The fear of Talib Bensouda is shaking state house

Dear Editor,
For a government that constantly claims to enjoy overwhelming public support, the desperation surrounding Mayor Talib Ahmed Bensouda raises serious questions. Why is the government of President Adama Barrow obsessed with blocking one man from contesting the December presidential election?

The answer is simple: they fear his growing popularity, his performance record, and the hope he represents to thousands of Gambians.

Over the years, Mayor Bensouda has transformed the Kanifing Municipal Council into one of the most visible and active local governments in the country. While many institutions struggle with delivery, KMC has consistently demonstrated innovation, development, and people-centered governance. This growing public confidence has clearly unsettled the Barrow government.

The first major target was KMC’s ambitious road construction initiative. Instead of supporting a project meant to improve the lives of residents, the central government frustrated and blocked the process. Why? Because successful roads in KMC would not only improve communities but also strengthen public belief that Talib Bensouda is capable of leading national development.

Then came the Municipal Transport Project — one of the Mayor’s key campaign promises. KMC established the Kanifing Municipal Transport Company Ltd. and moved to procure 25 buses to ease the transportation burden on ordinary Gambians. Financing arrangements with a local commercial bank were already agreed upon before political interference sabotaged the deal. Once again, national interest appeared secondary to political calculations.

Unable to stop KMC through development obstruction alone, the government shifted to administrative warfare. The Ministry of Local Government established a Ministerial Commission targeting KMC, a move widely criticised as politically motivated and legally questionable. KMC challenged the decision before the Supreme Court  and won. The Commission was scrapped, exposing the weakness of the government’s case.

But the campaign did not end there.

Soon after, President Barrow established another, The Local Government Commission, widely viewed by many observers as yet another attempt to discredit Mayor Bensouda ahead of the presidential election. After months of investigations and public drama, no major damaging evidence emerged against him. Yet reports suggest the findings may be strategically released just before the IEC considers the registration of UMC, in what many see as an effort to poison public perception and delay political momentum.

Now, as UMC moves through the registration process, allegations of continued interference and unnecessary delays continue to surface. The pattern has become difficult to ignore: whenever Talib Bensouda gains momentum, new obstacles suddenly emerge.

But there is a political reality the government may be failing to understand: persecution often creates stronger opposition figures. Every attempt to silence, frustrate, or discredit Mayor Bensouda will only increase public sympathy and strengthen the belief that he represents a genuine challenge to the status quo.

If the Barrow administration truly believes in democracy, then it should allow a free, fair, and open political contest. Democracies are not protected by blocking opponents, frustrating development projects, or weaponising state institutions. They are strengthened by competition, transparency, and the will of the people.

Whether the government likes it or not, one message is becoming increasingly clear across the country: UMC will contest the election, and Gambians themselves, not political interference, will decide who leads the nation in December.

Tombong Saidy
UNITE

Letter from Kotu cell: Gallas writes to the state

Dear Editor,
History shows that prison cells have often failed to silence voices demanding justice. Instead, they have become spaces of documentation, resistance, and political awakening.

Wole Soyinka wrote from detention during the Nigerian Civil War to expose repression and defend truth against authoritarianism. In ‘The Man Died’, he reminded the world that “the man dies in all who keep silent in the face of tyranny.”

Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o similarly transformed imprisonment into resistance. From a Kenyan prison cell, he wrote ‘Detained: A Writer’s Prison Diary’ and drafted ‘Devil on the Cross’ on toilet paper, documenting oppression while inspiring people to defend dignity, freedom, and justice.

Today, the writings of GALA member and activist Gallas Fallou Ceesay from his detention cell at Kotu Police Station carry that same historic significance. His words are not merely personal reflections but they are testimonies of conscience under repression.

From solitary confinement at Kotu Police Station, Gallas Fallou Ceesay issued a defiant message to the Government. He exposed the authorities for targeting GALA for exposing injustice and demanding accountability, and warned against the abuse of state institutions for political ends.

He urged the Government to withdraw the case instead of escalating it through the courts. His prison letter stands as a powerful act of resistance, courage, and documentation.

Prison writings endure because they preserve truth at moments when authorities seek to intimidate, silence, or erase dissent. From Soyinka to Ngũgĩ, and now to Gallas Fallou Ceesay, the written word remains an instrument of resistance that outlives the prison walls.

Free the youths Now. Drop all charges unconditionally.

Madi Jobarteh