President Adama Barrow Saturday launched an extraordinary attack on UDP and the party’s leader Ousainou Darboe – charging that the party organises thugs who wear black outfits and go about profiling Gambians. Mr Barrow also said the party’s leader Darboe was engaged in desperate attempts to become president.
Speaking at State House on Saturday afternoon while meeting with chiefs and alkalolu, Mr Barrow said: “I have seen something going on and all Gambians should be mindful of that. I have never seen it. APRC spent 22 years here and Jawara did 30 years and we were here. But we have never seen anything like it. I’m just seeing it this year and everyone should stand and fight against such politics in this country.
“You have people who mobilise themselves going around and profiling people – who is a citizen and who is not. Myself they labeled me saying I’m not Barrow but Barry and I’m from Guinea. It’s politics that can bring violence in this country. You have not come to power yet and yet you organize thugs wearing black outfits and they’re attacking people, they’re going to be at queues and taking their papers and telling them they’re not Gambians. What kind of people are they? If such people take this country, Billahi until the world ends you will never forget what they will do to you.
“And it’s deliberate. You have people among those thugs who are holding American passports and they vote in the America election. And their blacks when America is a white country. And these same people wrote a letter to the Senegalese ambassador telling him his people were engaging in Gambian politics and then a delegation was formed headed by someone said to be a top diplomat, Sidat Jobe. They went to Senegalese ambassador and told him his Senegalese people were meddling in our politics and they want them to stay away. How many ambassadors do we have here but they singled out the Senegalese ambassador and went to attack him.
“And Senegal’s is our neighbours and Senegal is Gambia’s most important development partner. However desperate you are to become president, it should not have to reach to certain lengths. And we were all in the same party in the past. We didn’t we see such bravery. Why weren’t you abusing people in the past? Why weren’t you telling people they’re not citizens in the past?
“If anything happens, my elder [Darboe] calls a press conference saying ‘I will not accept this, I will not accept that’. Why were you not doing those press conferences yesterday [during Jammeh’s time]? For 25 years the press conferences he never did is what he is doing in a year. He just finished doing a press conference. You intimidating people and you’re not a president yet. If such person become president, you will see what he will do to us.”
