Imam Daru Sanyang Targets Bensouda With ‘Sula’ Remarks, Makes False Claims About His Family and Ancestry

By Staff Writer

An imam identified as Daru Sanyang has launched a broad attack on Kanifing Mayor Talib Ahmed Bensouda in a widely circulated audio recording, questioning his Gambian ancestry, disparaging his supporters, and suggesting that the presidential aspirant should join the military if he is determined to take power.

The recording, obtained by Kerr Fatou, contains a series of inflammatory and unsubstantiated allegations about Bensouda, his wife, his father, and people supporting his presidential bid. Several of Sanyang’s assertions about the mayor’s family background are false.

Bensouda, the leader of the UNITE movement and mayor of the Kanifing Municipal Council, has emerged as a prominent contender ahead of The Gambia’s 2026 presidential election.

In the recording, Sanyang questioned the support Bensouda has received and suggested that people of Lebanese and Mauritanian descent backing the mayor were his relatives.

“You guys don’t know these people,” Sanyang said, referring to them as “Sulas,” a term widely used in The Gambia for people perceived to be of Arab or North African descent.

Sanyang then turned to Bensouda’s family, alleging that the mayor’s wife is a “Foutanko” from Guinea-Conakry with no connection to The Gambia. He acknowledged that Bensouda’s mother is Gambian but claimed that his father is not. Those claims are false. Bensouda’s father and wife are both Gambians by birth.

Sanyang’s criticism also extended to Bensouda’s political ambitions. He suggested that if the mayor were so determined to become president, he should join the military and pursue power through the armed forces. He otherwise urged Bensouda to slow down and wait for what he described as the appropriate circumstances rather than trying to force his way into the presidency.

The imam accused Bensouda, without offering evidence, of using money and bribery to advance his presidential ambitions. He also accused the mayor of abandoning his responsibilities in Kanifing as he pursues national office.

Some of Sanyang’s harshest language was reserved for young people supporting Bensouda. He described them as blind, dumb, deaf and “crazy,” and compared them to slaves.

He also took aim at recent polling that showed significant support for Bensouda among young voters, alleging without evidence that the pollsters had been paid by the mayor. He dismissed them as liars and accused them of sitting in their offices and inventing numbers.

Sanyang offered no evidence in the recording to support his allegations about the polling or any financial relationship between the pollsters and Bensouda.

The imam also made unusual claims involving both Bensouda and President Adama Barrow, warning people against eating food provided by either politician. He alleged, again without presenting evidence, that such food could be infused with spiritual substances intended to make those who consumed it obedient to the political leaders.

Sanyang also made serious allegations against Nfally Fadera of Bitilo and Ambassador Essa Bokar Sey. No evidence supporting those allegations was presented in the recording.

But the bulk of Sanyang’s remarks centered on Bensouda, moving beyond criticism of his record as mayor or his presidential ambitions to focus heavily on his ancestry, his wife’s background and the origins of his father.

The remarks come as political activity intensifies ahead of the 2026 presidential election, with questions of identity, citizenship and ancestry increasingly entering political discourse surrounding the mayor. Sanyang’s claims about Bensouda’s immediate family, however, included assertions that are veriafiably false.