Image of Sergeant Modou Saine and former CDS Lieutenant General Mamat O. A. Cham. Source. What’s On Gambia
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On Friday, May 29, 2026, Lieutenant General Mamat O.A. Cham resigned as the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) of the Gambia Armed Forces (GAF).
His resignation followed a sudden, explosive series of public allegations concerning financial corruption, nepotism, and the abuse of military office.
This explainer details the fallout from what could easily become one of the biggest scandals in Gambia’s military, which led to public revelations culminating in his resignation.
The beginning of the conflict
A personal and professional rift develops between Lt. Gen. Cham and his long-time personal assistant (PA), Sergeant Modou Saine. According to Cham, the relationship soured after Saine committed a protocol breach during an official visit. Saine was later transferred and subsequently discharged from the army.
The Whistleblower goes public
On May 14, 2026, Sergeant Saine publicly requested his formal discharge papers and levelled initial accusations against the CDS. He alleges that Cham ordered his unlawful military detention over a disputed D58,000 office imprest (petty cash fund).
Saine claims the funds were actually his own out-of-pocket money spent on assignments, a claim he states was later verified in writing by military auditing staff.
Explosive leak of documented graft
On May 27, 2026, Sergeant Saine leaked a cascade of wider allegations via Gambian online platforms, including What’s On Gambia, backed by internal military documents.
The leaks allege systemic corruption, including the diversion of military property, under-the-table business loans, and favouritism.
Amid intense public scrutiny and mounting integrity concerns, Lt. Gen. Cham officially submitted his resignation on May 29, 2026.
President Adama Barrow accepted the resignation and appointed Major General Ousman Gomez, deputy chief of defense as the Acting Chief of Defence Staff. In his resignation letter, the former CDS also assured his cooperation with any potential investigation into the allegations against him.
The core allegations
The allegations that ultimately forced the military chief’s exit span several distinct areas of misconduct, including the Morocco nepotism scandal, diversion of slots, paper trail, financial exploitation, and misappropriation of anti-migrant assets.
The most legally pressing claim involves the fast-tracking of Cham’s 16-year-old son, Muhammed Cham, into an elite military training slot.
In June 2024, the Kingdom of Morocco offered the Gambia Armed Forces three prestigious training allocations. This included an Officer Cadet Course for active Gambian soldiers.
Saine alleged that the CDS bypassed standard military selection and handed the course to his teenage son.
He claimed that the Director of Operations, Colonel Yorro N.A. Jallow was instructed to create a backdated appointment letter to falsely show the boy was an eligible, serving soldier.
Financial exploitation and graft
The whistleblower alleged a pattern of utilising public and military influence for private financial gain, including a China Trip, asset swapping, and coerced business loans.
Allegations surfaced that state or military funds were inappropriately secured to finance a private trip to China for the defence chief’s wife.
Cham was accused of abusing his authority by trading a functional government military vehicle to a private entity in exchange for personal land.
Saine claimed he was frequently dispatched as an intermediary to secure personal loans worth hundreds of thousands of dalasis from local businessmen on behalf of the CDS.
During official GAF naval operations targeting illegal migration routes, multiple private speedboats and a yacht were seized by the state.
The leak alleged that one of these intercepted vessels was unlawfully converted into a private commercial fishing boat operated for the defence chief’s personal financial benefit.
Defence and rebuttals
Before stepping down, Lieutenant General Cham fiercely denied the allegations, characterising them as a malicious smear campaign orchestrated by a disgruntled former staffer.
On the nepotism
Cham argued that his son had spent four years attending the “Prytanée Militaire de Saint-Louis” in Senegal, a highly selective, French-model military secondary academy.
He maintained that this academic background made his son an exceptionally qualified candidate for the Moroccan programme, though he did not directly address the allegations concerning the backdated enlistment letter.
On the misappropriation charges
The GAF Public Relations office initially labelled the claims inaccurate and misleading, stating that the high command was functioning normally.
Ultimately, despite attempts by some military authorities to convince him to weather the storm, Cham stated in his resignation letter that he stepped down to preserve his personal legacy and protect the integrity of the Gambia Armed Forces from the surrounding controversy.
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