Tanji Bird Reserve Carved Up? Inside Deals To Turn Protected Land Into Profit 

The Government has quietly divided and doled out a large tract of land - equivalent in size to more than 30 standard international football fields - believed to be carved out of the Tanji Bird Reserve by President Jammeh. The new owners - well, those named so far - include lawyer and politician Essa Faal; a Senegalese businessman and financier of President Barrow, Khalilou Wague; and a Gambia-based Indian businessman, Nandkishore Rajwani, who reportedly uses different names to amass land from the state.

July 17, 2025Investigations, The Big Story
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Justice Minister Eliminated These Laws. These Experts Do Not Have Kind Words About It

The government made more than 126 changes when revising the draft constitution. About half of these concern provisions related to anti-corruption, human rights and checks on the president’s power. Almost all of them were gutted, and now Mr. Ibn Chambas is pushing to succeed where former Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan fell short

July 7, 2025Investigations, The Big Story
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Explainer: Can NPP Keep Seat Against Opposition Alliance in Half-Die Vote

The contest in Banjul on Saturday between recent former allies, the ruling coalition and a former ruling party backed by the opposition, promises to be a hard-fought battle - a symbolic test of political strength with a year and a half until the presidential election. Kaddy JawoKaddy Jawo heads Malagen's media monitoring and factchecking desk. She is also an investigative reporter. When the United Democratic Party (UDP) defeated its arch-rival, the ruling National People's Party (NPP) in the Kiang Masembeh by-election, its officials declared the victory a sign of what could happen in the 2026 presidential election.  Yet the main opposition...

April 25, 2025Election Hub, Explainers, The Big Story
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The special tribunal explained as Jammeh’s victims move closer to justice

For more than two decades, victims of Yahya Jammeh’s brutal rule have waited for accountability. Now, as The Gambia moves closer to establishing a special tribunal to prosecute alleged crimes committed under his regime, survivors and families of victims are seeking justice, truth and recognition. This explainer examines how the proposed tribunal will work, why it matters, and what it means for those who have carried the scars of one of The Gambia’s darkest chapters.

December 25, 2024Feature, Indepth Reporting, Investigations, News in Graphs
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Corruption, Coercion and Cover-up: How Roy escapes justice for alleged sex abuse of Teneng and Jongfolo 

New evidence has emerged in the story of Roy Webster, a British national resident in The Gambia, shedding light into how he managed to evade justice for the alleged sexual abuse of two 12-year-old girls, identified only as Teneng and Jongfolo. Through admissions obtained from parents and undercover investigations, Malagen uncovers a web of corruption and collusion implicating both the police and parents. Not only did money exchanged hands, but also one of the parents who now says he ‘can’t lie anymore’ appears to be facing veiled threats to provide false testimonies to protect Roy

April 14, 2024Investigations, The Big Story
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AKI Tragedy Exposed: How Indian drugs claim lives of over 70 children in The Gambia

Concerns remain even after the release of the presidential task force report on the acute kidney injury outbreak that claimed the lives of more than 70 children. The report has seemingly been left to gather dust. Thousands of the banned and contaminated India drugs are still unaccounted for. More contaminated drugs have been discovered. The pharmaceutical industry, marked by entrenched conflict of interest, greed and systematic violation of healthcare laws, continues its tragic norm within the medicines regulatory system. To date, no one has been fully held accountable for the tragedy.

December 31, 2023Investigations, The Big Story
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A Tale of Two Countries: How Alleged Drug Traffickers from Guinea Bissau Find Home in Gambia

A Tale of Two Countries: How Alleged Drug Traffickers from Guinea Bissau Find Home in Gambia In late 2019, one of Guinea Bissau’s most notorious alleged drug tycoons fled to The Gambia following leaked information of his imminent arrest.  Barely two years later, another alleged heavyweight drug trafficker, who was being pursued by Bissau authorities, sought sanctuary in Banjul. Another one, known in Bissau as Escobar, has allegedly laundered drug money in...

November 9, 2023Investigations, The Big Story
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