Gambia rolling blackouts and political protests 2026
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Protests turn violent in The Gambia over rolling blackouts
Protests in The Gambia turned violent after months of power outages.
The power outages disrupted essential public services including water supplies during the hot season.
Demonstrators called on Gambian President Adama Barrow to resign.
Gambian leader pledges halt to rolling blackouts as protests turn violent
NAWEC Managing Director Gallo said the prolonged electricity cuts were in part due to climate change and the US-Israel war on Iran.
Barrow announced an additional 50-megawatt solar power plant that would begin construction soon.
Barrow announced the government would install a 24-megawatt generation machine by the end of October.
Gambia president urges calm after violent blackout protests
Barrow visited facilities for the national energy utility on Tuesday morning and promised that The Gambia would receive new generators that week.
Barrow said the country is not alone in facing an electricity crisis that has affected several parts of West Africa.
In a televised address on Tuesday night, Barrow warned protesters against damaging public infrastructure, saying it would worsen disruption and divert money towards repairs.
“I know that the fans have stopped turning, children work in the dark, mothers throw away stale food, and the heat is unbearable by day and by night,”