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The Gambia’s dramatic political transition in 2016 was more than a change of government; it was a collective sigh of relief from a nation that had held its breath for 22 years. It was a promise. A promise of a new dawn, of accountability, and of a democracy that would truly serve its people. Yet,
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The sudden withdrawal of Talib Bensouda from the United Democratic Party’s (UDP) flagbearer race—and his resignation as the party’s National Organizing Secretary—has sent shockwaves through Gambian politics. This isn’t just another internal party dispute; it is a symptom of deeper structural challenges within the UDP and, by extension, The Gambia’s fragile democracy. As the country
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As the UDP chooses its leader, it must decide between veteran struggle-hero politics and a new vision for the future In the bustling streets of Banjul, Serrekunda, and Brikama, a political drama is unfolding that encapsulates Africa’s democratic struggle between past and future. The United Democratic Party (UDP), The Gambia’s largest opposition force, stands at
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BANJUL, The Gambia—In a small nation celebrated for its 2016 democratic revolution, a crisis is unfolding within the United Democratic Party (UDP), The Gambia’s largest opposition force. As the 2026 presidential election approaches, the UDP—once a symbol of resistance against dictatorship—is tearing itself apart over an agonizing question: Should 76-year-old leader Ousainou Darboe, a five-time presidential
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Baba Hydara’s eyes hold a grief that time hasn’t softened. His father, the outspoken journalist Deyda Hydara, was gunned down in cold blood nearly two decades ago, a brazen assassination widely attributed to the regime of then-dictator Yahya Jammeh. Baba testified before Gambia’s Truth, Reconciliation and Repatriations Commission (TRRC), baring his family’s wound to the
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The Gambian people were promised justice—a reckoning for the brutal 22-year kleptocracy of former dictator Yahya Jammeh. Instead, they got a fire sale. When Jammeh fled to Equatorial Guinea in 2017 after losing the election, a state investigation uncovered his theft of at least $362 million in public funds. The spoils were staggering: 281 properties,
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BANJUL, The Gambia—Last March, Gambians witnessed a quiet assault on their democracy. As parliament debated a critical elections bill, it erased a Supreme Court-backed guarantee of diaspora voting rights. Now, tens of thousands of citizens abroad—whose remittances fuel 20% of the economy—face an impossible choice: financial ruin or democratic exile. They must now spend exorbitant
The Civic Scribe: Articles & Poems 