The Black April Students’ Unrest in The Gambia

Authors : Akpojevbe Omasanjuwa

Pages : 183-196

Doi:10.57082/mpsr.1301427

View : 76 | Download : 72

Publication Date : 2023-12-30

Article Type : Research Paper

Abstract :Two isolated incidents in The Gambia spurred a student demonstration on April 10, and 11, 2000. The Gambia Students’ Union felt the government handled the issues which involve their members nonchalantly. The student body’s futile attempt to engage the government to redress the grievances compelled its members to vent their anger in the streets against a society they felt treated their colleagues unjustly. Government’s highhanded reaction escalated the demonstration to a full-blown riot that resulted in unprecedented casualties. Through qualitative method, the undercurrents which propelled the highhanded measures in quashing the riot constitutes the subject of this paper. It also questions, within the legal framework of Vicarious Liability and with the application of Karl Marx Conflict Theory, the motives propping the recommended punitive measures against some key law enforcement officers, a decision for which the conclusion of the article recommended adjudication. Viewed against the background of the protracted inherent security situation of the country, the article examines the entrenched causes of the riot received attention. In conclusion, the underlying causes is ascribed to social conflict instigated by class struggle in the politically polarized society.
Keywords : The Gambia, Students\' Riot, Security, Conflict Theory, Vicarious Liability