PACCL Tutorial Academy Launches Leadership Development Programme to Empower Future Leaders

The PACCL Tutorial Academy has unveiled its Leadership Development Programme, an initiative designed to nurture the next generation of leaders while also supporting the ongoing growth of current leadership figures.

The programme aims to create a comprehensive leadership pipeline by offering interactive tutorial sessions that cover an array of vital subjects. These include Leadership, Cultures and Languages, Pan-Africanism, Management and Administration, and Sustainable Development. Each session is facilitated by a diverse team of expert tutors, ensuring that participants benefit from a rich and well-rounded learning experience.

At the heart of the initiative lies a dedicated platform launched by PACCL, which serves as a hub for young people eager to sharpen their leadership skills. This platform fosters collaboration, dialogue, and mentorship, enabling participants to connect, share experiences, and build networks that will serve them well into the future.

The Leadership Development Programme is delivered by the Language Documentation, Editing, Teaching, Training and Translation Services (LDETTS) branch of PACCL, highlighting the organisation’s commitment to education, cultural exchange, and capacity-building across communities.

With its strong focus on Pan-African values and sustainable development, the programme is not only shaping leaders but also cultivating socially conscious visionaries ready to make a lasting impact.

A Rebuttal to Hon. Alimameh Gibba’s Hypocrisy on Rights and Freedom

By Yaya Dampha NPP Diaspora Coordinator

 Alimameh Gibba, your recent attempts to cloak yourself as an advocate of rights and freedom are not only hypocritical but also insulting to the memory of countless Gambians—particularly from your own constituency—who suffered and died under Yahya Jammeh’s brutal rule while you sat comfortably in Parliament, silent and complicit.

You now speak of “silencing opposition” and “the voice of the masses,” but where was your voice when Yahya Jammeh’s regime turned Foni Kansala into a killing field and a burial ground for his Junglers? Did you speak for the late Chief Momodou Lamin Nyass, Bubai Sanyang, Ndongo Boob, Macie Jammeh, Jasija Kujabi, Dawda Nyassi, and many other sons of Foni who were arrested, disappeared, or executed in cold blood? Not once did you stand in Parliament to condemn those atrocities. Not once did you demand answers for the families whose loved ones vanished into Jammeh’s torture chambers.

You were not only silent—you were an enabler. As a National Assembly Member under Jammeh, you voted to grant him unconstitutional powers that entrenched his dictatorship. When the Gambian people courageously voted Jammeh out in 2016, you were among those who disgracefully endorsed his declaration of a state of emergency—a desperate, illegal attempt to overturn the sovereign will of the Gambian people. You wanted Jammeh to cling to power even after the ballot had rejected him. That is not the behavior of a defender of rights and democracy; it is the record of a loyal bootlicker of tyranny.

Today you cry foul about “foreign military presence” and “unresolved killings,” but during Jammeh’s reign, when Senegalese, Bissau-Guinean, and other mercenaries were used by Jammeh himself to terrorize Gambians, you saw no problem. You never raised your voice when Jammeh’s hit squads—the Junglers—operated with impunity, executing Gambians and foreigners alike and burying them in Foni’s forests. If those forests could speak, they would indict you and your colleagues for your silence.

You talk of accountability, but you sat in a Parliament that rubber-stamped Jammeh’s looting of state resources, his abuse of public lands, and his illegal expropriation of Gambian citizens’ properties. You did not object when Jammeh and his cronies siphoned millions through shady deals and bogus grants. Instead, you cheered him on.

Your sudden concern for “freedom of debate” in the National Assembly is nothing but opportunism. Rights and freedom are not garments you wear when convenient and discard when your master demands loyalty. They are principles—principles you betrayed at every turn when Gambians needed leaders to stand against dictatorship.

You say you cannot be silenced. But in truth, you silenced yourself for over two decades when your people bled the most. That silence was not the silence of courage, but of cowardice and complicity.

So spare Gambians your crocodile tears about democracy and accountability. You forfeited the moral right to speak about human rights the day you chose to protect Jammeh’s tyranny over the lives of your own constituents. You remain, to this day, a shameless relic of that dark chapter—a man who stood on the side of oppression when the Gambian people cried for justice.

The people of Foni Kansala, and The Gambia at large, deserve better than your hypocrisy.

Opinion: Their Own Worst Enemy: When the Minority Defines the Majority

By SutayKuta Sanneh UK

They say perception can be more powerful than truth—and for the United Democratic Party (UDP), that perception is becoming its greatest political liability.

For years, the UDP has battled accusations of tribalism—an image its members insist is undeserved. Loyalists are quick to tell anyone who cares to listen that theirs is a party founded on democratic ideals, inclusion, and justice. But politics, like reputation, is not about what one believes to be true; it’s about what others see and hear. And too often, what the public sees and hears from some self-proclaimed UDP supporters is intolerance, arrogance, and a disturbing sense of entitlement that undermines the party’s noble principles.

