By Momodou Darboe
The spokesman of APRC has warned the lead counsel at the TRRC Essa Faal never to heed suggestions from social media encouraging him to feel a ‘false sense of popularity’ to join the 2021 fray for State House.
Mr Faal has however never said he would go into politics. But his growing popularity from his work at the TRRC has won him many admirers in and outside The Gambia. But it has also won him few friends, if any at all, among supporters of ex-president Jammeh. Mr Faal has always said that neither him nor the TRRC is out for any personal vendetta and their mandate is to seek truth about human rights violations under the Jammeh regime and that such a mission has no political objective.
However, in a two-part interview with The Standard last week, the former president Yahya Jammeh’s party spokesman and parliamentarian Musa Amul Nyassi sounded a note of caution for Mr Faal not to fall for ‘flattering’ social media commentaries, creating in him an impression of political strength.
Amul remarked that Faal’s clout at the TRRC should not be misconstrued as a barometer for his political prospects because not every Gambian is enamoured of his functions at the truth-telling body.
“Let him not allow himself to be fooled into thinking that he’s popular when, in fact, not everybody likes what he’s doing,” he said.
“If he goes into politics, he will realize he’s a lightweight.”
APRC flag-bearer
According to Amul, the upper echelons of the APRC have plans in the pipeline to gather and discuss the future of the party and it’s believed the issue of flag-bearer will take centre stage during those discussions.
The party’s mouthpiece told The Standard that it has not yet taken any move in relations to its 2021 flag-bearer. He could neither comment on whether it will choose former president Yahya Jammeh nor on the possibility of a second option in the event Jammeh, who is in exile in Equatorial Guinea, could not run.
