Darboe Distances UDP From Imam Sanyang’s Remarks, Condemns Tribal Attacks on Bensouda

By Makutu Manneh

ANM Ousainu Darboe, the leader of the United Democratic Party, has distanced his party from controversial remarks made by Imam Daaru Sanyang about Kanifing Mayor Talib Ahmed Bensouda, condemning appeals to tribal and ethnic identity as divisive and inconsistent with the UDP’s values.

Speaking in an interview with Kerr Fatou, Mr. Darboe said the views expressed by Imam Sanyang, who lives in Norway, were his alone and should not be attributed to the UDP.

Imam Sanyang has faced widespread criticism over a recently circulated audio recording in which he questioned the Gambian identity and family background of Mr. Bensouda and made disparaging references to his wife’s origins.

Mr. Darboe rejected that line of attack, saying a person’s ancestry should not be used to question his or her place in Gambian society.

“If you say the mayor’s wife is from Futa, my mother is from Futa,” Mr. Darboe said. “So this remark cannot be from the UDP.”

He also pointed to Mr. Bensouda’s family history, noting that the mayor’s grandfather, Sir Dawda Jawara, led The Gambia to independence and served as the country’s first president.

“No one should question the Gambian identity of Bensouda,” Mr. Darboe said.

The UDP leader urged Gambians to reject tribal politics, arguing that virtually everyone can trace their ancestry beyond the communities in which they now live. Attempts to turn those backgrounds into political weapons, he said, risk creating unnecessary divisions.

Mr. Darboe said anyone engaging in such rhetoric was speaking for himself and not on behalf of the UDP.

He described the comments as potentially damaging to national unity and urged UDP supporters seeking votes for the party to campaign on issues of development and the country’s future rather than ethnicity, religion, or family background.

Focusing political debate on a candidate’s parents, grandparents, or ethnic origins, he said, would breed resentment rather than address the challenges facing the country.

Mr. Darboe also rejected attempts to define Mr. Bensouda solely by his surname or ancestry, arguing that identity is also shaped by the communities, cultures, and families in which people are raised.

“He doesn’t have the attitude of a ‘Narr’; he has the attitude of a Mandinka and Wolof because of where he was born and the family he came from,” Mr. Darboe said.

The term “Narr,” commonly used in parts of West Africa to refer to people of Arab or North African ancestry, featured prominently in the controversy surrounding Imam Sanyang’s remarks.

Mr. Darboe said rhetoric that seeks to divide Gambians along ethnic or religious lines has no place in the UDP. He instructed members and supporters of the party to stay away from tribalism and religious division, saying national unity must take precedence over political advantage.

He added that he had no desire to lead a country fractured by divisions among its citizens.