excluded from recognition?
Why were questionable testimonies accepted without sufficient scrutiny?
These are legitimate questions that deserve clear and honest answers.
Victims of the Jammeh era deserve justice—not selective recognition or administrative indifference.
The Convenient Return of Political Activism
It is also remarkable that some of the loudest voices today were silent when they held real institutional authority.
During their tenure at the TRRC, they possessed enormous power to ensure fairness, transparency and justice.
Instead, many used that platform to enhance international reputations, secure prestigious global engagements, and build impressive professional résumés before quietly moving on to greener pastures.
Now that some of those contracts and international engagements appear to be winding down, they suddenly reappear as political activists offering lectures on democracy.
The Gambian people are neither naïve nor forgetful.
They recognize opportunism when they see it.
Democracy Belongs to the Gambian People
Whether President Adama Barrow chooses to contest another election is not the decision of Baba Galleh Jallow.
It is not the decision of the Never Again Network.
And it is certainly not the decision of commentators seeking renewed political relevance.
It is a decision that belongs solely to the Gambian people through democratic elections.
That is the essence of democracy.
If Gambians believe President Barrow deserves another mandate, they will vote for him.
If they believe otherwise, they will vote him out.
That choice belongs to the electorate—not to self-appointed guardians of political morality.
The Real Betrayal
The real betrayal of the victims of the Jammeh era is not a presidential election.
The real betrayal would be a transitional justice process that failed to recognize all victims fairly and equally.
Until Baba Galleh Jallow confronts that moral failure and explains the inconsistencies of the TRRC’s victim recognition process, he lacks the credibility to lecture the nation on democracy and constitutionalism.
Those who presided over such a flawed process should approach the national conversation with humility rather than arrogance.
The Gambian people deserve honesty, fairness and accountability—not selective outrage and revisionist activism.
Democracy belongs to the people, not to self-appointed custodians of political virtue.
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