By Buba Gagigo
Lamin Demba, the former Kombo South chairman of the Gambia Democratic Congress (GDC), said that one of the reasons he left the party was because he was slapped at a GDC meeting that was attended by Hon. Mama Kandeh. He said that nothing came of the incident, and that he felt that the party did not take his concerns seriously.
Demba said that the meeting was called by Sarjo Jallow, who was then the party’s women’s mobilizer. Kandeh and a number of other GDC supporters were also in attendance.
” We held a meeting without a permit, which was a risk. Mama was invited and attended. More than 50 people from Kombo South came to the meeting. At the tail end of the meeting, I noticed that the high table was about to speak without giving anyone from Kombo South a chance to speak. I raised this concern, and as I turned away, Musa Jammeh (then the GDC West Coast Chairman) slapped me in the crowd. Kandeh was seated nearby.” he explained while speaking Kerr Fatou’s weekly show ‘Politic Kaacha.’
He didn’t know what he did to Musa, but he didn’t react because he was afraid that if anything happened, Kandeh would be arrested. The meeting was without a permit, so he didn’t want to draw attention to himself.
“I was shocked and confused when Musa slapped me. We had never quarreled before, so I didn’t know what I had done to deserve it. I wanted to react, but I remembered that we were not granted a permit to hold the meeting, and if anything happened, Kandeh would have been arrested. So, I took a deep breath and tried to calm down.
“The others asked me to calm down as well, but I couldn’t help but feel that they should have asked Musa why he slapped me. They didn’t.
“Later we (then GDC West Coast executive) had another meeting at Ya Sonko’s compound to discuss what had happened. Some of the members said that they could not work with Musa anymore. I was not even among the people who said that. It was Sutura Jallow and others. Mama Kandeh, however, supported Musa.
In addition to the alleged slap incident, Demba said he another reason he left the Gambia Democratic Congress is because he was unhappy that the leader was carrying out activities in Kombo South without informing him.
“As the chairman of Kombo South, I should be informed of all party activities in the area. However, on two occasions, I learned about these activities from other people instead of being directly informed. The first time, Mama Kandeh visited the women in Tanji and gave them 20,000 dalasis. I only learned about this after seeing it in the news. The second time, there was a problem between the fish exporters and other people in Gunjur. Mama Kandeh visited the scene and gave some money to the people involved. I was not informed about this either, and I only learned about it from others. I was concerned that I was not being kept informed of important party activities. This is a serious issue, as it prevents me from fulfilling my duties as chairman.” he explained.
In the end, he said he left the party when other GDC members began discussing forming a new political party.
“I was approached by a member of the party who asked me to join them in forming a new political party. I agreed, and we began the process of organizing. As we progressed, I realized that we could not build a new party while still being members of another party. I therefore suggested that we all resign from the Gambia Democratic Congress (GDC). This was agreed upon, and we wrote a letter of resignation, which was signed by me, former Deputy Party Leader Yusupha Jaiteh, Lamin Demba, Lamin E. Fatty, Adama Manjang, Bakary Manjang, Buba Jarju, and others.” he said.