Hon. Njai Says Gambians Have a Right to Protest, but Not to Destroy Public Property

By Fatou Sillah

The National Assembly member for Banjul Central, Abdoulie Njai, has defended the right of Gambians to protest over the country’s electricity crisis, while urging demonstrators to remain peaceful and refrain from damaging public property.

Speaking before the National Assembly during a Matter of the Day that he introduced on the electricity crisis, Mr. Njai said prolonged power outages had fueled growing public frustration, with some communities reportedly going without electricity for as long as 30 hours.

He said Gambians had legitimate reasons to demand reliable electricity and accountability from the government, but warned that those grievances should not be used to justify violence or vandalism.

“Your frustration is legitimate, your demand for electricity is legitimate, your demand for accountability is legitimate,” Mr. Njai said. “But frustration must never become an excuse for lawlessness, destruction or violence.”

Mr. Njai expressed particular concern about reports of vandalism during demonstrations in areas including Latrikunda Sabiji and Farato.

“Let us protest peacefully, let us demand accountability peacefully, let us hold government to account through the institutions of our democracy,” he said. “And let government, in turn, listen to the people and respond with the urgency this crisis demands.”

Mr. Njai said The Gambia’s electricity problems had persisted for decades despite successive reforms and investments in the power sector. Finding a lasting solution, he said, would require increasing generation capacity, strengthening transmission and distribution networks, reducing system losses and improving management at the National Water and Electricity Company, or NAWEC.

He also called for a long-term national electricity strategy and greater investment in renewable energy, particularly solar power. He said NAWEC’s workforce should be reviewed as part of broader efforts to address what he described as persistent inefficiency and underperformance.

Mr. Njai acknowledged recent steps taken by President Adama Barrow in response to the crisis, including visits to NAWEC facilities, the establishment of a presidential task force and arrangements for additional standby power.

But he said those interventions should go beyond temporary relief and ultimately produce a lasting solution to the country’s electricity problems.