Dr Ismaila Ceesay, the Gambia’s Minister of Information, has warned imams, stating that the government won’t tolerate them using their pulpits for politics to incite the public.

Dr Ceesay’s remarks followed Lands Minister Hamat Bah’s comments during the Koriteh festival, where he accused some imams of attacking the government in their Friday Khutbas (sermons).

“There are imams who use their pulpits every Friday to incite the public, which we can’t accept as a government,” Dr Ceesay warned, adding, “Some imams use their pulpits for politics to cause discord”. 

He argued that the state has identified those imams through its intelligence services, adding that some of them use God’s name to justify their actions.

“And we know those imams who are bent on that, and we know their political affiliations and their intentions.

“Our intelligence infrastructure is extensive. We know each and every one of them,” he stated.

By Adama Makasuba