Bensouda Warns of Return to Dictatorship Under Barrow, Accuses Government of Selective Accountability

By Fatou Sillah

Talib Ahmed Bensouda, leader of the UNITE Party and presidential candidate of Coalition 2026, has warned that The Gambia risks sliding back into dictatorship under President Adama Barrow, accusing the president of abandoning the democratic principles he once championed in his pursuit of continued political power.

Speaking at a Coalition 2026 rally in Old Yundum on Friday, Mr. Bensouda urged Gambians to draw lessons from the country’s political history and resist what he described as an emerging threat to its democratic gains.

“Dictatorship is coming back to The Gambia. I’m talking to the Gambian people. We have made this mistake before; let us not make it again,” he said.

Mr. Bensouda argued that President Barrow’s determination to remain in office contradicted the democratic ideals that brought him to power. He maintained that presidents should serve no more than two terms before allowing others the opportunity to lead.

He called on Mr. Barrow to reflect on his earlier commitments to democratic governance and cited Sierra Leone’s president as an example of leadership the Gambian president should consider.

The Coalition 2026 candidate attributed the country’s current political tensions to what he described as President Barrow’s unwillingness to relinquish power.

Mr. Bensouda also accused the government of selectively pursuing accountability, alleging that the administration was targeting local government officials while failing to address more substantial financial irregularities within the central government.

Citing reports by the Auditor General, he claimed that more than D10 billion in public funds had been misappropriated under the Barrow administration since 2018.

He questioned why local government officials were facing intense scrutiny while alleged financial irregularities involving significantly larger sums at the national level had not received comparable attention.

The mayor’s remarks come amid controversy surrounding the government’s White Paper on the findings of the Local Government Commission of Inquiry, which recommended his removal from office as mayor of the Kanifing Municipal Council (KMC).

Responding to the recommendation, Mr. Bensouda expressed confidence that members of the municipal council would reject any attempt to remove him.

“My councillors stood with me yesterday, they stand with me today, and they will stand with me forever,” he declared.

He also addressed an allegation involving D10,000, which he described as the only corruption accusation authorities had been able to level against him despite the substantial public funds managed by his office over the years.

“They said my corruption is D10,000. Then I thank God, because after serving ten years in office, the only thing they can have on me is D10,000, after all the billions that have passed through me,” he said.

Mr. Bensouda portrayed the allegation as insignificant compared with the scale of public resources his administration had overseen, while maintaining that the government’s actions against him were politically motivated.

His remarks underscored his broader criticism of the Barrow administration, which he accused of undermining democratic accountability while using state institutions to pursue political opponents ahead of the December 5 presidential election.