Africa-Press – Gambia. Human rights activist Madi Jobarteh, who also serves as the Executive Director of the Edward Francis Small Center for Rights and Justice (EFSCRJ), has accused the Gambian government of fostering hate speech and promoting a culture of insults in the country’s political discourse.
“The entity encouraging hate speech, politics of insult, and deception is the government itself,” Jobarteh asserted during an interview on Kerr Fatou on Thursday.
He argued that the president, cabinet ministers, and advisers should set an example by upholding integrity, decency, and the rule of law in their conduct. Instead, he said, they have contributed to an environment of personal attacks and divisive rhetoric that distracts from pressing national issues.
Jobarteh expressed frustration that critical matters affecting Gambians—such as governance, development, and public welfare—are being overshadowed by partisan insults and personal attacks.
“We are a multi-party democracy; that is what the constitution provides. Political parties are legitimate legal entities, especially registered political parties,” he said. “So in that context, the idea of calling a political opponent a liar, an escort girl, or someone who did not finish his or her education is completely irrelevant,” Jobarteh stated.
He described such behavior as undermining democratic values and detracting from meaningful political debate. “So it needs to be addressed. The ruling party, President Barrow, and his allies should be called out to stop it,” he stressed.
Jobarteh also criticized laws that criminalize insults against the president and public officials while leaving ordinary citizens unprotected. “All these highlight that our republic is in sickness, and we have said this at EFSCRJ: we do not have a republic yet, and we have a state that is fraud, existing only for those who work inside the state,” he remarked.
He accused the government of misusing public resources to benefit officials at the expense of the general population. “Public resources are being wasted on individuals simply because they work in the state, when the masses of our people are sitting there not having quality goods and services as they should,” Jobarteh said.
Jobarteh highlighted concerns over the misuse of public resources, pointing to excessive spending on personal benefits for government officials while essential services such as electricity, transportation, and healthcare remain severely underfunded. He stressed that this pattern of misallocation must come to an end.
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