By Fatou Sillah
The former TRRC Executive Secretary, Baba Galleh Jallow, in an interview with Mustapha K. Darboe on the Verified podcast, says that there is a desire by the president to perpetuate himself in power and that there is rampant corruption in the country. He says that the president still desires to remain in power, contrary to reason and morals.
“There is a desire by the president to perpetuate himself in power to stay in power, contrary to what reason and morals dictate,” he said.
Jallow also argued that corruption in Gambia is more widespread today than during the previous regime under Yahya Jammeh. He suggested that fear, which had restrained some forms of misconduct in the past, is no longer a deterrent.
“There is also widespread corruption. I think there is more corruption in Gambia today than there was under Jammeh because under Jammeh, people were afraid. If you were caught stealing money, it’s like, if all of these revelations were made under Jammeh, then a lot more victims would have been counted.”
He continued, “People would have disappeared, would have been killed, or sent to jail, so people seem not to be quite afraid now of engaging in corruption, and so corruption is more widespread now or, at any rate, more visible to the public now.”
The former TRRC official also highlighted the need to strengthen civic culture, noting that many Gambians remain unclear about their role in government and the mechanisms for meaningful engagement.
“Another issue that needs very urgent and very sustained attention and addressing is the civic culture,” Jallow said. “The civic culture hasn’t changed that much in terms of people’s perceptions and understandings of government and the role of government in society and their engagement with government.”
Jallow cited the TRRC’s Never Again campaign, which aimed to educate citizens on their rights and the power they hold in shaping governance, as an initial step that requires continued effort.