Six Defeats Too Many? UDP Cyber Warrior Warns Darboe

Nanama Keita, a UDP cyber warrior known for his open support of Mayor Talib Bensouda’s candidacy as UDP flagbearer, has urged Ousainou Darboe not to contest the presidency in 2026. In a Facebook write-up, Keita stated: “If Ousainou Darboe were my father—and I say this with the utmost respect for a man old enough to be one—I would plead with him not to contest the presidency in 2026.”

He argued that Darboe, a veteran lawyer who rose to become Foreign Minister, Vice President, and at one point the de facto President, has already achieved enough to secure his place in history. According to Keita, Darboe does not need the presidency to validate his legacy, and a continued pursuit of the office could risk overshadowing his accomplishments. Keita warned that another defeat—what would be Darboe’s sixth in three decades—could have damaging consequences for both the UDP and its long-time leader. “If a struggle begins and ends with one individual, then it was never truly a collective struggle—it was always about that individual,” he wrote. However, Keita also noted that the situation could be turned into an opportunity. He suggested that Darboe could strengthen his legacy by focusing on renewal within the UDP, championing a successor, and leading a generational transition. Doing so, he argued, would demonstrate that the UDP is bigger than any one individual and would secure the party’s future beyond 2026. He concluded with a pointed question: Will 2026 be about Darboe himself, or about the future of the UDP?