By: Kemo Kanyi
The National Assembly Member for Foni Kansala, Almamy Gibba, has claimed that he was offered millions of dalasi and promises of privilege if he withdrew the private member bill that he introduced in the legislature for the decriminalization of FGM.
The Gambia government criminalized FGM in 2015 and some years down the line, the Gambia government adopted a four-year national strategy and policy (2022–2026) to end the practice in the country by 2030.
In 2024, NAM Gibba triggered intense national and international debate when he sponsored a private member bill, agitating for the repeal of the anti-FGM law.
Gibba found himself again at the centre of another intense national debate as he was, alongside other legislators, accused of receiving bribe from President Barrow to vote against the enfranchisement of Gambians in the diaspora.
However, the Foni Kansala lawmaker said in an interview with Kerr Fatou that he worked for GAMTEL for decades before foraying into politics. Gibba stated that he left the national telecommunications company at a managerial level, adding that he was promised millions and visas for his family if he withdrew the pro-FGM bill.
“Look, I want to make this very clear to those accusing me of receiving money from the President to vote against the diaspora voting clause. When I was fighting to repeal the ban on female circumcision, I received a D5 million offer and a promise to secure visas for all my family members to travel to the West, but I declined these offers. I was called in a secret meeting with an organisation that offered D10 million cash for me to withdraw my private member bill. This was a time when the people of the country needed me a lot. So, I rejected all these. Why would I accept any monetary offers from Barrow?” he stated.
He claimed that some of his colleagues at the National Assembly even told him that he did not want to achieve anything meaningful in life.
“If I was someone willing to live on bribes, I would have been a millionaire by now,” maintained Gibba.
He stated that the minority caucus cannot make any headway in the Parliament unless they change their approach to things, emphasizing that the minority members, including Central Baddibu’s Sulayman Saho, only put the interests of their various parties first and never willing to consider the interest of other minority groups.