The Solo Sandeng Foundation (SSF) has issued a strong condemnation of the arrest and detention of peaceful protesters and journalists in Banjul earlier today, following a demonstration organized by the group Gambians Against Looted Assets. The protest was sparked by a 1 May 2025 investigative report by The Republic newspaper, which exposed the alleged reckless sale of assets belonging to The Gambia’s former president.
SSF highlighted that the protesters had sought a permit for the demonstration, a right enshrined under Section 25 of the 1997 Constitution of The Gambia, which guarantees freedom of assembly, speech, and expression. However, the Inspector General of Police denied the permit without explanation, raising alarms about transparency and the erosion of civil liberties.
The foundation drew parallels to the 2016 arrest and murder of its namesake, Solo Sandeng, who was killed for advocating electoral reform through peaceful protest. “It is both disturbing and unacceptable that a decade after his brutal killing, young people in this country are still being arrested for exercising the very rights he died defending,” the statement read. SSF also decried the arrest of journalists covering the protest, calling it a direct attack on press freedom and democratic governance.
SSF demanded the immediate and unconditional release of all detained protesters and journalists. It further called on the government to comply with the Access to Information Act 2021 by publishing a detailed list of buyers involved in the asset sales. “A government that fears scrutiny betrays the very people it claims to serve,” the foundation stated.
In solidarity with those detained, SSF vowed to continue defending Gambians’ rights to speak truth to power “peacefully, boldly, and without fear.”
