Kebba Ansu Manneh
The Secretary-General and the Leader of the Opposition United Democratic Party, Ousainu Darboe on Saturday lambasted the judiciary which he said is abusing the judicial processes just to satisfy the government of Adama Barrow by suppressing political opponents in the country just like before.
The party leader made the claim at a press briefing during the weekend with regards to the extension of the party campaign manager’s detention , Momodu Sabally by the police.
Outlining the party’s stand on Sabally’s detention at a press conference held at the party’s bureau, the party leader accused the judiciary and the police of conspiring with President Barrow of making tactics to intimidate political opponents ahead of the local government elections.
“We (UDP) will never be intimidated, we will make sure that the Councils that we have we retained them and also make sure that the Councils that you (President Barrow) are aspiring to gain, you do not win them and this is what we mean by taking the country and we are prepared to take the country. If taking the country means taking the government ,well that is a wrong interpretation. When Sabally said ‘we will lockdown the country, that does not mean taking the government,” Darboe explained while promising to produce an affidavit by an unidentified person who claimed to be Lamin Cham.
“He(Lamin Cham) swore a false affidavit because Mr. Sabally never used the word government, he said ‘Banko’ which simply means the country. Because Sabally is a ‘thorn in their throne’, he says exactly as it is, that is why they think that this is the way to silence him, and to do that they have to call for the aid of the judiciary to carry out this heinous and shameful act,” Darboe added, noting that Gambians must not forget the late Solo Sandeng who died in the fight against dictatorship.
