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Momodou
Denmark
11832 Posts |
 Posted - 29 Apr 2026 : 10:02:42
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Barrow’s third term bid: The elephant in the room of Gambia’s TJ process
By Baba Galleh Jallow, former Executive Secretary, TRRC
An event of extraordinary significance in the world of transitional justice recently took place in the United States. An ambassadorial meeting of the UN Peace Building Commission (PBC) convened to watch a Spotlight Documentary on The Gambia’s transitional justice process, and listen to remarks by our Attorney General and Minister of Justice on the successes, current status, and challenges of our transitional justice process.
Following AG Dawda Jallow’s remarks, ambassador after ambassador of countries currently sitting on the Peacebuilding Commission, and three non-member ambassadors took the floor. Each ambassador warmly congratulated The Gambia and praised our transitional justice success story. They all hailed it as a model of global best practice, urged sustained political will, and pledged support for a successful continuation of the process. These ambassadors are not the only international actors praising The Gambia’s TJ process. Gambian TJ practitioners are now routinely invited to international events and conferences to share lessons learned from our transitional justice process. In essence, and against all odds, Gambia’s transitional justice process is now globally hailed as a model of best TJ practice.
Watching the PBC meeting on the Gambian TJ strategy evoked a feeling that all practitioners and keen observers of our transitional justice feel anytime there is a loud crescendo of praise for our success in this high-precision demanding endeavor. Often, at international transitional justice events, participants ask the question that evokes this uneasy feeling: “What about your president? Is he still seeking a third term?” A sigh of disappointment always follows the obvious yes answer. Then a variation of the usual refrain, “ah! African presidents!” After watching a video of the PBC ambassadorial meeting, a colleague of mine asked me, “what about the president? Is he still running for a third term?” When I answered in the affirmative, my colleague remarked, “That is a bit the elephant in the room of this PBC meeting.” But of course, due to the ironclad protocols of international diplomacy, none of the PBC diplomats mentioned it in their remarks!
Barrow’s third term bid was not only an elephant in the room of the PBC meeting; it is an elephant in the room of our transitional justice process that evokes palpable tension between Barrow’s rhetoric of political will and commitment to renewal and progress, and his desire to stay in power. Gambia’s success in implementing a world class truth-seeking process is globally celebrated, but Barrow’s third term bid is frowned upon both at home and in international circles. While Barrow’s third term bid may offer some level of continuity of his work as president, it represents a stain on our transitional justice process and has the potential to create insecurity and nullify the country’s democratic gains under his government. Overstaying in power could only mean that those unhealthy aspects of Gambian political culture that enabled the Jammeh dictatorship will thrive and the country will stay stuck or gradually slide back into a culture authoritarianism, impunity and sit-tightism! And Barrow may eventually end up living in exile too, just like Jammeh! Reality is no respecter of persons or positions.
Those who, out of selfish personal interests, declare that Barrow’s third term bid is not debatable because it is constitutionally guaranteed mistake the shadow for the substance. When legality threatens the national interest and jeopardizes the broader aspirations and wellbeing of the citizens, it shrinks to de facto legality, a contradiction in terms. A law that holds an entire country hostage to the personal ambitions of a leader is an unjust law. History shows that most of the worst atrocities committed by governments against their citizens are committed through legal means. Witness the draconian decrees and other bad laws Jammeh used to oppress the Gambian people. Witness the Public Order Act, a law initially passed by a colonial government to muzzle the aspirations for freedom of the Gambian people, still being used to arrest and prosecute peaceful, independent Gambian protesters. The issue here is therefore not a debate as to whether Barrow has the constitutional right to seek a third term. Rather, it is a debate as to whether Barrow has the right to sacrifice the Gambia’s transitional justice process and the country’s sustained growth and stability on the altar of his personal desire to keep enjoying being president.
Barrow’s third term bid is an elephant in room of Gambia’s transitional justice process because it normalizes the politically destructive notion that a sitting president can choose to personalize his office and stay in power for as long as the constitution permits and as long as he can win elections. The absence of term limits in a post-Jammeh Gambia calls into serious question Barrow’s commitment to real transition from self-perpetuating rule. Term limits were at the heart of the struggle against Jammeh’s dictatorship; they animated the spirit of Coalition 2016; they were among the highest expectations of the Gambian people who voted for Barrow and resisted Jammeh’s desire to nullify their voices by refusing to accept electoral defeat; and they were a favorite topic of the early President Barrow. Today, term limits remain at the heart of our transitional justice process. Barrow’s third term bid therefore represents a symbolic slap on the face of the Gambian people and makes it near-impossible to consolidate our democratic gains and sustain the narrative of success currently enjoyed by our transitional justice process. If there was ever an elephant in a room, this is it!
The bottom-line is that Barrow’s third term bid represents a narrative of political permanence that is sharply contradictory and at odds with the aspirations of the Gambian nation as nation. It represents a dark stain on our admirable progress since 2017. In very practical ways, by seeking a third term in office, Barrow is retraumatizing Gambians who, collectively, were victims of a careless, self-perpetuating leader. The lessons of our transitional justice process are not only for ordinary Gambians and the international community: they are also for whoever occupies the Office of President of The Republic of The Gambia. Lessons learned are lessons lived or lessons lost! #NeverAgain!!
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A clear conscience fears no accusation - proverb from Sierra Leone |
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Barrow’s third term bid: The elephant in the room
