15/07/2026
Dear Gambians,
Following Dr. Ismaila Ceesay's interview on Eye Africa TV on Friday, 10 July 2026, during which he referred to a school water project that he had entrusted to me as a brother and close friend, I consider it necessary to provide the public with my own account of the matter.
About ten years ago, Dr. Ceesay gave me D12,000 (D11,500 for the installation of a water supply at a school and D500 as my fare) to undertake the project. Regrettably, I failed to execute the assignment. I take full responsibility for that failure.
At the time, Dr. Ceesay told me to keep the money, and I understood that we had resolved the matter amicably. For that reason, I was both surprised and disappointed to hear him raise the issue publicly during his interview. I also believe he inadvertently misstated the amount involved. Given the passage of time, he may genuinely have misremembered the figure, referring to D50,000 instead of the actual amount of D12,000.
Because of the close friendship and brotherhood we shared, I never imagined that this matter would become the subject of public discussion. I regarded it as a closed chapter.
Throughout the years, while I have consistently held Dr. Ceesay accountable in his capacity as a public official on matters of governance and the state, I have never brought our personal interactions or private affairs into the public domain.
Now that Dr. Ceesay has chosen to raise the matter publicly, I have decided, in the spirit of accountability and to finally bring the issue to a close, to refund the full amount of D12,000.
I remain grateful for the confidence Dr. Ceesay placed in me when he entrusted me with the assignment, and I sincerely regret that I failed to fulfill that responsibility.
Accordingly, I have sent him a message and transferred the D12,000 to him through Wave. I harbour no ill feelings or resentment towards him or anyone else over this matter.
This incident does not diminish my commitment to accountability. As a citizen