There is a public uproar in The Gambia over the content of an audit report by Securiport, a US-based company tasked with providing aviation and immigration security. The National Audit Office, among other things, found that key government officers, including diplomatic passport holders, were exempt from paying an airport security fee in contravention of the law.
The Local Government Elections are due to take place in two months across the Gambia. It will give the qualified Gambian citizens the opportunity to elect ward councillors, area council chairpersons and mayors for Banjul City and Kanifing Municipal Councils. The elections will complete the 2021-2023 electoral cycle which already witnessed the presidential in December 2021 and April National Assembly 2022.
On January 13, 2023, Madi Jobarteh, a human rights activist and social commentator, had a face-off in a debate with Halifa Sallah, the secretary-general of People’s Democracy Organisation for Democracy and Socialism (PDOIS), following the former’s comments that The Gambia Coalition 2016 betrayed Solo Sandeng.
Photo Source: Africa.cgtn.com According to the World Health Organisation, Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) comprises all procedures that involve partial or total removal of external female genitalia or other injuries to the female genital organs for non-medical reasons. Why is Female Genital Mutilation Practised in The Gambia? Although its practice is mostly linked to religion, female genital mutilation is an ancient cultural and traditional practice in The Gambia. In most societies in The Gambia, the practice is viewed as a form of ‘purity’ for women. Most girls undergo the process as infants, others later in their childhood. One of the common...
Claim: Dembo ‘By Force’ Bojang, national president of the National People’s Party (NPP), has said that all households in Kiang are electrified. Verdict: FALSE. At least 16 communities in Kiang are yet to be electrified. On December 27, 2022, the National People’s Party (NPP) national president, Dembo Bojang, popularly called Dembo By Force, stated that every household in Kiang, a village in the Lower River Division of The Gambia is electrified. He made this remark at the ruling party’s congress. The claim can be found in the 55 minutes of this video. He was speaking in the Mandinka language, and an interpretation...
United Nations defines braille as a tactile representation of alphabetic and numerical symbols using six dots to represent each letter and number, and even musical, mathematical and scientific symbols. The observance of World Braille Day was officially recognised by the United Nations General Assembly in 2018. What is World Braille Day? World Braille Day is celebrated yearly on January 4, which is the birth anniversary of Louis Braille, the one who invented the communication device. In 2009, the World Blind Union celebrated the 200 th anniversary of Louis Braille’s birth. This, therefore, led to World Braille Day. The United Nations then made...
The events of April 14 & 16, 2016, were a dark chapter in The Gambia’s history. Ebrima Solo Sandeng, an organising secretary of the opposition United Democratic Party, led a nonviolent protest, demanding electoral reforms and justice. This was a period when the dictatorship was at its peak. The Gambia's former dictator president, Yahya Jammeh, was holding on to power with an iron fist ahead of the December 2016 elections. The protestors received a hostile welcome from the Police Intervention Unit (PIU) officers. About 27 UDP members were arrested and taken to the PIU headquarters in Kanifing. Solo Sandeng was...
During the induction program, fellows would undergo a four-day intense virtual fact-checking training that would equip them with the required skills for the three-month fellowship.
The contract signed between the gov’t and Securiport provides exemption for 2-year-olds and below. However, diplomatic passport holders have not been paying the levy.
Human rights and press freedom organisations have documented violations of freedom of expression, including the prevalence of anti-free speech laws, arrest and detention of political and civil society activists over speech-related issues, unlawful closure of media houses, and violent crimes against journalists with impunity.
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