It was announced this morning that Matthew Jallow, a seasoned journalist and well-known leader in the Gambia’s struggle to bring democracy back and remove despot Yahya Jammeh, has passed away. His legacy is one of bravery and tenacity in the fight for freedom and justice.

Matthew, as everyone likes to call him, is from Sare Gainako, which is in the Central River region. Before relocating to the U.S, in Wisconsin, he was employed as a journalist for the Daily Observer. In the U.S, he committed his time, intelligence, and resources to opposing Yahya Jammeh’s regime and the APRC.

Matthew Jallow was a real inspiration to everyone and one of the driving forces in what many Gambians now call “the struggle.” He was the picture of tenacity and unwavering resolve to persevere in the face of hardship. He didn’t depend on others to support him in his struggle for freedom and justice since he believed in his principles.

In “The Anthology of a Gambian Exile Dissident,” a book he wrote, he compiled a list of all the victims of dictator Jammeh. It was simple to deliver the case-raising scream against Jammeh and his goons to the international community because of Matthew’s meticulous documentation.

In the end, this and other initiatives by like-minded Gambians raised public awareness of and condemnation of the horrors carried out by Jammeh and his goons.

In an effort to draw attention to the atrocities and abuses taking place in The Gambia, Matthew petitioned numerous organizations, including the UN Secretary General.

The people of The Gambia will always look up to him as a symbol of hope. Even in the final hours of his life, Matthew Jallow never wavered in his pursuit of justice and awareness-raising efforts for the preservation of human rights and democracy in The Gambia.

On his Facebook page, Matthew wrote, as a memorial to future generations, “Gambians spent over two decades fighting to remove a dictator from power. For those of us in the heart of the struggle, it sometimes felt like an impossible task. Figuratively, it felt like trying to move a mountain. In the end, we succeeded, but not before the totally unnecessary and completely avoidable loss of human life and economic plunder. But the blunders Gambians made along the way and after, to this day, are what I’ll try to capture as a founding leader in what became the global movement against Yahya Jammeh. We made fatal errors that continue to haunt us to this day due either to a lack of foresight, ignorance, or both.”

Matthew, may you rest in peace. Gambians will always remember and cherish the good work you did and the legacy you left behind. The Gambia Journal presents its condolences to Matthew’s family.