Talib Ahmed Bensouda Challenges Police Permit Rules for State House Protests

Talib Ahmed Bensouda has argued that Gambians should be able to hold peaceful demonstrations outside State House without first obtaining a police permit. The UNITE leader and Coalition 2026 presidential candidate made the case while speaking at a rally in Banjul, according to the report. Bensouda based his position on constitutional freedoms of assembly, association and expression. He said citizens should be permitted to gather at the gates with placards, provided they remain peaceful. He also argued that State House belongs to the people of The Gambia, not to President Adama Barrow personally. The mayor criticized Barrow over comments made during the president’s Meet the People Tour in Banjul. Barrow had suggested that people who tried to protest at State House during Yahya Jammeh’s rule could have been shot. Bensouda characterized the remarks as an indication that Barrow’s presidency was approaching its end, and urged him to leave office before the political situation worsened. Bensouda also made allegations about foreign involvement in areas of national governance and security, saying he believed the administration was compromising the country’s sovereignty. He said that, if elected, he would rely on Gambian soldiers for his personal security rather than foreign forces, presenting this as part of a broader call to strengthen national institutions and public confidence in domestic security personnel. During the same remarks, Bensouda claimed that Barrow had travelled to Makamang Kunda after learning that Coalition 2026 was holding its Banjul rally. The article reports this as Bensouda’s claim; it does not independently establish the reason for the president’s trip. Bensouda also expressed confidence in his coalition, as he pressed his case for the right to demonstrate and criticized the president’s handling of the issue.