Haggi Jawara, the Gambian Consul General to Angola, has issued a strong call for immediate intervention to stop the growing trend of reckless car drifting along Kairaba Avenue, urging the police and government authorities to act before more lives are lost.
Speaking to this reporter with frustration and urgency, Jawara highlighted the escalating danger posed by late-night street races and stunts that have recently turned into a disturbing trend among youth in urban Gambia.
“We will no longer tolerate sleepless nights while young people dangerously engage in car drifting,” he said. “This reckless behaviour not only endangers their lives but also threatens the safety of our entire community.”
He stressed that what once seemed like isolated incidents have now become organized, large-scale gatherings. One such episode, which took place about two weeks ago near the Gambissara Whitehouse on Kairaba Avenue, drew nearly 300 young people between the hours of 12:30 a.m. and 3:30 a.m. The result: chaos, a severely injured elderly man, and no police response.
“I had to rush the injured man to the hospital,” Jawara explained. “It was deeply disturbing. I called Kairaba Police Station. No one came. I called Serrekunda Police Station. Still, no help.”
The Consul General said that after visiting the Kairaba Police Station in person the next day, he was told that even when police arrest participants in these illegal street races, orders often come from higher up instructing their release.
“This blatant disregard for public safety is unconscionable,” he said. “It undermines the rule of law and puts every citizen at risk.”
Jawara said he has formally raised the issue with the Commissioner of Police for Mobile Traffic, King Colley, and other senior police officials, calling on them to treat the matter as a priority.
He also made a direct appeal to parents, urging them to take responsibility for their children’s actions.
“We cannot stand idly by while our children engage in these hazardous activities,” he said. “I challenge every responsible parent to act now.”
Drawing comparisons to his post in Angola, Jawara noted that in that country, police respond decisively to similar threats, and enforcement is taken seriously.
“It is unacceptable to witness such ineffective police response in The Gambia, especially when reckless behaviour poses a real danger to lives,” he said.
