Africa-Press – Gambia. Ahmad Gitteh, a senior figure in the National People’s Party, warned this week that while Gambians have an unquestionable constitutional right to protest, that right must be exercised within the bounds of public safety and order.
Speaking in an interview with Kerr Fatou, Mr. Gitteh voiced firm support for peaceful demonstrations, calling protest “a guaranteed right in our constitution.” But he emphasized that such freedoms come with responsibilities—both for citizens and for the state.
“I never say protest is a problem and will never say that protest is a problem,” he said. “Protest is guaranteed in our constitution, but the issue is that it has to be orderly. And that orderliness of the protest is the responsibility of an institution of The Gambia.”
Mr. Gitteh backed the government’s decision to give the police authority to review and approve proposed demonstrations, describing the move as a matter of practical necessity. Police, he argued, are best placed to determine appropriate times and locations.
“They are the ones who know what time and which place are appropriate for a protest to happen,” he said. “If you see the government ordering that the police be in charge of accepting or denying protests, I think there are reasons.”
Without such oversight, he warned, demonstrations could obstruct essential services. “If we all come and sit in the street, where sick people go to the hospital, pregnant women will go to the hospital… people go there with different intentions,” he said, suggesting that unregulated gatherings could compromise public access and safety.
Mr. Gitteh also expressed confidence in reforms underway within the security sector, noting that the process is “indeed ongoing and is progressing.”
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