By Enyichukwu Enemanna
Gambia’s police have announced that no further protests will be allowed in the West African nation without permits, after authorities used tear gas earlier in the week to disperse crowds that had formed to vent their anger over prolonged power cuts during the hottest months of the year.
The protests over multiple nights highlighted frustration with President Adama Barrow ahead of elections in December.
“From this very moment, nobody is allowed to protest without an approved permit,” Seedy Mukhtar Touray, Gambia’s inspector general of police, said in a statement late Thursday.
He added, “Nobody is allowed to converge, cause havoc, distort the peace and tranquility of the nation, especially during the night. Any violation to this will be met with necessary force.”
During the unrest earlier this week, a police post was vandalised and “detainees were unlawfully released from custody”, Touray said, while the national utility, National Water and Electricity Company Ltd (NAWEC), said it had closed three branches after attacks severely damaged buildings, infrastructure and office equipment.
The mayor of Kanifing Municipality, Talib Ahmed Bensouda in an interview said he understood why protesters were upset.
“If you can’t sit in your house because of the heat. If you don’t have [a generator] to do basic business or even to carry out informal activities… you’re forced to take the matter to the streets,” Bensouda, who plans to challenge Barrow in the December election said. “That’s not something we support, but we understand the matter.”
NAWEC said in a statement on August 15 that it was experiencing “an unforeseen surge in electricity demand during the peak period,” which it attributed to high temperatures.
President Barrow visited NAWEC facilities on Tuesday morning and promised that Gambia would receive new generators this week and restore electricity by the end of October.
He said the government was in the final stage of installing an additional 24-megawatt generation machine and that it awarded a contract for a 50-MW solar power plant.
Bensouda however faulted Barrow for relying too much on energy imports, leaving Gambia exposed to global supply disruptions.
“Youths are frustrated, and I think not just about energy, they’re frustrated about a lot of things,” Bensouda said. “There’s a lack of opportunity and this is what’s driving irregular migration to Europe.”
