Supreme Court Declares Auditor General's Removal Unconstitutional, Awards D4 Million in Compensation
Former Auditor General in White and Lawyers © Askanwi Media
The Gambia’s Supreme Court ruled on Tuesday, 7 July 2026, that the forceful removal of Auditor General Modou Ceesay from office in September 2025 was unconstitutional but stopped short of reinstating him to office. The ruling also saw the former Auditor General awarded D4 million in compensation, with his outstanding salary, allowances, pension, and gratuity to be paid through the end of his tenure.
Delivering the landmark judgment endorsed by all five judges of the Supreme Court, Justice O.M.M. Njie declared that police officers acting on the instructions of the Inspector General of Police unlawfully removed Ceesay from the National Audit Office on 15 September 2025, in violation of Section 158 of the 1997 Constitution.
Ceesay’s defense team, spearheaded by Senior Lawyer L.S. Camara, admitted that their client verbally accepted President Adama Barrow's offer to take up the role of Minister of Trade, Industry, Regional Integration, and Employment. However, the court held that this was insufficient because the appointment required written acceptance. In the absence of a constitutionally required resignation letter, the court held that his removal was unconstitutional.
The judgment rejected the state's argument that Ceesay had automatically vacated his office after accepting the ministerial appointment. According to the court, neither a verbal acceptance of a ministerial post nor the appointment of a successor could lawfully terminate the constitutional office of Auditor General.
According to the ruling, "the actions of the police officers... in entering the premises of the National Audit Office and forcefully removing the Plaintiff from his position as Auditor General are a violation of Section 158 of the Constitution and are consequently null, void, and of no legal effect”.
However, despite finding that Ceesay remained the lawful holder of the office as a matter of law, the Supreme Court exercised its constitutional discretion not to restore him to the position.
The ruling cited Ceesay's own contribution to the events by initially accepting the ministerial offer before changing his mind; the fact that Cherno Amadou Sowe has served as Auditor General for more than nine months; and what the court described as the "acrimonious relationship" between Ceesay and the executive.
The court concluded that reinstating Ceesay "will not be conducive to sound public administration and hence not be in the public interest”. Instead, the Supreme Court ordered that Sowe remain Auditor General while directing the state to compensate Ceesay for his entire term.
The Attorney General was ordered to pay Ceesay all outstanding salary and allowances from 15 September 2025 to the date of judgment, with 10 percent annual interest, as well as his remaining salary and allowances until the expiry of his nine-year tenure or his statutory retirement age, whichever comes first. The state must also pay all of his gratuity and pension benefits.
In addition, the Attorney General and the Inspector General of Police were jointly ordered to pay Ceesay D4 million in vindicatory damages for the constitutional violation arising from his forceful removal.
The court held that ordinary financial compensation alone would not adequately vindicate the breach of a constitutional office, saying an additional award was necessary to reflect the gravity of the violation and deter similar conduct in the future.
The judges directed both parties to submit, within seven days, the factual details relating to Ceesay's salary, allowances, gratuity, and pension if they fail to reach agreement on the amounts payable.
The judgment brings to a close one of the country's most significant constitutional disputes involving the independence of the Office of the Auditor General, while affirming constitutional protections for holders of independent public offices.
