Africa-Press – Gambia. Essa Mbye Faal, the lead counsel of the Truth, Reconciliation, and Reparations Commission (TRRC) and leader of the APP Sobeyaa political party, has accused President Adama Barrow’s government of mishandling the controversy surrounding former President Yahya Jammeh’s declared intention to return to The Gambia.
In an interview on Bitilo with journalist Nfally Fadera, Mr. Faal declined to state whether Mr. Jammeh should be arrested upon his return, saying that such a decision rests solely with the government.
“I do not want to offer a personal opinion because it would be unfair. I am not in power; it is them in power. It is they who have asked the Gambian people that they can manage things. Clearly, they are not handling the matter properly,” Mr. Faal said.
Mr. Faal said the government’s response to Mr. Jammeh’s pronouncements has been marked by confusion and political calculation rather than clear policy. He accused the Barrow administration of “playing political football with the future of the country and its peace and security.”
According to Mr. Faal, President Barrow’s primary concern is securing re-election rather than maintaining principled governance. “And that is why they have that alliance with APRC,” he said, referring to Mr. Jammeh’s former ruling party. “That is the body they previously viewed as toxic, and when they entered into that alliance, they became their best bedfellows.”
He noted that the Alliance for Patriotic Reorientation and Construction (APRC) now holds significant influence within the Barrow administration, including the positions of Speaker and Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly.
Mr. Faal argued that President Barrow has demonstrated a willingness to align with any political group that guarantees electoral victory, regardless of moral or democratic considerations. “So Barrow would go to bed with any of these groups that assured him of victory without regard to any values that one would think one should consider in making these decisions,” he said.
The former TRRC counsel concluded by criticizing the government’s broader record, saying it has failed Gambians on multiple fronts. “They have sunk our economy to the lowest debt;” he said. “It is about time. Enough is enough.“
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