By Ramatoulie Jawo
In a press conference on Monday, Lawyer Ousainou Darboe, the Secretary-General and Leader of the opposition United Democracy Party, conveyed a resolute message to journalists, asserting that the recent arrest of Mr. Ebrima Dibba, an Executive Member of their party, would not instill fear within their ranks.
“Mr. President, we will not be intimidated. The arrest of Mr. Dibba is not going to intimidate us. In fact, the arrest of Mr. Dibba has really made us resolve and to be better determined, that we will not allow the dictatorship of the past to come back to the country. What we did to keep that former dictator under control, we will do the same thing with you, Adama Barrow. We will not allow you to really come and treat us as trash. No amount of Intimidation will cower us down. We want to tell you that what we did until you got to power, we will do the same thing to make sure that our rights are protected,” the UDP Leader said.
Darboe emphasized that the nation is a collective heritage, and President Barrow’s tactics of intimidation are unacceptable. He urged for the establishment of a climate conducive to unfettered political discourse.
“We know that the past regime weaponized the judiciary and weaponized the police against the United Democracy Party, and I am sure the judiciary, under the leadership of the Honorable Chief Justice Hassan B. Jallow, will not be weaponized. I cannot say so for the police, but whatever you do in weaponizing any institution, we will stand against those institutions. And I want to advise the police, those who are in charge of the investigation, and those who are in charge of the prosecution that you were in this country under the Jammeh era, and you all went to exile; because the conditions in this country force you to go into exile.
“Because the police were being weaponized, and some of you who are today in responsible positions in police suffered, because of the weaponizations of the police. You left this country and went abroad. You have your families here, you have come back to the Gambia and you should not allow to be used by the Barrow administration,” Hon. Darboe advised the Police.
Honorable Darboe emphasized that his party maintains robust connections in the United Kingdom, the United States of America, and throughout Europe. He further stated that they possess comprehensive documentation of all police activities within the country.
He reminded the police of their duty to uphold justice and protect citizens’ rights, warning them of the repercussions of aiding an administration that violates the constitution.
“And you know you are putting your families in Jeopardy in helping a government to do things that are out of order, a government that is violating the constitution, and you know the consequence of that for your families,” he stated.
Darboe also criticized President Barrow’s recent tour, accusing him of using it to attack opponents rather than present policies beneficial to the Gambian people. He condemned the president’s derogatory remarks about the UDP, deeming them unfitting of his office.
“Instead of the president explaining to the Gambian people what policies he has for them, instead of the president using this as an opportunity to really tell the Gambian people what he was prepared to do in the health sector, in the education sector, and in the agriculture sector, he really went out there attacking individuals. We don’t think the Gambian taxpayers’ money was really being properly used,” he said.
Honorable Darboe questioned the justification behind President Barrow’s characterization of UDP as a ‘bana-bana party’. He expressed his belief that such words were highly unpresidential, suggesting that the president was lowering himself to what he termed “veranda politicians.”
“Calling the Bureaus a “Narr Boutique”- we strongly believe, and we conclude, that he was referring to the Bureaus that he thinks Talib Ahmed Bensouda will subsequently inherit from the current leadership of the United Democratic Party. He (Barrow) is so obsessed with the United Democratic Party. He is so obsessed with who would be the person contesting against him. Should the president go that low to the level of a veranda boy; to the extent of categorizing our Bureaus as ‘Narr Boutique” and then also saying that it will be the Narr taking over,” Hon. Darboe stressed.