By Abdallah Khabib Jallow
There’s a video. Maybe you’ve seen it.
Essa Mbaye Faal — the fiery former Lead Counsel of the Truth, Reparations and Reconciliation Commission — on the Kerr Fatou show, looking straight into the camera, calling out the politicians who abandoned principle for proximity to power.
He named them. He shamed them. He called them sellouts.
And he promised — in that same breath, with that same conviction — that he would never be one of them.
That was then. This is now.
The Right to Choose Is Not the Same as the Right to Be Trusted
Let’s get one thing out of the way: yes, Essa has the right to align with whomever he wishes. No one is disputing that. In a democracy, political association is a fundamental freedom.
But having the right to do something doesn’t shield you from the consequences of doing it. And it certainly doesn’t erase the words you once spoke with such moral certainty.
You cannot stand on a podium and call others sellouts for joining the President’s camp, declare that you will never do the same — and then do exactly that — and expect the public to simply forget.
What He Said Then
When others like Momodou Sabally and Doc. Ismaila Ceesay crossed over to President Barrow’s camp, Mr. Faal didn’t mince words. He called it a betrayal of principle. He said they sold their conscience for a seat at the table. He positioned himself as the antithesis of that — the man who would rather stand alone than stand compromised.
His supporters believed him. They shared his videos. They amplified his message. They saw in him a rare breed: a man who would not bend.
What He Did Now
Just months before the December elections, Mr. Faal has joined the President’s coalition.
The same man who called others sellouts has become the very thing he once condemned.
The same man who promised he would never sell out has done exactly that — and expects us to call it strategy.
The same man who built his brand on moral clarity has traded it for political expediency.
The “But It’s His Right” Argument Doesn’t Hold
Some are rushing to his defence, saying it’s his democratic right to align with whoever he chooses.
They’re right. It is.
But here’s what they’re missing: this was never about rights. It was about integrity.
No one is saying Essa Faal broke the law. We’re saying he broke his word.
And in politics, your word is the only currency that truly matters. Once it’s devalued, everything you say becomes suspect.
If He Can Do It, So Can They
The most damning part of this saga isn’t just the hypocrisy. It’s the precedent.
If Essa — the man who built his entire political identity on being incorruptible, unshakeable, unbought — can flip when it suits him, then what does that say to every politician who ever resisted the temptation?
It says: “Why bother? Even the ones who swore they wouldn’t, eventually do.”
It tells the next generation of activists that principles are just talking points, and that moral conviction is simply a bargaining chip to be cashed in when the price is right.
The Verdict
Essa Faal has every right to align with the President’s camp. He can campaign for them, defend them, and support their re-election bid.
But he cannot do so while claiming to be the man he once was.
He cannot call others sellouts and then become one. He cannot promise he will never sell out and then do exactly that. He cannot preach moral clarity and then trade it for convenience.
You cannot wear the badge of integrity while walking the path of opportunism.
Essa Faal is no longer the voice of principle he once claimed to be. He is now the very thing he told us to despise.
And if his most loyal supporters take an honest look in the mirror, they will see what we all see:
He sold out. He just hopes you won’t call it that.
