In June 2025, a physical queue had formed by 6 a.m. at a national identity-card centre in Kanifing, The Gambia. On the day observed by Foroyaa, a power outage left the doors closed and the equipment unusable. Applicants still waited with their documents, and some had already made repeated visits on different days.
Obtaining the identity card required more than paying the 450-dalasi fee. An early-morning place in line, the growing heat, and unreliable power and equipment all shaped how long the process took. The queue was both an entrance to an essential public service and a test of how often applicants could return and how much working or family time they could surrender.