Police forcibly take away Gambian auditor basic in reshuffle row

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Momodou Ceesay has challenged the president’s authority in a rare act of defiance [Kerr Fatou]

Police have bodily eliminated The Gambia’s auditor basic, Momodou Ceesay, from his workplace after he refused to surrender the submit, in a authorities reshuffle carried out by President Adama Barrow.

Ceesay, who has spent nearly three years as auditor basic within the West African state, says he had turned down Barrow’s latest supply to grow to be commerce minister.

But the president insists that Ceesay initially agreed, however later modified his thoughts.

The row has angered many Gambians, with some accusing the president of making an attempt to interchange Ceesay with somebody who will defend him from corruption allegations.

The president has promoted the Director of Inner Audit, Cherno Amadou Sowe, to the submit of auditor basic, however he has not reported to work following the general public backlash.

On Monday, plain-clothes police had been despatched to the auditor basic’s workplace to arrest Ceesay and set up his successor.

However Ceesay’s employees confronted the officers and stalled them, in scenes that had been broadcast stay on the social media accounts of native information retailers.

It was not till back-up forces arrived that the auditor basic was lastly ejected from a press convention he was giving and escorted out of the advanced to his lawyer’s workplace.

This motion triggered a swift response from younger folks, who referred to as on the president to reinstate Ceesay, and threatened to take to the streets within the outskirts of the capital, Banjul, till their calls for had been met.

“He refused your appointment. Now you forcibly take away him out of the workplace? Are the Gambian folks not watching?” requested Gambian activist Kemo Fatty, expressing his fury in a clip which is circulating on-line.

“If the auditor basic doesn’t return to workplace right now, President Barrow will depart the State Home right now,” he threatened.

Fatty and one other anti-corruption activist, Alieu Bah, had been later arrested by police, as they gathered on the nationwide audit workplace and ready for a press convention.

In latest months, Barrow’s authorities has been rocked by quite a few protests following an investigation by a neighborhood newspaper, The Republic, alleging that belongings belonging to the disgraced former President Yahya Jammeh had been distributed amongst shut aides of Barrow. He has denied any wrongdoing.

In a press release, Barrow’s workplace mentioned the federal government remained “firmly dedicated to the rule of legislation, transparency, accountability, and the accountable administration of public funds”.

Ceesay’s appointment as commerce minister was “primarily based solely on his {qualifications} and expertise”, and was not supposed “to intervene with the operations of the Nationwide Audit Workplace”.