By Alieu Jallow
Human rights activist Madi Jobarteh has accused President Adama Barrow of undermining The Gambia’s Constitution by turning his ongoing Meet the People Tour into political theatre rather than fulfilling its official purpose.
Jobarteh cites Section 222(15) of the 1997 Constitution, which requires the president to conduct nationwide tours twice a year to assess conditions and explain government policies. He says the mandate is clear: “a serious official fact-finding mission to assess conditions across the country, and also a public awareness function to inform and educate citizens about government actions and shortcomings.”
Instead, Jobarteh argues, “these constitutional purposes have been hijacked and corrupted,” accusing Barrow of “openly violating both the letter and the spirit of the law.”
He criticised what he described as an inflated entourage draining public funds and disrupting services. “There are scores of civil servants who are literally pulled away from their desks, thereby paralyzing essential services nationwide, resulting in escalating costs for fuel, maintenance, accommodation, and allowances. Year after year, the tour overshoots its allocated budget, thus draining scarce public funds.”
Jobarteh also questioned the presence of officials and supporters who, he says, should not be part of the exercise. “We have senior officials who have no business being on this tour, pointing to the Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly and scores of NPP supporters who hold no public office yet enjoy public resources throughout the tour.” He called this “a classic case of abuse of office.”
His biggest concern, he said, is the transformation of a constitutional duty into a partisan campaign. He accused state officials and local authorities of promoting a third term for Barrow, despite being legally barred from partisan politics.
Jobarteh cited Barrow’s own words in Salikenni: “If I Keep Providing Without Support, I’ll Get Tired,” describing the remark as coercive and undemocratic. He added that senior figures such as Minister Demba Sabally and Deputy Speaker Seedy Njie had urged communities to support Barrow out of gratitude, saying: “These awful remarks are reminiscent of exactly what Yaya Jammeh and his officials used to tell communities.”
He warned that Barrow’s team had gone further by launching “vicious attacks on political opponents just like Yaya Jammeh used to do,” arguing that the trend undermines democracy, fuels tension, and violates Section 60(1) of the Constitution, which defines The Gambia as a multiparty democracy.
Despite being branded as citizen engagement, Jobarteh said the tour offers no real dialogue. “This is not dialogue. It is not accountability, and it is not governance,” he said, describing it instead as a staged routine of requests and promises while deeper problems remain unaddressed.
He warned Barrow that “willful violation of the Constitution is an impeachable offence,” reminding him of the oath he took in January 2022 to uphold and respect the Constitution. Jobarteh accused the president of trampling on that oath by “turning a constitutional duty into a partisan carnival,” misusing public resources, intimidating citizens, and “demonizing opponents.”
According to Jobarteh, the country is being led toward “lawlessness, corruption, poverty, and authoritarianism,” echoing abuses under former president Yaya Jammeh. He urged the IEC, the Inter-Party Committee, civil society and citizens to speak out, warning that “Silence is complicity.”
He concluded with a reminder that the presidency is not absolute: “President Barrow must recognize that he is a constitutional president, not a monarch. The Constitution must stand. Democracy must stand. The people must stand.”
By Alieu Jallow Human rights activist Madi Jobarteh has accused President Adama Barrow of undermining The Gambia’s Constitution by turning his ongoing Meet the People Tour into political theatre rather than fulfilling its official purpose. Jobarteh cites Section 222(15) of the 1997 Constitution, which requires the president to conduct nationwide tours twice a year to The Fatu Network
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