United Democratic Party (UDP) leader Lawyer Ousainu Darboe has issued a heartfelt appeal to President Adama Barrow, urging the release of youths detained during recent electricity protests. Darboe warned that failure to address the grievances of demonstrators could further inflame tensions and damage the government’s reputation.
Speaking directly to the President, Darboe emphasized that his intervention was not political but born out of concern as an elderly Gambian citizen. “Please, Mr. President, let us contain this situation. Let us not allow it to go out of hand,” he said.
The 70-year-old opposition leader acknowledged that public order laws require permits for demonstrations but criticized the authorities’ heavy-handed response. He suggested that protesters could have been escorted to the President’s office to present their petition before being asked to disperse. “Sometimes morals do defeat law,” Darboe noted, arguing that the youths’ actions, though unlawful in the eyes of authorities, were morally justified.
Darboe urged Barrow to listen to the demands being raised, stressing that some of the concerns had previously been voiced by individuals within Barrow’s own government. He warned that treating the protests solely as a challenge to presidential authority would be a mistake, and instead encouraged the administration to use the moment to demonstrate transparency. “Responding to those demands in a positive way is really telling the people that my government is transparent and you have nothing to hide,” he said.
The UDP leader appealed for detained youths to be released and for prosecutors to drop charges against them. He cautioned that rigid enforcement of the law could produce consequences harmful to the country. “The law authorises certain things to be done, but then the doing of them can have negative results,” he explained.
Darboe’s call comes amid growing public frustration over electricity shortages and demonstrations in parts of the country. He urged the President to take steps to calm the situation, arguing that releasing the detained youths and engaging with their concerns would help repair damage to the government’s reputation. “If you do so now, you will be doing a lot of damage control as far as the reputation of your government is concerned,” he said.
Concluding his appeal, Darboe stressed unity and restraint, urging Barrow to avoid decisions driven by impulse. “Let us put our heads together,” he said, “and act in the best interest of the country.”
