{"id":88090,"date":"2025-10-15T19:06:15","date_gmt":"2025-10-15T19:06:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/uncategorized\/madi-jobarteh-says-gambias-laws-protect-the-powerful-punish-the-poor"},"modified":"2025-10-15T19:43:32","modified_gmt":"2025-10-15T19:43:32","slug":"madi-jobarteh-says-gambias-laws-protect-the-powerful-punish-the-poor","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/madi-jobarteh-says-gambias-laws-protect-the-powerful-punish-the-poor","title":{"rendered":"Madi Jobarteh Says Gambia\u2019S Laws Protect the Powerful, Punish the Poor"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Gambia. <\/strong><\/span>Prominent human rights activist, Madi Jobarteh, has accused The Gambia\u2019s legal system of protecting the powerful while punishing the poor.<\/b><\/p>\n

He called for an urgent overhaul of what he described as \u201cunreasonable and colonial-era laws\u201d that continue to undermine justice and good governance.<\/p>\n

In a statement shared yesterday, Jobarteh, a member of the Edward Francis Small Centre for Rights and Justice, said many of the country\u2019s laws \u201ccontradict the Constitution, offend common sense, and are selectively enforced to shield the elite while crushing the weak.\u201d<\/p>\n

He argued that instead of advancing justice, these laws have created inequality, corruption, and fear, locking the nation \u201cin a permanent state of underdevelopment.\u201d<\/p>\n

Citing examples, Jobarteh pointed to the Public Order Act, the Criminal Code, and the Elections Act, describing them as \u201ctools of control rather than instruments of justice.\u201d He noted that while poor citizens are often arrested or imprisoned for minor offenses such as cannabis possession, influential figures \u201cenjoy impunity for similar or worse conduct.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOur drug laws destroy the lives of poor farmers and youths,\u201d he said, \u201cyet the powerful freely smoke cannabis in offices and drive luxury vehicles without fear of arrest.\u201d<\/p>\n

The activist also criticized sections of the Criminal Code that make it an offense to insult public officials, saying such laws \u201cshield those in power from scrutiny\u201d and violate the principles of free expression.<\/p>\n

He further questioned why prisoners and Gambians abroad remain disenfranchised, despite their constitutional right to vote, arguing that democracy loses legitimacy when it excludes citizens who sustain the nation through remittances.<\/p>\n

Jobarteh warned that the failure to reform outdated and inconsistent laws has kept The Gambia trapped in the same colonial governance structures it inherited at independence. \u201cWe cannot build a just and peaceful nation on laws designed to control, not to serve,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

He called on authorities to align national laws with human rights standards, ensure accountability for public officials, and end the selective enforcement of justice.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe soul of a nation is found in its laws,\u201d Jobarteh concluded. \u201cToday, our laws reveal not our civility, but our injustice.\u201d<\/p>\n

For More News And Analysis About Gambia<\/span> Follow Africa-Press<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Gambia. Prominent human rights activist, Madi Jobarteh, has accused The Gambia\u2019s legal system of protecting the powerful while punishing the poor. He called for an urgent overhaul of what he described as \u201cunreasonable and colonial-era laws\u201d that continue to undermine justice and good governance. In a statement shared yesterday, Jobarteh, a member of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":88089,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,3],"tags":[260],"class_list":["post-88090","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-community","tag-gambia"],"yoast_head":"\nMadi Jobarteh Says Gambia\u2019S Laws Protect the Powerful, Punish the Poor - Gambia<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Prominent human rights activist, Madi Jobarteh, has accused The Gambia\u2019s legal system of protecting the powerful whil ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/madi-jobarteh-says-gambias-laws-protect-the-powerful-punish-the-poor\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Madi Jobarteh Says Gambia\u2019S Laws Protect the Powerful, Punish the Poor\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Prominent human rights activist, Madi Jobarteh, has accused The Gambia\u2019s legal system of protecting the powerful whil ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/madi-jobarteh-says-gambias-laws-protect-the-powerful-punish-the-poor\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Gambia\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AfricaPressTunisiaa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-10-15T19:06:15+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-10-15T19:43:32+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/gambia\/sites\/19\/2025\/10\/sm_1760544778.649901.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1280\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"720\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/madi-jobarteh-says-gambias-laws-protect-the-powerful-punish-the-poor#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/madi-jobarteh-says-gambias-laws-protect-the-powerful-punish-the-poor\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"Madi Jobarteh Says Gambia\u2019S Laws Protect the Powerful, Punish the Poor\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-10-15T19:06:15+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-10-15T19:43:32+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/madi-jobarteh-says-gambias-laws-protect-the-powerful-punish-the-poor\"},\"wordCount\":373,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/madi-jobarteh-says-gambias-laws-protect-the-powerful-punish-the-poor#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/gambia\/sites\/19\/2025\/10\/sm_1760544778.649901.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Gambia\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"community\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/madi-jobarteh-says-gambias-laws-protect-the-powerful-punish-the-poor#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/madi-jobarteh-says-gambias-laws-protect-the-powerful-punish-the-poor\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/madi-jobarteh-says-gambias-laws-protect-the-powerful-punish-the-poor\",\"name\":\"Madi Jobarteh Says Gambia\u2019S Laws Protect the Powerful, Punish the Poor - 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