When perception begins to mirror reality, defending the indefensible becomes impossible. It’s like the story of a man accused of biting another’s finger during a fight. A witness for the prosecution takes the stand and the defence lawyer asks: “did you see my client bite off that man’s finger?” “No”, says the witness. “Aha” probes the smug lawyer, “How then could you be sure he did it?” Well, I did see him spit it out. 

The UDP remains home to some of the most capable and intellectually versatile individuals in Gambian politics—its human capital is unmatched. Yet, in public discourse, it is not these voices of reason and restraint that dominate. Instead, the loudest microphones often belong to the least reflective—the “opinion snipers” -who are more lethal than IDF Snipers- these people mistake hostility for loyalty and aggression for strength. Furthermore, these few have turned the party’s social spaces into echo chambers where dissent is branded betrayal, alternative views are viewed with suspicion of being a planted spy, and independent thought is punishable by social “boycott.”

In such an environment, the UDP risks alienating precisely the kind of thinkers it needs most—those who can help it evolve from a movement of grievance into a movement of governance.

In his soundtrack song, “Coming Harder” Reggae artist Everton Blender once sang, “To liberate yourself, you have to eliminate some.” The British Labour Party understood this lesson when it purged key figures—including former leader Jeremy Corbyn—to rid itself of the stench of antisemitism. Painful as it was, it was a political exorcism necessary for rebirth. If Labour could cut loose its own heavyweights, what has UDP got to lose by decisively distancing itself from those who cost it credibility, cohesion, and elections? 

Press releases calling for “decorum” no longer suffice. This is not a problem of general indiscipline—it is the behaviour of a few whose loudness amplifies smallness. A serious party cannot afford “attack dogs;” it needs thinkers, strategists, and communicators who can battle ideas with intellect, not insults.

Admittedly, the UDP is not alone in its shortcomings. The ruling National People’s Party (NPP) has its own share of bad-mannered loyalists whose politics seem defined more by sycophancy than service. But let’s resist the comfort of whataboutism. The UDP is not in government; it is the main opposition—and opposition carries the burden of hope. Competing with the NPP in a race to the bottom is like diving headfirst into a dry well. We have witnessed this time and time again. He who was the devil yesterday became an angel today, and he who was an angel yesterday becomes the devil today. All depending on which side one falls on, and we are all meant to accept and blindly agree to this logic too.

The tragedy of Gambian politics is not that we have bad leaders—it’s that we keep rewarding bad behaviour. When party leaders pose for photo-ops with individuals whose conduct is morally bankrupt, the message is one of endorsement. And when political opportunists are celebrated rather than censured, they multiply. As Warren Buffett famously said, “Only when the tide goes out do you discover who’s been swimming naked.”

We’ve seen the tide go out recently—and too many have been caught without the cover of principle. We saw this recently, when Sabally was exposed by the low tide and sadly he was not the only naked swimmer in the opposition. That’s not a victory for the NPP; it’s a tragedy for our democracy. The crisis of Gambian politics is not about ethnicity or ideology—it is about integrity. Until political parties, especially the UDP, sanitize their internal culture, our politics will remain a carnival of unprincipled men pretending to be patriots.

My brother once said there are three types of people you cannot advise: an arrogant rich man, a woman in love, and a UDP supporter. Perhaps it’s time the UDP proved him wrong—by showing that self-reflection, not defensiveness, is the true mark of maturity.

Because in the end, a party that cannot discipline itself cannot lead a nation.

You see, we should understand that a whole lot of people didn’t “vote” for Barrow and NPP in the 2021 elections, they just “voted against” Darboe and by extension UDP. 

“When perception becomes stronger than truth, reality ceases to matter—and politics becomes theatre for the blind.” 

Former Staff Sergeant Bobb's Rebuttal To Rtd. colonel Samsudeen Sarr

Rebuttal to Colonel Samsudeen Sarr’s Misrepresentation of the First Gambian ECOMOG Contingent

Former Gambia National Army Staff Sergeant Ebou Bobb has strongly refuted the recent claims made by retired Colonel Samsudeen Sarr regarding The Gambia’s first contingent to Liberia in 1990, describing them as false, misleading, and fabricated.

“With utmost respect to my brother and comrade, Colonel Sarr, I am both shocked and disappointed by your attempt to rewrite a history you were never part of. You were not on the ground with us in Liberia, and your version of events is based purely on hearsay. As someone who physically served in that mission as a Platoon Sergeant, I can confidently state that your account is factually wrong and misleading the Gambian people.

We did not fly into Liberia by C-130 or helicopter as you claim. We departed from Ghana aboard the ship Tano River and docked at the Liberian seaport under the protection of Prince Johnson’s faction. There were no jet fighters bombarding Charles Taylor’s rebels, as you alleged.

