Gambiaj.com – (BANJUL, The Gambia) – Members of the civil society group Gambians Against Looted Assets (GALA) who were standing trial over an alleged unlawful assembly at the National Audit Office (NAO) have been cleared to walk free after a Banjul court ruled that the prosecution failed to establish that an unlawful assembly took place.
Principal Magistrate Sallah Mbye, delivering her ruling on a no case to answer submission filed on behalf of the accused, found that the police had not proven that GALA members gathered at the NAO in a manner that met the legal threshold for an unlawful assembly. The magistrate consequently held that the accused had no case to answer and could not be called upon to defend themselves against the charge.
The ruling followed a submission filed by defense counsel L.S. Camara, who had argued that the prosecution’s evidence was insufficient to sustain the charge against his clients.
Background to the Case
The matter traces back to September 2025, when Gambian police arrested five members and senior figures of GALA outside the NAO in Banjul. The arrests occurred during what had been billed as a press conference, which was followed by protests outside the institution’s premises.
The demonstrations were sparked by the forceful removal of Auditor General Modou Ceesay from his office by law enforcement officers. Mr. Ceesay’s removal followed a controversial cabinet reshuffle by President Adama Barrow, in which the president sought to reassign him to the Ministry of Trade.
GALA activists strongly opposed the reassignment at the time, describing it as a move that threatened to undermine the independence of the NAO and shield state institutions from scrutiny over allegations of corruption.
Their attempt to publicly voice this opposition outside the NAO led to their arrest and subsequent arraignment on charges of unlawful assembly.
With the court’s latest ruling, the case against the GALA members effectively collapses on the unlawful assembly charge, marking a significant legal victory for the group and reigniting public debate over the independence of the Auditor General’s office and the treatment of civic activism in The Gambia.
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