Gambia: opposition holds rally against corruption

Gambian protesters are gathering to march against corruption through the capital Banjul after a youth group affiliated with the main opposition party called for a demonstration.

Lawyer Ousainu Darboe, the leader of the United Democratic Party (UDP), in a WhatsApp audio had earlier called on supporters to be peaceful ahead of a corruption demonstration slated for Friday.

The UDP Youth Wing recently applied for a police permit for a peaceful procession against corruption. This came after several corruption allegations were reported about government institutions and other local government councils.

Lawyer Darboe called on Gambians to be part of the peaceful demonstration starting from Jah oil in Banjul to the National Assembly in Banjul.

He pointed out that when this kind of activity happens, some criminals always want to capitalise on the occasion to get involved in the crowd and act unlawfully and be destructive. However, the UDP leader said they would be very vigilant to those people while calling on the police to also help in identifying such criminals.

The country's biggest opposition leader emphasised that everyone knows that UDP is a law-abiding party, calling on the party militants to follow the rule of law, ignore insults and other confrontations.

"I call on Gambians who are concerned about corruption to join us, especially the UDP supporters," he added. "The demonstration will start from 11 a.m to 2 pm. Everyone should come out to show their concerns on corruption."