The two gallant soldiers we lost — L/Cpl Lamin Bojang, a medic, and Pte Sama Jawo, my platoon runner and radio operator — were not killed during the harbouring stage but a week after capturing the Freeport. At that time, Liberia had no electricity, no functioning airport, and no safe landing zone for any C-130. The tragic reality was that there was no possible means to transport their remains back home, which left us with no option but to bury them with dignity on Liberian soil.

Furthermore, your claim of any planned coup meeting in Liberia is baseless and false. Such discussions never took place. We were fully committed to our mission, motivated not by politics or personal gain, but by love for our country and pride in carrying The Gambia’s flag as one of the youngest and smallest contingents in the ECOMOG mission.

Colonel Sarr, I urge you to correct your narrative. True history must be preserved by those who lived it, not distorted for recognition or self-promotion. As soldiers, our service was for country first, and our sacrifices speak louder than any attempt to rewrite the record.”

Editorial:Will UDP Ever Win Presidential Elections?

   

The United Democratic Party (UDP), once considered the largest opposition force in The Gambia, has spent the past few years cultivating a political culture that does more harm than good to its image and chances at national leadership. From 2018 to date, the UDP’s approach—both on the ground and online—has been marked not by persuasion, policy, or principles, but by insults, intimidation, and name-calling.

Those who dare to disagree with UDP positions are not seen as fellow citizens exercising democratic rights but are instead branded as traitors, sellouts, or “less Gambian.” Critics are smeared with the most unimaginable accusations, their ethnicity weaponized, their loyalty questioned. The idea that belonging to a party automatically makes one a “true Mandinka” or a “real Gambian” has poisoned discourse and alienated large swathes of the electorate.

Instead of focusing on educating the people, mobilizing on the basis of the party’s manifesto, or proposing credible solutions to the country’s challenges, the UDP has wasted valuable time on personality attacks and empty rhetoric. Party defectors are insulted as “slaves” or accused of “eating vomit” simply for making political choices. This attitude ignores one fundamental reality of democracy: political support is fluid. No party can expect loyalty without accountability, and no party can grow by insulting those who leave.

This toxic politics has consequences. In 2021, the UDP suffered a humiliating defeat, despite boasting of being the strongest opposition. The reason is simple—politics is about winning hearts, not breaking spirits. It is about building coalitions, not burning bridges. It is about offering hope, not threats. And until the UDP recognizes that, it will continue to lose.

  

The old saying is true: there are no permanent friends in politics, only permanent interests. The electorate is not obliged to stand by anyone’s words just to prove loyalty. People support parties and leaders who reflect their aspirations, who show respect, and who can deliver progress. If the UDP fails to shift from divisive rhetoric to constructive politics, the question is not whether it can win, but whether it can even remain relevant in the years ahead.

Bombshell In UDP As Dr. Lamin J. Darbo Resigns from UDP, Citing “Principled Departure

By Jarranews Staff Reporter

Prominent legal scholar and political advocate Dr. Lamin J. Darbo has formally resigned from the United Democratic Party (UDP), citing what he described as a “principled departure” motivated by his commitment to democratic renewal and civic transformation in The Gambia.

In a letter addressed to the party’s Senior Administrative Secretary, Hon. Alhagie S. Darboe, Dr. Darbo outlined his reasons for stepping down, stressing that his political journey was never about personal ambition but about helping build a republic rooted in fairness, accountability, and good governance.

“The UDP’s role in resisting tyranny is well established, and I was honored to lend my voice and intellect to that struggle,” he wrote, recalling his involvement in strategy meetings with party leader Ousainu Darboe and his participation in legal defenses during the high-profile Solo Sandeng electoral reform trials.

However, Dr. Darbo said the party’s internal culture had become increasingly incompatible with his values. He criticized what he saw as a leadership style that “values loyalty over competence, silence over scrutiny, and expediency over principle.”

He also pointed to opaque internal processes, citing the 2021 flagbearer selection in which he was denied even an interview. “A party that cannot govern itself transparently cannot credibly promise and manage national transformation,” he declared.

Dr. Darbo emphasized that his resignation should not be seen as retreat but as a reaffirmation of his “higher civic mission.” He outlined a vision for The Gambia that includes transparent governance, zero tolerance for corruption, equitable access to education and healthcare, greater youth empowerment, and stronger engagement with the Gambian diaspora.

Addressing his colleagues and supporters within the UDP, Dr. Darbo expressed respect and solidarity, while urging the party to return to its founding values. “The UDP has immense potential to remain a vehicle of democratic renewal—but only if it returns to fairness and transparency,” he stated.

To the wider Gambian public, he reaffirmed his unwavering commitment to justice and national progress, concluding with an appeal for unity and dignity:

“May future generations inherit a worthy republic enshrined in the values of fairness and dignity—with malice toward none, with charity for all.”