Gambian president accused of ‘constitutional coup’ over removal of auditor general
A coalition of leading civil society organisations in The Gambia has accused President Adama Barrow of staging a “constitutional coup” after he moved to remove the country’s Auditor General in what they describe as a clear violation of the law.
In a statement delivered by Lamin Dibba of the Centre for Budget and Micro-Economic Transparency, the groups condemned the president’s decision as a direct assault on democracy, the rule of law, and the sovereignty of the Gambian people.
The coalition includes prominent organisations such as Activista, the Gambia National Youth Parliament, Team Gom Sa Bopa, the Solo Sandeng Foundation, Think Young Women, and the Kenya Human Rights Commission, among others.
The activists noted the removal came on September 15, International Day of Democracy, calling it a bitter irony. “On a day meant to honour freedom, justice and dignity, the Government instead chose to undermine constitutionalism and attack the foundations of democracy in The Gambia,” Dibba said.
They stressed that Gambia’s democracy is still fragile, less than a decade after the fall of Yahya Jammeh’s two-decade dictatorship. “The bitter irony is that the very individual who benefited most from the people’s rejection of dictatorship, President Adama Barrow, is now dismantling the same democratic order that brought him to power,” Dibba declared.
Why is the removal unlawful?
According to the 1997 Constitution and the National Audit Office Act of 2015, an Auditor General can only be removed under four conditions: completion of a nine-year tenure, voluntary resignation, attainment of retirement age, or proven incapacity or misconduct confirmed by a tribunal or medical board.
None of these conditions applied, the coalition said, accusing Barrow of deliberately bypassing constitutional safeguards. “This is not a mistake or a misunderstanding. It is a deliberate and calculated assault on accountability, transparency and democratic governance,” Dibba said. The civil society groups warned that if the unlawful interference is allowed to stand, it could set a dangerous precedent, threatening the independence of other independent state institutions.
This story is written and edited by the Global South World team, you can contact us here.
