Leaders of Gambians Against Looted Assets (GALA)
By Buba Gagigo
A group calling itself Gambians Against Looted Assets (GALA) has announced plans to stage a public demonstration demanding the release of the full list of individuals who purchased properties previously owned by former President Yahya Jammeh.
In a statement, the group declared: “At a moment like this, we must March. We must march to demand the list of all the buyers of the assets left behind by the former President as it belongs to the Gambian people, and they reserve all the rights to know how their resources were used, spent or otherwise,” the group said.
The group emphasized that their call is rooted in the collective interest of the nation. “As a nation that strives to prosper and ensure everyone irrespective of political affiliation, region, religion, gender or social class, gets the same opportunities to succeed and have access to state resources, we must be able to rise in opposition to anything that threatens to lure our collective aspirations to seeing a better a country into impossibility,” the group said,” they added.
The call for accountability comes on the heels of a disturbing investigative report into corruption uncovered by the Janneh Commission, which has left many citizens grappling with feelings of shock and disillusionment. There are growing concerns that, unless the syndicate behind the corruption is fully exposed, the prospect of a just society may remain out of reach.