By: Momodou Justice Darboe
The Chairman of Kuntaur Area Council has described as lies media reports he absconded to the US.
Mr. Saihou Jawara was speaking to this reporter on Sunday following his return from the US over the weekend.
The online media was last week awash with allegations that Chairman Jawara had decided to stay in the US after going there in September of last year to attend a series of meetings.
Kuntaur Area Council General Council meeting last week ended with the issuance of a 24-hour ultimatum to Jawara to return home or risk losing his position for “overstaying”.
However, the CEO of Kerewan Area Council said Chairman Jawara was issued a visa to take part in meetings from September of last year to January of 2024.
In an interview with this medium, Mr. Jawaradismissed reports of his absconding as unfounded and calculated to tarnish his image.
“I was in the US to attend different events and the last event I attended just a few days ago was the Conference of Mayors in which different mayors from different countries around the world took part. I think these meetings were important to my council because of the situation of Kuntaur Area Council as the poorest council in the entire country,” he explained.
“I decided to stay to attend the meetings after realizing that the council cannot fund my travels to and from the US. The council did not pay me any allowance during my stay. Do the authors of these stories know the meaning of abscond? I believe I must do something bad to abscond,” he added.
Allegations of Acclimatization in US
The Chairman was also accused of hooking up with ladies in the US and increasingly gaining familiarity with his new environment of high-rise buildings and wonders of the world.
“They are lying. They just didn’t know the extent of the lies that they were peddling against me. I have a wife and come to think of it if my wife divorces me because of their allegations. I can sue them but I will not because we are all Gambians and I can forgive and overlook their lies against me,” Mr. Jawara told The Voice.