The Gambia bans unlicensed protests after blackout riots close three utility offices

Gambia's inspector general of police, Seedy Mukhtar Touray, said late on 10 September that nobody may protest without an approved permit. Anyone who gathers, causes havoc or disturbs the peace, especially at night, will be met with necessary force, he said. The order followed nights of unrest over power cuts that have lasted as long as 48 hours in parts of the country during the hottest stretch of the year.

Police used tear gas earlier in the week to break up crowds in and around Banjul, including near President Adama Barrow's official residence. Protesters burned tyres, built barricades and shouted that Barrow must go. In Farato, people gathered outside the home of Vice President Mohammed B.S. Jallow and tore banners at an office of the ruling National People's Party.

Touray said a police post was vandalised and that detainees were released from custody without authority. The National Water and Electricity Company, NAWEC, closed three branches after attacks damaged buildings, equipment and office kit. Police have arrested 11 people over the vandalism.

NAWEC said on 15 August that it faced an unforeseen surge in demand at peak hours because of high temperatures. Barrow visited company sites on Tuesday and promised that new generators would arrive this week and that supply would be restored by the end of October. In a televised address he said fans had stopped, children were working in the dark and mothers were throwing away spoiled food. He called the outages a national security issue and an emergency, and he admitted faults in planning, generation and maintenance.

Barrow is seeking a third term in a presidential election due in December. The blackouts have given the opposition a concrete grievance that does not need a manifesto. West Africa has seen similar strains this year as heat and weak grids collide. Barrow's line that Gambia is not alone in the dark is true and also incomplete. Neighbouring shortages do not repair a vandalised NAWEC office or put current back into a compound in Banjul.

The permit rule is not new in form. Many states require notice before a march. What changed on Thursday night was the explicit threat of force against night gatherings after the government had already used tear gas. Rights groups will treat that as a pre-election clamp. The police will treat it as a reply to a broken station and opened cells.

The test is practical and short. If the promised generators arrive and the lights hold through October, the ban may fade into the background of a campaign. If the cuts continue into the voting season, the state will have to choose between enforcing Touray's order and watching another night of burning tyres. Eleven arrests will not settle that choice.

For now the facts on the ground are these. Three utility offices are shut. Eleven people are in custody. Unlicensed protests are forbidden. The president has given himself until the end of October. The election sits two months beyond that date.