President Barrow’s Attack on Madi Jobarteh is an Affront to Democracy, and Free Speech

Mr. Madi Jobarteh is a human rights defender who has worked for over 20 years advocating for transparency and increased accountability in governance in the Gambia. Mr. Jobarteh has worked on a range of human rights issue in the country, including recent work on social inclusion and the rights of women and girls. Mr. Jobarteh previously spent one and a half years outside of The Gambia in 2016 –2017, after he came under risk for his human rights work during a previous
government administration.

On 29 April 2022, Mr. Jobarteh received a letter from the lawyer of Minister of Lands, Regional Government and Religious Affairs Hon. Abba Sanyang threatening to sue Mr. Jobarteh for defamation if he did not apologise for and retract an article he wrote alleging the Minister allocated land to other Government officials and their families and friends. Mr. Jobarteh has reportedly responded that he stands by his claims and will refuse to retract the article or apologise.

On the eve of Eid al-Fitr, 2 May 2022, President of the Gambia, Mr. Adama Barrow verbally attacked Mr. Madi Jobarteh in a televised address before a meeting of Banjul Muslim Elders at the State house in the city of Banjul. He claimed that Mr. Jobarteh’s criticism of the Government was made with the intention to incite violence and that his civil society work was aimed at “setting the country on fire”. The President furthermore criticised media channels for giving him a platform to speak about his work.

Since the 2 May address, Mr. Jobarteh has reportedly been receiving multiple threats online from unknown individuals. Some threaten to kill him or expel him from the country or contain messages that would contain similar messages to the one espoused by the President, for example, that he is opposed to “peace and progress” in the Gambia. At the time of writing, Mr. Jobarteh has not reported the incidents to the police.

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