Gambiaj.com – (Banjul, the Gambia)- On August 22, 2025, 23 youths were arrested by members of the Gambia Police Force (GPF) while protesting the Gambia Utilities Regulatory Authority’s (PURA) new internet tariff floor, which received widespread condemnation.
PURA’s new tariff is said to have increased internet costs by 275% and limited digital access for many Gambians, particularly students and small businesses.
Expressing their dissatisfaction with PURA, the Edward Francis Small Centre for Rights and Justice (EFCRJ, Team Gom Sa Bopa, and Gambians Against Looted Assets (GALA) peacefully protested at the PURA car park against its decision to enforce a minimum tariff of D50 per gigabyte for mobile data.
The peaceful gathering then turned chaotic when the members of the Police Intervention Unit (PIU) started arresting these peaceful protesters.
On the 25th of August, 2025, they were arraigned before Magistrate Thomas Touray of the Kanifing Magistrates’ Court. The youth were charged with one count of offence of control of procession contrary to section 5 subsection 5 of the Public Order Act.
All 23 youths pleaded not guilty to the charge levelled against them. Their lawyers then filed a bail application for them to be released on bail. Despite no objection from the prosecution, Magistrate Touray ordered the youths to be remanded at the Mile Two Central Prison and adjourned the case to the 4th of September 2025 for him to deliver a ruling on the application.
However, following the filing of a motion on notice dated the 26th of August 2025, the youths were granted bail.
Magistrate Thomas Touray then adjourned the case to the 11th of September 2025 for the hearing of the case.
Barely 72 hours to their appearance before the court, the Edward Francis Small Centre for Rights and Justice (EFCRJ, Team Gom Sa Bopa, and Gambians Against Looted Assets (GALA) called on the government of the Gambia to drop the charges against the protesters.
The Anti-PURA new tariff coalition said these 23 youths facing criminal charges were not arraigned in court within 72 hours as stipulated by section 19 of the Gambia’s 1997 Constitution.
In addition to this, the reaction by the youth was prompted by the decision to remand some 23 youths in Mile 2 for bailable offences, which the coalition said can only be described as a misdemeanour at worst.
“We strongly believe this punishment contradicts the tenets of common law, which presumes every accused person is innocent before being proven guilty. Remanding 23 youths in Mile 2 for over 3 days when they have never been convicted of any crime hints that their right to liberty was infringed, something we consider a serious lapse in the state’s duty of care,” Ms. Fatou S. Endure, a member of EFCRJ, told Journalists at a press conference on behalf of the coalition.
Ms. Ndure, believes the fact that all the youths remain under charges of unlawful procession, unlawful assembly and idle loitering before the police and the court, “thereby making them political prisoners.”
“Together with our allies, we condemn these arrests and charges as a violation of the youths’ constitutional right to peaceful assembly and petition the executive, as protected under the 1997 Constitution and international human rights laws,” she said
Ms. Ndure further told Journalists that the Coalition finds it deeply concerning and unacceptable that citizens calling for accountability are met with repression and criminalisation, while public officials implicated in audit reports, parliamentary findings, and regulatory failures continue to operate with impunity.
She described this as a selective application of the law that undermines democracy, justice, and public trust in state institutions.
She stressed that similar gatherings and political assemblies have been allowed to proceed without permits or interference, highlighting a troubling double standard in the enforcement of the law.
Ms. Ndure asserted that such inconsistency and bias threaten national unity, peace, and security.
“In view of the foregoing, we therefore demand the Immediate and unconditional dropping of all charges against the 44 youths, Respect for the right to peaceful assembly and protest as enshrined in the Constitution and regional and international human rights treaties, which are ratified by the Gambia,” Ms. Ndure told the Journalists on behalf of the coalition.
The coalition further demands an independent review of PURA’s operations and accountability to the Gambian people.
The coalition also demanded equal and fair application of the law to all, including public officials, implicated in corruption or misconduct.
Ms. Ndure said the arrests and persecution of 44 young Gambians protesting against PURA’s data floor price represent more than just a crackdown on a single demonstration. These actions, she believed, pose serious dangers to The Gambia’s democracy, civic space, and accountability systems.
“We wish to alert citizens to be vigilant, bearing in mind that if the government continues to suppress civic voices, then the civic space will collapse, democratic backsliding will accelerate, and corruption and inefficiency will become entrenched in our country,” she said.
To prevent this, Ms. Ndure, reminds citizens and the Government in particular of its obligation under the Constitution and international human rights instruments, including the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, to protect citizens’ rights, and not to suppress them.
“The arrest and persecution of these youths are unjust, unlawful, and undemocratic. The Gambia cannot claim to be a democracy while silencing the voices of dissent and protecting those who abuse power,” she said.
During the question and answer session, the coalition told Journalists that they will not open dialogue with the government when their members are still being charged.
“We have made this clear that the beginning of any negotiation with the government is to drop the charges against the 44 people. We have been talking to the executive and we made it very clear to them that you cannot incarcerate me and you want to negotiate with me,” Omar Saibo Camara, Spokesperson of GALA, told Journalists on behalf of the coalition.
Mr. Camara said the government has the law and they have what it takes to drop the charges against them. He said the government must drop the charges and they will sit at a table with them, stressing that until the charges are removed or dropped, no negotiation will be held.
Mr. Camara further reiterated that charges must be dropped, and then the coalition will consider having negotiations with the government.
“I cannot see somebody who is incarcerating me. I am right now under police custody myself, why would I sit with the police or the state that incarcerates me to have any negotiations?” Mr. Camara questioned the government’s intention of having a dialogue with them.
On the 29th of August 2025, during the press conference, Dr. Ismaila Ceesay, Minister of Information, Media and Broadcasting Service, told the gathering that his government is encouraging GALA and other citizens to explore diplomatic means of addressing concerns rather than going out to protest.
The coalition is ready to have dialogue but they only want to dialogue when charges against their members are dropped.
”At the end of the day, negotiation itself is part of advocacy. So we don’t want to dismiss negotiations, but we don’t want to negotiate with anybody that put us behind bars, have charges on us, and have the charges stayed, until I am safe, I am not negotiating,” Mr. Camara said.
