Africa-Press – Gambia. Vice President Muhammed B.S. Jallow has informed the National Assembly that the Government of The Gambia cannot directly provide a list of diplomatic passport holders, citing privacy concerns. He advised members of the National Assembly (NAMs) to request the information from the Gambia Immigration Department, which maintains the relevant database.
Addressing the Assembly on Tuesday, VP Jallow clarified that the issuance of diplomatic passports is governed by established guidelines and is subject to the approval of the President.
“Honorable Speaker, I wish to inform this August Assembly that there is established guidelines for the issuance of diplomatic passports, subject to the approval of His Excellency, the President of the Republic; however, the number of issued diplomatic passports is available at the Gambia Immigration Department’s database and can be obtained upon request by the National Assembly,” he said
The Vice President was responding to a question posed by Hon. Fatoumatta Njai, the Member for Banjul South, who had requested a detailed list of diplomatic passport holders, including the justification for each issuance. The question was read on her behalf by Hon. Modou Lamin B. Bah, Member for Banjul North.
Jallow emphasized that individual passport details are considered personal information and therefore fall under privacy protections.
“But because these are personal details of individuals, that is why we feel that if the National Assembly requests it from the Immigration Department, then they can get it; otherwise, based on the secrecy of information, you are sort of sharing third-party information,” he explained.
He added, “This is why we humbly request that the National Assembly can get that directly from the Immigration Department,” he said.
When further pressed on why the Executive could not provide the list directly, the vice president reaffirmed the Government’s position, highlighting the roles and processes involved in issuing diplomatic passports.
“Honorable Speaker, like I said, there are established guidelines for the issuance of diplomatic passports; there are specific positions that require diplomatic passports, which are given to permanent secretaries, National Assembly Members, and other similar positions,” Jallow stated.
He added that, “Apart from them, if anybody requests a diplomatic passport, it goes through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which would advise His Excellency President, whether to issue it or not. That’s the procedure,” he said.
He also noted that certain honorary consuls—though not Gambian nationals—are entitled to diplomatic passports due to the nature of their roles.
“Honorable Speaker, I wish to inform this August Assembly that there are honorary consuls of this country who are not Gambian nationals, and because of that position, they are also entitled to diplomatic passports; that is one of the reasons why I humbly refer the Assembly to the Immigration Department,” he said.
VP Jallow further disclosed that numerous diplomatic passports have been cancelled since 2017, particularly in cases flagged by intelligence sources.
“I know that from 2017, there have been a lot of diplomatic passports that were cancelled. So, it is only the Immigration Department that can give that information. There have been a lot of passports that have been cancelled
“Honorable Speaker, for information of this August Assembly, normally it is only when we have issues coming through intelligence sources that there is a need to either cancel a particular diplomatic passport,” he said
The Vice President concluded by reiterating that the Immigration Department remains the appropriate authority to furnish the National Assembly with detailed information regarding diplomatic passport issuance and status. “So, it is only the Immigration Department who have that information; the Office of the President does not have that information,” he concluded.
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