The Fatu Network Issues Correction and Apology to Former BBC Presenter Esau Williams Over Misquotation

In our October 19th report concerning remarks made by former BBC Focus on Africa presenter Esau Williams about President Adama Barrow’s confidence in the Gambian army and Senegal’s military presence in The Gambia, we published the following quotation:

“Barrow doesn’t have confidence in the Gambian army. He’s afraid they might overthrow him if ECOMIG withdraws.”

Following a request from Mr Williams for a correction and apology, we acknowledge that the quotation did not accurately reflect his exact words, and we sincerely apologise to him and our readers for the error.

During his appearance on the Dialectic Podcast, Mr Williams actually stated:

“And as you said, those closest to the president, the security detail, are all Senegalese. That tells me that the President does not trust his own people to protect him.”

He continued:

“There was a skirmish on the border the other day when Senegalese forces demolished buildings allegedly on the Gambian side, and all we did was issue a protest because we don’t want to piss off Dakar. Because if you piss off Dakar, they’ll just pull their forces out, and your existential position is at risk.

“And trust me, Barrow is everything else, but he’s not a fighter. He wouldn’t take that risk with Gambian forces.

“So whatever Senegal wants, I’m sorry to say this in such brash language, and apologies in advance, but we’re Senegal’s ch*ga, and whatever they want, they are going to get from us because they have the leverage of security over us. And this is what Jammeh fought tooth and nail.”

Our earlier report sought to convey Williams’ concerns about President Barrow’s reliance on Senegalese forces, but it incorrectly presented an interpretation of those remarks as a direct quotation.