By: Momodou Justice Darboe & Binta Jaiteh
The Secretary-General of the UDP has said that the passing on Friday night of Sukai Dahaba was a national loss.
The nation on Saturday woke up to the devastating news of the demise of Ms. Dahaba at Ndemban Clinic in Bakau, where she was receiving medical care.
The late Sukai Dahaba was one of the Gambian women, who put their lives on the line, to challenge dictatorship in The Gambia.
She became endeared to the Gambia’s main opposition party while she was still going to school and later went on to become one of the party’s fiercest foot soldiers.
In 1996, she took part in a pro-democracy demonstration demanding electoral reforms but was arrested alongside other women, tortured, and detained.
In an audio address to UDP sympathizers and the nation, Lawyer Ousainou Darboe described the demise of Sukai Dahaba as a loss to the entire Gambian nation.
According to Hon. Darboe, the current dispensation is the fruit of the sacrifice made by individuals like Sukai.
“They worked for it. They endured physical pain. They took the beatings, and the imprisonment until we got what we attained today in the country. The loss is, therefore, a loss to every Gambian. This is a national loss. We urge all to pray for her on her youthful departure and may Allah grant her the highest of heavens,” Darboe stated in his somber address.
The UDP leader acknowledged that the late Sukai and her parents have dedicated their lives to the UDP.
“Fellow UDP members and fellow Gambians, today Allah has taken back what He had given to our daughter, niece, and colleague and our everything; somebody who had put her life on the line for The Gambia,” Darboe said.
The UDP leader added: “Every individual in the UDP from 1996 knew Sukai or you must know about her, especially those in the KMC.
Her father Bully Dahaba and her mother SukutaJaffuneh were since 1996 preoccupied with the affairs of the UDP. As a young girl, they will hold Sukai’shand in theirs and take her to any important (UDP) rally in her parents’ constituency. When finding candidates became very tough for us, Sukai stood as a councilor for KMC.
Those days, things were very tough for us. In April-May 2016, she was among those, who suffered in all forms. There was a moment in time when she fled to Senegal and returned home after the change. Since her return, she never swayed from whatever she did for the party (UDP) until today.”