Angry residents turn Mayor's office into rubbish dump in Gambia

Angry residents in Gambia’s Kanifing municipality turned their mayor’s office into a rubbish dump over the weekend in protest against poor waste management in the area.

According to local media, the residents of Bakoteh and Manjai blame the city council of mismanaging the municipality’s main Bakoteh dump site, exposing them to health risks.

#Gambia: Vendors from biggest market, Serrekunda, unload trucks load of garbage KMC Mayor office, protest over admin failure in waste mgt pic.twitter.com/evvyjwIY0B

— Alhagie Jobe (freejobe39) July 8, 2017

They subsequently blocked the Bakoteh dump site leaving rubbish trucks and other residents stranded.

Traders from the main Serrekunda Market in the municipality were reported to have dumped the pile of rubbish in front of the Mayor’s office on Saturday after they were blocked.

The police brought the standoff under control and two people were arrested on Saturday as they opened the dump site, Fatu Network reported.

The Mayor Yankuba Colley told the media that he is meeting with government authorities on the issue.