By Fatou Krubally
The Gambia Immigration Department has renewed calls for the urgent passage of legislation criminalizing migrant smuggling.
The department warns that the absence of such a law is exposing the country to organized irregular migration, following last week’s deadly boat accident off Jinack Island.
Speaking at a joint press briefing, Commissioner for Migration Management at the Immigration Department, Binta K.J. Barrow, says migrant smugglers are exploiting legal gaps in The Gambia after neighbouring Senegal enacted laws criminalizing the offence.
“Senegal has a law in place that criminalizes the smuggling of migrants. The Gambia is yet to have this,” Barrow said, adding that the situation is well known across the sub-region and has led to a shift of smuggling routes into Gambian territory.
She noted that the lack of a clear legal framework has left immigration, police and naval officers with limited enforcement options beyond repeated interceptions.
“Where is the law that we are enforcing?” Barrow asked, stressing that the passage of a bill would enable authorities to prosecute organizers rather than merely intercepting migrants after their lives are already at risk.
Barrow disclosed that 82 survivors from the Jinack incident are currently under the care of the Immigration Department, including Gambians, Senegalese, Malians and Ivorians. She added that authorities have since intercepted several groups of would-be migrants, bringing the total number of intercepted migrants in recent days to more than 200.
As a result, over 300 migrants are now being accommodated at the Tanji Migration Reception Centre, which she says is overstretched and in urgent need of logistical support.
Barrow described the increasing involvement of non-Gambians in irregular migration through The Gambia as “alarming”, noting that most organizers identified so far are foreign nationals.
Providing an update on the incident, Interim Director of Operations at the National Disaster Management Agency (NDMA), Momodou B.K. Ceesay, said the boat was estimated to be carrying about 235 people when it ran aground on a sandbank around midnight on 31 December, amid poor weather conditions and severe overcrowding.
Ceesay said 112 people were rescued on the first day, while one later died en route to hospital. As of the latest count, 117 people have been officially accounted for, including the deceased, with fears that about 100 remain missing.
Search and recovery operations are continuing along the coastline despite rough seas, limited equipment and shortages of body bags. NDMA also reported that survivors and families are receiving psychosocial support.
Authorities warned that without urgent legal reform, improved coordination and stronger enforcement powers, The Gambia risks facing similar tragedies in the future.
