The recent debate in The National Assembly over the plight of Ghana Town residents in Brufut exposes a long-standing injustice that The Gambia can no longer ignore.
For decades, generations born and raised in Ghana Town have lived without citizenship, denied basic rights to healthcare, education, and formal employment. Their only “crime” is being born to non-citizens—yet they have contributed meaningfully to the nation in every way.
Hon. Alhagie Babou Ceesay’s intervention highlighted the urgency of this matter. Surveys show that 87 percent of residents have no foreign documentation, and nearly 99 percent consider The Gambia home. The evidence is clear: Ghana Town is not a foreign enclave. It is a community woven into the national fabric, yet our laws fail to recognize it.
Supporters in the Assembly rightly reminded the country of its international obligations. From the 1954 Convention on Statelessness to the African Union’s 2024 Protocol on the Right to Nationality, The Gambia has pledged to prevent statelessness. Yet pledges without action leave communities in legal limbo. It is both a moral and legal imperative to align national legislation with these commitments.
Proposed solutions—ranging from mass naturalization to constitutional reform—reflect broad recognition that the status quo is unacceptable. Some argue for strict adherence to existing procedures, but the reality is stark: generations have waited decades while statelessness has been inherited. Incremental measures cannot justify continued exclusion. Immediate and practical steps, such as regularization and citizenship grants, are required to correct this historical oversight.
Moreover, the politicization of citizenship must end. Accusations that residents have been used for electoral advantage while denied documentation expose a cynical exploitation of human lives. Citizenship is a right, not a bargaining chip. The people of Ghana Town deserve recognition as Gambians in every sense, even if not yet on paper.
The National Assembly now has the opportunity to move from debate to decisive action. True leadership demands that this injustice be corrected swiftly, ensuring no child in Ghana Town grows up stateless. For too long, they have been invisible. The Gambia must welcome them fully as citizens and affirm that belonging is not a privilege, but a right.
If this renewed attention leads to meaningful reform, the country will have taken a historic step toward inclusivity and justice. If it does not, The Gambia risks failing yet another generation of its own people—people who have always been here, waiting for the state to acknowledge their existence.
The National Assembly now has a choice: perpetuate an old injustice, or end it once and for all. For the families of Ghana Town, hope hangs in the balance.