Dear Editor,
Gambian politics has entered a troubling era where memory is no longer a shared national archive but a tool reshaped at will by those seeking political advantage. When leaders begin to retell history in ways that contradict documented testimony, the public must pause, interrogate, and insist on truth. This is not about personalities. It is about the integrity of our democratic culture and the moral duty to protect public memory from manipulation.
The late retired General Lamin Bojang—former Party Leader and Secretary General of the Alliance for National Reorientation and Development (ANRD) once narrated a story that should give every citizen reason to reflect. In a recorded interview, he explained that shortly after the 2016 political transition, he was recalled to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs because the then Minister, Hon. Ousainu Darboe, assumed he was Jola based solely on his surname. Bojang clarified that he was, in fact, Mandinka.
While no publicly available record states the exact date or month of his recall, the account comes directly from General Bojang himself. His testimony remains uncontested, and its substance has never been challenged by any official statement or counter narrative. In the absence of contradictory evidence, his own words stand as part of the public record.
This raises a question that cannot be brushed aside: who is telling the truth, and who is reshaping the narrative to suit present political needs?
This question becomes even more urgent when placed alongside Darboe’s recent remarks during his nationwide tour. Speaking at a rally in Batabutu Kantora in Foni, he sought to reassure supporters that a UDP government would never marginalize ethnic minorities. To demonstrate this, he cited his personal intervention in appointing the late Hon. Abdoulie Bojang a native of Foni and former Speaker of the National Assembly as Ambassador to South Africa during the coalition government.
At first glance, the claim appears noble. But when examined closely, it reveals a pattern of selective storytelling that Gambians must learn to recognise. Abdoulie Bojang’s appointment did indeed occur in 2017, during the Barrow administration’s early diplomatic reshuffle, at a time when Darboe served as Minister of Foreign Affairs. That much is true. But the appointment was part of a broader coalition restructuring, not a solitary act of ethnic magnanimity. It was a political and diplomatic decision within a transitional government—not a personal gesture of inclusivity.
Yet in Foni, the story was retold as though it were a singular act of ethnic outreach, a personal testament to Darboe’s commitment to diversity. This is where the narrative begins to wobble. Because if Darboe now presents himself as a champion of ethnic inclusion, how do we reconcile that with General Lamin Bojang’s testimony—where ethnicity was misread, assumed, and acted upon without verification?
Both narratives cannot stand without scrutiny. One suggests a leader who makes decisions based on assumptions about ethnicity. The other paints a portrait of a leader who goes out of his way to uplift ethnic minorities. The contradiction is not trivial. It speaks to a broader pattern: the instrumentalisation of ethnicity and selective memory to score political points.
This is the politics of convenience. This is the politics of opportunism. And Gambians must reject it.
Ethnicity has long been a sensitive fault line in our national life. It has been weaponised, manipulated, and exploited—sometimes subtly, sometimes openly. When leaders begin to use selective memory to sanitize their record, they risk deepening mistrust and widening communal divides. A nation cannot build unity on narratives that shift with political winds. Nor can it build trust on stories that are polished for applause rather than anchored in truth.
What Gambians deserve is leadership that is consistent, transparent, and accountable to public memory. Leadership that does not bend truth for political expediency. Leadership that understands that the moral weight of public office demands honesty, even when the truth is inconvenient.
General Lamin Bojang’s testimony stands. The documented facts of Abdoulie Bojang’s appointment stand. The contradictions stand. And the public must decide what to do with them.
If we are serious about building a nation where every community feels respected, then we must confront the politics of deception with courage. We must insist that our leaders speak truthfully, not selectively. We must defend the integrity of our national memory from those who would rewrite it for political gain.
Let us end the politics of deception. Let us refuse the politics of opportunism. Let us build a democratic culture where truth is not a tool of convenience but the foundation of national dignity.
Mustapha Jallow
