Seedy Mukhtar Touray, The Inspector General of Police
By Fatou Sillah
The Inspector General of Police (IGP), Seedy Mukhtar Touray, has declared that he will resign if the Gambia Police Force (GPF) fails in its duty to protect the lives and property of Gambian citizens. His remarks came during a press briefing addressing the recent surge in armed robberies across the country.
“If we know we are unable to protect the lives and properties of this nation, let me be on record, I, Seedy Mukhtar Touray will be the first person to tender my resignation to the executive to say I have failed in my duties and I am relieving myself of my responsibilities,”
He acknowledged the criticism directed at the police force following the rise in criminal activities, noting that the GPF has been subjected to public scrutiny and ridicule.
“since the spike of these robbery cases, Gambia Police Force has been maligned, we have been ridiculed, and all sorts of things were said about us. We accept this in good faith and we are not apportioning blame on anybody because that’s what we sign for,” He Said.
IGP Touray further emphasized the need for patience and cooperation from the public, stating that law enforcement requires time, resources, and support to effectively carry out its mandate.
“if certain issues or incidents happen, I think police needs to be given time, we need to be supported in terms of information gathering, we need to be supported in terms of logistics which is coming, though not adequate, we must accept,” He Said.
He acknowledged that while mistakes are inevitable in law enforcement, officers strive to minimize errors in the execution of their duties.
“There is no good thing that somebody does or there is no person who will be working and not be committing mistakes even though we agree mistakes are inevitable but nobody wants to be committing mistakes in the due execution of your duties.,” He said.