Hon. Mama Kandeh, Secretary General and Party Leader of GDC
By Buba Gagigo
Hon. Mama Kandeh, Secretary General and Party Leader of the Gambia Democratic Congress (GDC) has labeled the arrest of former NPP supporter Mbemba Drammeh as “laughable” and reiterated his rejection of the 2021 presidential election results.
Speaking at the GDC’s biannual congress held in Wasu, where thousands of party supporters gathered, Kandeh criticized the circumstances surrounding Drammeh’s arrest and questioned why similar actions had not been taken against other prominent figures who voiced similar allegations about the election.
“Mbemba’s arrest is laughable. I, Mama Kandeh, still do not accept the results of the 2021 election to this day. I said the election was stolen, Ousainou Darboe said the election was stolen, and Mbemba said he knew how the election was stolen—and he was arrested. But why didn’t they arrest Darboe or me? We were the first to say it. If it’s about evidence, the UDP provided over 3,000 pages of evidence and submitted it to the Chief Justice, yet the case didn’t proceed. Let them leave Mbemba alone. The truth will come out, whether he says it or someone else does,” Kandeh remarked
Kandeh further claimed that his party had presented significant evidence, including documentation and video recordings, but alleged that the judiciary failed to act on it.
“We provided pictures and written evidence, but they didn’t listen. There’s even a video of a man claiming to work for the IEC, saying he was part of the team registering people at Majum Real Estate, which is linked to President Barrow’s office. Why wasn’t that man arrested? Gambians are not asleep,” he asserted.
The GDC leader also turned his attention to the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC), questioning its handling of deadlines for political parties to conduct their congresses.
“You [IEC] wrote to all political parties, setting December 31st as the deadline for conducting congresses. We are all rushing to meet that requirement. But I’ve heard that some parties have been allowed to hold their congress in January. I call on the IEC to write to all political parties and explain why this is being allowed,” Kandeh demanded.