When the leader of opposition Gambia Democractic Congress (GDC) was pedaling allegations that ministers of the Coalition government embezzled donor funds he didn’t realise how he had weakened his political career. Mama Kandeh would have been a political darling had he substantiated what turned out to be “wild allegations.” His failure to prove his case had only left Kandeh politically wounded in a country where open liars deserve no respect.
What can Mama Kandeh do to redeem his tattered image? It appears he runs out of options because he had waited for too long to either provide evidence or offer an apology, forgetting that time sometimes doesn’t heal a problem. In a New Gambia, people don’t want to let anything political to sleep. That’s why we weren’t surprised when Lawyer Ousainou Darboe was asked about Kandeh’s wild allegations on Fatu Network. His answer that no one should make “irresponsible statements to gain cheap popularity” belongs to Yahya Jammeh’s political science.
As a former MP of one of Africa’s most corrupt and dictatorial regimes, Kandeh should have carefully honed his political skills. Any reckless or loose talk will only demean him politically.
Most of us who covered Lawyer Darboe during his heydays of politics concurred with him when he said “We spent our lives fighting that regime and their corruption. We made substantiated allegations against Jammeh and we challenged him to take us to court if he disputes them.” We remember how Darboe’s substantiated allegations had become a thorn in Jammeh’s flesh. Mama Kandeh too is capable of creating chaos for President Adama Barrow if he has the ability to substantiate his allegations. With a proven allegation Kandeh would have his head high above the sky.
Mama, our food for thought for you is, “give your words a test flight before releasing them.” Like a bomb, released gaffes put one on the defensive. What is the point of spending a whole day struggling to undo a gaffe that could have been avoided by exercising restraint?
Ends
Mama Kandeh is not morally , spiritually,and intellectually capable of leading a genuine political party that is based on rule of law , democracy and economic prosperity. How can a man who gave blind eye to atrocities, economic prostitution and democracy now claim to be an advocate of democracy and rule of law ? Mr Kandeh is not even qualified to lead a village where honesty and truthfulness are inherently part and parcel of every day business. So I do not consider him as a leader but a Fraud politician with highest immoral character.
I am opposed to, and frankly, despise this type of politics, where political platforms are used for character assassination and levelling allegations of all kinds against opponents, but the reaction from the UDP camp, is akin to the “pot calling the kettle black”. The UDP’s modus operandi, as indeed some of the other parties in the 2nd Republic, is the same as GDC: use their political rallies to make all kinds of allegations against their opponent, Yaya Jammeh. And I’m sorry, but if “substantiate” means to “provide evidence to prove that what you claim is true”, then I am not aware of any instance where Mr Darboe produced evidence to prove any of his allegations against Yaya Jammeh. Moreover, because those allegations are made during rallies verbally, it will be very difficult for Yaya Jammeh to take him to court and win the case, because the evidence will only be “hearsay”. And if Mr Darboe expected Jammeh to take him to court, shouldn’t Mr Kandeh have the right to expect the ministers to take him to court?
Why the double standards? UDP Leader used to make unsubstantiated allegations against Yaya Jammeh and expected him (Jammeh) to go to court to clear himself. Well, if we go by the same rule, then it is the turn of the ministers to take Mama Kandeh to court for making unsubstantiated allegations against them to clear themselves. Personally, I think Mama Kandeh is irresponsible, as charged, and should be ignore by the ministers until he names specific individuals. As long as he is just making generalised allegations, he should be challenged to provide proofs, but left alone by the Police to carry on with his politicking. That’s what they all know.
Like Mr Sallah always says, a new Gambia cannot be born without a new Gambian, but as at now, apart from an end to abuses and killings, it is business as usual. No changes except in faces and personalities and a fat wallet for those who could be squeezed on the already, crowded gravy train, whilst the poor, silent and gullible masses continue to suffer in hope.
If you are blind you cannot see. Darboe needs not to prove to anyone that Yaya is bad.
Go tell that to a court of law!!!