Gambiaj.com – (BANJUL) – The Gambia Armed Forces (GAF) has strongly refuted claims of political interference and tribal favoritism in the recent promotion of senior military officers. The rebuttal comes in response to a publication by the social media platform Open Gambia Platform (OG), which alleged that a group of senior GAF officers had decried political interference in the promotion process.

The article, attributed to an anonymous source, alleged that the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) Lieutenant General Mamat Cham, along with other high-ranking officials, conspired to promote officers based on political loyalty rather than merit.

However, the GAF has categorically denied these allegations, stating that the promotions were conducted through a transparent and competitive process. “It is rather unfortunate that, in the twenty-first century some Gambians would be so myopic to judge each other based on parochial considerations such as ethnic or tribal lineage. The allegations in the said article are just the figment of the imagination of the author who is, apparently, either a coward or is not too proud of his identity and goes only by the sobriquet – ANON, whatever that means!” the GAF press release reads.

According to the GAF, the promotions were necessitated by ten vacant positions within its structures that needed to be filled by senior officers at the rank of Colonel. The process involved a request submitted to the Ministry of Defence (MOD) for approval by the executive, followed by the constitution of a Board/Committee to nominate eligible officers.

After a thorough evaluation process, the Defence Headquarters submitted a list of officers eligible for promotion to the MOD, which was subsequently approved by the President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, His Excellency Adama Barrow. The GAF emphasized that promotions, especially to the rank of Colonel and above, are privileges that are highly competitive and based on merit.

The GAF High Command dismissed claims of ethnic or political bias in the promotion process, highlighting the diversity of the promoted officers as evidence to the contrary.

“It must be emphasized that, since the dawn of the new dispensation in 2017, GAF has expended enormous resources and time to sensitize its Officers and soldiers/ratings as well as the general public against promoting vices such as tribal and ethnic sentiments/ identities within its ranks. Suffice it to state that GAF wishes to pride itself as the bastion of unity and the last line of national defence and unity. Accordingly, as an institution, GAF wishes to emphasize that it does not have a policy that classifies any of its personnel along ethnic, religious or partisan lines. Consequently, making such disturbing and baseless references to the outcome of an internal administrative process that is in line with international best practices could not only be described as divisive but callous and dangerous to say the least,”the Gambia Armed Forces press release reads.

The GAF reiterated its commitment to promoting unity and professionalism within its ranks, emphasizing that promotions will be based on merit, commitment, and competence.

The GAF urged the public to disregard the allegations and reaffirmed its dedication to serving the nation with integrity and professionalism. The press release signed by Lieutenant Colonel Lamin K Sanyang, Director of Press and Public Relations of the Gambia Armed Forces also called on patriotic Gambians to support its efforts to maintain unity and eschew divisive tendencies.