By: Alieu Ceesay
The trial of three members of the anti-corruption youth group Gambians Against Looted Assets (GALA) continued on Monday at the Kanifing Magistrates’ Court, with the prosecution calling its second witness in the case involving charges of unlawful assembly.
Omar Saibou Camara, Alieu Bah, and Kemo Fatty are facing allegations of unlawful assembly without a permit from the Inspector General of Police. The charges stem from a September 2025 gathering outside the National Audit Office, where activists protested the controversial removal of former Auditor General Momodou (or Modou) Ceesay after he rejected a presidential appointment as Minister of Trade.
The prosecution, led by Commissioner Abdoulie Sanneh of the Gambia Police Force, presented Modou Lamin Corta, the Officer in Charge of Kairaba Police Station, as the second prosecution witness, following Superintendent Dawda Jallow’s earlier testimony.
During his testimony, Corta recounted events leading to the arrest of Alieu Bah. “I asked him to leave near the gate of the Audit Office premises, but he refused,” Corta told the court presided over by Magistrate Sall Mbai. “He said he had the right to be there and that he was not moving. Then the police arrested him, and some general duty officers, along with the Police Intervention Unit (PIU), deployed tear gas.”
The three defendants – Alieu Bah, Omar Saibou Camara, and Kemo Fatty – were all present in court.
Under cross-examination by defence counsel L.S. Camara, the witness confirmed that Bah was in a public place when instructed to leave and that the arrest occurred outside the closed Audit Office premises.
Following the testimony, the witness was discharged. Magistrate Mbai adjourned the case to January 21, 2026, for continuation with the cross-examination of the third prosecution witness.
The case has drawn attention amid broader concerns over freedom of assembly and institutional independence in The Gambia, following the high-profile dismissal and forcible removal of Auditor General Momodou Ceesay in September 2025.
