Minister, security chiefs, others who face risk of ban, prosecution 

A cabinet minister and security chief are among nearly a dozen public officials who face risk of ban from holding public office. Some may at the same time be subjected to criminal prosecution. This is a punishment proposed to be imposed on them by the Truth, Reconciliation and Reparations Commission. The TRRC last month wrapped up nearly three years of investigations into human rights violations that were reportedly committed during the tenure of former Gambian leader Yahya Jammeh - July 1994 to January 2017.  Nearly four hundred witnesses testified during the inquiry. The revelations in the TRRC...

January 15, 2022Feature, Investigations
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8 Children, Dozens Of Women Among Nearly 200 People Unlawfully Killed By Ex-President Jammeh – TRRC

The Gambia’s former president Yahya Jammeh has murdered or unlawfully killed nearly two hundred people during his 22-year rule, the Truth Reconciliation and Reparations Commission (TRRC) reveals in its report made public on Friday. In total though, at least 240 were found to have been murdered by state agents under his rule. But will the Barrow administration implement the report in the face of political considerations? The inquiry hasn’t provided disaggregated information in terms of sex and age, but as per Malagen’s count, those killed include at least eight children and dozens of women. Some of the children are as young...

December 27, 2021Investigations, The Big Story
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Was President elect Barrow’s response to a Malagen question entirely correct?

Claim: the Auditor General’s office ONLY recommended that missing diplomatic passport books should be cancelled Source: President elect Adama Barrow Verdict: false On December 7, president elect Adama Barrow faced journalists at State House for the first time since his press conference in August 2018. It was also his first press conference since winning the December 4 presidential elections with a 53% margin. During the interview (50:14), the Malagen journalist asked if Barrow would, as recommended by the Auditor General, cancel the diplomatic passports in circulation and issue new ones. In 2017, when Barrow took over, he has found 271 diplomatic passports in circulation. In 2019, Barrow administration issued 1,175 diplomatic...

December 8, 2021Factchecking
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Fake news alert! UDP has not filed a petition at the Supreme Court

There is an audio going viral on WhatsApp groups claiming the United Democratic Party has filed a petition at the Supreme Court against the December 4 presidential election results.The December 4 presidential election in the Gambia has given President Adama Barrow a lead, amassing 53% of the votes cast. All but two major contenders, the Gambia Democratic Congress and United Democratic Party, have contested the results of the polls declared free and fair by local and international observers. A voice of an unnamed individual calling for a protest and violence is saying there is a UDP petition coming at the...

December 7, 2021Election Hub, Factchecking
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Hate speech alert: NPP National President incites other tribes against UDP, Mandinkas

The National President of the ruling National People’s Party (NPP), Dembo Bojang, commonly called Dembo ‘By Force’ has made comments flagged as hate speech by Malagen media monitoring desk. The veteran politician was speaking at the NPP-led alliance rally in Bakau on Monday, November 29th as President Adama Barrow continues his election campaign tour for his re-election. In his speech, he called on other tribes to gang up to prevent the opposition United Democratic Party (UDP) from winning in the December 4th presidential election.  Mr. Bojang who is the religious adviser to the president said all ethnic groups other than Mandinkas are at risk...

December 1, 2021Election Hub, Media Monitoring
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Factsheet: Important things to know about the election day

The Gambia will hold its first presidential election since Jammeh on Saturday 4 December 2021. At least 962,157 people registered to vote across the country. Here are some important facts about the election: Who are the candidates?   The Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) confirmed the nomination of six presidential candidates to contest the polls. The parties and their candidates are (alphabetical order):            Abdoulie Ebrima Jammeh – National Unity Party (NUP)·         Adama Barrow – National People’s Party (NPP)·         Essa Mbaye Faal – Independent Candidate·         Halifa Sallah – People’s Democratic Organisation for Independence and Socialism (PDOIS)·         Mamma Kandeh – Gambia Democratic Congress (GDC)·         Ousainou ANM Darboe...

December 1, 2021Election Hub, Factchecking
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Fake: Halifa Sallah has not told voters to accept money from corrupt politicians, and then vote for System Change

This statement has been carefully studied by the Malagen media monitoring desk. We are currently monitoring all election campaigns, including the PDOIS presidential campaign and have reviewed the campaign addresses made by Halifa Sallah. But we have found no evidence that Sallah made the statements being attributed to him.

November 30, 2021Election Hub, Factchecking
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Fact check: Ousainu Darboe was the leader of the pressure group dubbed ‘3 Years Jotna

Claim: The leader of the United Democratic Party (UDP) is the chief executive of the ‘Three Years Jotna’ Source: Incumbent Adama Barrow Verdict: The claim is false During the 2016 presidential election campaign, Barrow made a campaign promise that if elected, he would serve for only three years, instead of constitutionally mandated five years. He would then preside over a fresh election on a levelled-playing field in which he would not participate. This promise was premised on the agreement he had with seven political party leaders and other independent candidates that backed him. According to the agreement, the president should resign in January 2020 having been sworn...

November 15, 2021Election Hub, Factchecking
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Fact sheet: important decisions and timelines on presidential elections calendar

The Independent Electoral Commission has cleared 6-candidates for Gambia’s December 4 presidential elections. Below are the key information you need to know. Accepted nominations A.N.M Ousainu Darboe – United Democratic Party; Mamma Kandeh – Gambia Democratic Congress; Halifa Baboucarr Sallah – Peoples’ Democratic Organisation for Independence and Socialism; Adama Barrow – National Peoples’ Party, Abdoulie Ebrima Jammeh – National Unity Party and an independent candidate Essa Mbye Faal. Cancellations Independent candidates Mathew Gomez, Tamsir M. Jassey and Mamadou Bah and political parties Gambia For All and All Peoples’ Party have cancelled their nominations. Rejected candidates The electoral authorities rejected nomination of 15 candidates due to non-compliance...

November 14, 2021Election Hub, Factchecking
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Dangerous speech alert: UDP leader’s remarks towards Serahuli community

The leader of opposition United Democratic Party (UDP) Ousainou Darboe’s comments with respect to how the Serahule people allegedly voted in the 2016 presidential elections have been flagged as dangerous speech by Malagen media monitoring. Mr Darboe’s comments were made on October 17, 2021, during a political rally held in Basse Koba Kunda, in the Upper River Region (URR). The event was part of the party’s nationwide tour to popularise their 5-Point Agenda – a manifesto -  for the Dec. 4 presidential election. The Serahule or Soninke make up 9 percent of the country’s population. According to Darboe, they did not...

November 12, 2021Election Hub, Media Monitoring
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