𝐎𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐨𝐧: 𝐅𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐋𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐆𝐀𝐋𝐀, 𝐎𝐦𝐚𝐫 𝐂𝐚𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐚 𝐌𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐧

I have been following the allegation of financial misappropriation that Dr. Ismaila Ceesay levelled against Omar Saibo Camara of GALA.

Initially, I didn’t think much of it. I assumed it was simply a relationship between a mentor and a mentee that had gone sour, the kind of private falling-out that has nothing to do with public life.

That assumption no longer holds.

Omar first denied the allegation. He then returned with an admission albeit for a smaller sum: 12,000 Dalasi, against the 50,000 Dr. Ceesay says was involved. He has since refunded the money.

Whether it is a Dalasi or a butut, the number was never really the point. The public perception has already been set, and perception is the currency GALA trades in.

Omar built his public identity as a clean anti-corruption campaigner, the young man unafraid to stand between ordinary Gambians and the officials who loot their institutions.

That identity cannot coexist with an admission that he took money meant for clean drinking water and sanitation for schoolchildren, failed to deliver the project, and only settled the matter after it became a public embarrassment on Facebook.

Dr. Ceesay’s interview did more than surface a personal dispute. It created an image of a man speaking from both sides of his mouth; one side condemning corruption on a microphone, the other side quietly sitting on money meant for children who have no microphone of their own.

No amount of spin changes what that image now represents in the public mind. That is why Omar can no longer serve as the public face of GALA.

If he stays on, he becomes a liability the movement cannot afford. Every time he stands up to demand accountability from government looters, his critics will have a ready-made retort: physician, heal thyself. An “alleged” private looter cannot hold public looters accountable.

For the sake of GALA’s cause not the man — Omar Saibo Camara must resign ASAP.

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