Gambian auditor general removed by police in Presidential row

The Gambia’s Auditor General has been forcibly removed from office by police after refusing to relinquish his post following a cabinet reshuffle, according to BBC News on September 15th.

Momodou Ceesay was removed from the cabinet by the country’s President, Adama Barrow, however, reports indicate he was offered an alternative position as Gambia’s trade ministers, which Ceesay rejected.

Ceesay, who spent nearly 3 years as the country’s Auditor General, is said to have initially accepted the offer, but changed his mind at a later date, according to President Barrow.

Members of the public are accusing the President of attempting to replace Ceesay with a more favourable candidate that would overlook alleged corruption by the government.

Now that Ceesay has been removed from his post, Barrow has promoted Gambia‘s Director of Internal Audit to the position, Cherno Amadou Sowe. The newly promoted Auditor General Sowe is yet to turn up to work following the national backlash from the public.

The entire episode was captured on local media’s social media platforms with, with Ceesay’s staff confronting and delaying plain clothed police officers who arrived to arrest the now ousted Auditor General.

Police were not able to arrest Momodou Ceesay until backup arrived at the offices to disrupt a press conference that was underway. Once the extra police presence had arrived they were only then able to escort Ceesay from the premises and deliver him to his lawyer’s office.

Young people across The Gambia responded immediately with threats of mass protests in the capital city of Banjul should Ceesay not be reinstated.

Multiple activists have been arrested in response to the live-streamed press conference and the ousting of Ceesay. In one video, Gambian activist Kemo Fatty expressed disbelief and fury at the news, threatening that “If the auditor general does not return to office today, President Barrow will leave the State House today.”

Later, as protesters and activists began organising a press conference outside the Auditor General’s offices, several were taken into custody, including Fatty and the anti corruption activist Alieu Bah.

President Barrow has faced months of protests like this after himself and some of his close allies were accused of divvying up the assets of disgraced former President Yahya Jammeh among themselves, accusations which came to light following an investigation from the country’s ‘The Republic’ newspaper.

In response to the ongoing events, President Adama Barrow’s office said the appointment of Ceesay as Trade Minister had been based “solely on his qualifications and experience,” with there being no intention “to interfere with the operations of the National Audit Office”.

Though the President denies the allegations of wrongdoing, many members of the public are struggling to believe the official narrative, with these latest events in the saga contributing to an environment of distrust among the Gambian people.

BBC News, Facebook, Maghrebi.org