By Fatou Sillah
The advocacy group Gambians Against Looted Assets (GALA) said on Wednesday that it is being unfairly portrayed by the police and government as disorderly and disrespectful, rejecting what it described as a growing public narrative that misrepresents its members and aims.
At a press conference, Alieu Bah, a member of the group, said officials had cast GALA as “unruly, ignorant, rude, and arrogant,” a characterization he strongly disputed.
“There is this misconception about us that we are unruly, we are ignorant, we are rude, and we are arrogant. That is what the police and the Government of The Gambia as a whole are projecting us,” he said.
Mr. Bah appealed to the public to reconsider those perceptions, describing GALA members as ordinary citizens motivated by a sense of national responsibility and a desire for accountability.
“I just want to appeal to Gambian people that we all come from homes, we are Gambians, and we all know what it means to be a Gambian,” he said, emphasizing that the group’s actions were rooted not in confrontation but in a commitment to justice.
“We did not wake up one day and say that our new plan is to be confrontational, rude, and arrogant against the system,” he added. “We are supposed to be on the side of truth and be truthful, and that is what we are about.”
The group’s spokesman, Omar Saibo Camara, said GALA intended to proceed with plans to mark its one-year anniversary, despite previous arrests of members for holding public events without police permits.
“Our one-year anniversary cannot be postponed,” Mr. Camara said. “We want to tell people that we are not people who disobey the law or who break the law. What we are fighting for is for the law to empower us and for people to respect the law.”
He accused the police of routinely detaining members during public gatherings but insisted the group remained committed to operating within legal boundaries.
“The police are used to arresting us every time we go out and accuse us of breaking the law,” he said. “But we know the law, and none of us will break the law in this country. Tomorrow we will go out to commemorate our one-year anniversary.”
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