Gambian Auditor General Forced out Amid Cabinet Reshuffle Row

The Gambian Auditor General Momodou Ceesay was forcibly removed from his Banjul office on September 15, 2025 by the police after he disobeyed a presidential order to vacate the post, intensifying a high-stakes confrontation  within President Adama Barrow’s government.

Barrow had announced a late August cabinet reshuffle naming Ceesay as Minister of Trade, but the veteran auditor who has led the National Audit Office (NAO) since October 2022 publicly rejected the new role. Ceesay maintains he never accepted the appointment, directly contradicting the president’s claim that he initially agreed before reversing course.

Around 11 a.m. on Monday, plain-clothes police officers entered the National Audit Office in Banjul to install Cherno Amadou Sowe as the new auditor general. NAO staff initially blocked the doors to prevent the takeover, while EyeAfrica TV and other outlets livestreamed the standoff. About an hour later, backup officers arrived and forcibly escorted Momodou Ceesay out of the building, completing the controversial handover.

The incident triggered immediate backlash. Youth groups and anti-corruption activists have accused Barrow of trying to weaken fiscal oversight amid continuing controversy over assets seized from ex-president Yahya Jammeh. Prominent anti-corruption activist Kemo Fatty called for Ceesay’s reinstatement in a video that has now gotten  thousands of views on Facebook and X (formerly Twitter), stating that the auditor general had rejected the appointment and was then forcibly removed while the public looked on.