President Adama Barrow’s Deputy Youth Adviser Saihou Mballow has branded Ousainou Darboe, the leader of the opposition United Democratic Party (UDP) as The Gambia’s Judas, whose political record represents betrayal, treachery, and divisiveness. Mr. Mballow was speaking on Friday, at a political rally held in Jarra Bureng.
Mr. Mballow has been living exile in the United States for over two decades. He recently returned home to join President Barrow’s government. He was among the leadership of the UDP, when the party was formed back in 1996.
Applauded by an excited crowd, Mballow, who spoke in the local Fulani dialect, said he has never seen an ungrateful, and selfish politician like Ousainou Darboe in his lifetime. He says Darboe only cares about himself and not The Gambia and her people.
“Ousainou Darboe doesn’t have Gambia’s interest at heart. He only cares about himself and not the country. His political life epitomizes greed, selfishness, and divisiveness. There is no one behind the so-called three years jotna campaign besides Ousainou Darboe. Darboe and his supporters are behind the three years jota,” Mballow alleges.
Mr. Darboe has in the recent past denied his party’s involvement in the three years jotna campaign. He also denied having ties with those advocating for Barrow’s stepping down from power after serving three years in power.
Mr. Mballow maintains that President Barrow has been elected to serve a five-year term mandate and nothing can change that. He invoked the constitution to back up his arguments.
Darboe is an alleged tax dodger
Mr. Mballow also said Darboe lacks what he calls “the good qualities a leader and a citizen.” He branded Darboe as a habitual tax evader. He says the UDP leader has been cited in the past for evading taxes in the tune of two million dalasis.
“I do not think any sane Gambian will elect a habitual tax evader like Ousainou Darboe to occupy the highest office of the land—the Presidency. Darboe’s past shows that he doesn’t pay taxes. He also doesn’t have the country’s interest at heart. Here is a guy, who desperately wants to be a President, and yet he doesn’t want to pay his fair share to the state. He evades taxes,” Mballow remarked.
“President Barrow has been paying his taxes on time unlike Ousainou Darboe. He has employed Gambians through his business. There is no one, who can say that President Barrow, has been evading taxes. He pays taxes as required by law, but Darboe doesn’t,” Mballow added.
Darboe is a betrayer
Mr. Mballow also raised what he calls “Darboe’s dislike and disdain” for President Barrow. He says while Darboe was in jail back in 2016, he (Darboe) protested against the UDP nominating Barrow to serve as the party’s flag bearer. He says Darboe was opposed to Barrow’s candidature.
“Little did he knew that it was President Barrow, who was going to free him from jail. He wanted somebody to represent the UDP, other than Barrow. It was Barrow, who freed him from jail,” said Mballow.
Mballow remarked that President did not stop at freeing Darboe from jail, he also appointed him as a Foreign Minister, despite Darboe’s past criminal record as a felon.
“Darboe is a felon; he knows that. President Barrow appointed him Foreign Minister; guess what? He appointed Barrow’s enemies into the Foreign Service; he appointed unqualified people into the Foreign Service; he even handpicked them as Ambassadors,” Mballow alleges.
According to Mballow, while Darboe was serving in Barrow’s administration, the UDP leader was allegedly bent on undermining the government. He says Darboe even discriminated at his former UDP inmates by telling Barrow to sideline them in term of access to employment among others. He referenced the likes of Lamin Jatta of Brikama and Baboucarr Jitteh of Gunjur as Darboe’s victims of discrimination. He says both Jatta and Jitteh, were in jail with Darboe, but the UDP leader never wanted them to serve in the administration–talk-less of driving a car.
Mballow also accused Darboe of allegedly pocketing monies raised by Gambian overseas during the peak of Gambia’s liberation struggle. He notes that Darboe’s sheer greed has no boundary.
Mballow says he wouldn’t mind to engage Darboe into a debate. He says as far as he was concerned, Darboe was nobody–given what he calls “the struggle he (Mballow) has waged against Jammeh over the years.”
Written By Pa Nderry M’Bai
Email: panderrymbai@gmail.com
Tel: 919-749-6319
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