Muhammed Kanteh is a Gambian politician who has served in the

National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repr ...

representing

Busumbala Busumbala , also known as Old-Busumbala, is a small town in western Gambia. It is located in Kombo North/Saint Mary District in the Western Division. As of 2009, it has an estimated population of 11,189. History During the Soninke-Marabout War ...

since 2022 as an Independent politician. He also served as Chief Superintendent of the Gambia Police Force. He is associated with the UDP.

Gambia Police Force

On 26 January 2020, Kanteh was arrested and charged with "negligence of official duty" when he allegedly abandoned his post during the Three Years Jotna Protests to attend to two of his brothers in a hospital who were wounded in the protest. He pled not guilty, and was acquitted due to poor evidence which magistrate Peter A. Che described as "porous". He was a leading supporter of

Adama Barrow Adama Barrow (, born 15 February 1965) is a The Gambia, Gambian politician and real estate developer who has served as President of The Gambia since 2017. Born in Mankamang Kunda, a village in Jimara district, he attended Crab Island Secondary ...

after his election. Kanteh is an advocate for peaceful protests, and alleges his arrest was due to government crackdown on the 3 Years Jotna protests.

National Assembly

In April 2023, Kanteh entered an altercation with the House Speaker

Fabakary Jatta Fabakary Tombong Jatta (born 16 November 1952) is a Gambian politician who has served as Speaker of the National Assembly since 2022 and the leader of the Alliance for Patriotic Reorientation and Construction (APRC) since 2017. Early life and ...

, where Jatta belittled Kanteh's qualification: “so-called legal background cannot understand parliament standing orders,”. Kanteh responded that the speaker's only qualifications were a Primary Teacher’s Certificate (PTC) and forming an alliance with the ruling party. He voted against making

female genital mutilation Female genital mutilation (FGM) (also known as female genital cutting, female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) and female circumcision) is the cutting or removal of some or all of the vulva for non-medical reasons. Prevalence of female ge ...

illegal, citing concerns from Muslim constituents that the law might interfere with their practices. He criticized the arrest of opposition politician (UDP)

Momodou Sabally Momodou Sabally is a Gambian politician. He was the Gambian Secretary General and head of the Civil Service from 10 June 2013 till July 2014. He later became Director General of the Gambia Radio and Television Services (GRTS) until his arrest on N ...

, framing it as government crackdown on opposition.

External Links

National Assembly Watch profile

References

{{Reflist Living people Members of the National Assembly of the Gambia Year of birth missing (living people)