Gambia Blackouts Spark Banjul Protests as Barrow vows Power fix by October
Last update: September 9, 2026
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Try sleeping in 40 degree heat with no light and no fan for 48 hours. That is life in The Gambia right now.
President Adama Barrow is pleading for calm after angry night protests in Banjul over endless power cuts. Residents burned tyres and marched on Nawec HQ chanting Barrow must go, with police firing tear gas in Westfield.
The tiny nation of 2.7 million people runs on barely 100 megawatts and relies heavily on imports from Senegal and Guinea through the regional grid. Low rainfall this year means less hydropower to share, just as soaring heat has pushed demand to record levels.
It is a familiar story. Gambia has battled erratic supply since independence in 1965 and through the Jammeh era. Now with a December election looming where Barrow seeks a controversial third term, pressure is rising.
Barrow admits planning failures and calls it a national emergency, promising a new 24 megawatt unit at Brikama by end of October plus fresh generators this week and a 50 megawatt solar farm in Soma.
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