By Lamin Cham
Kuto Manneh, a prominent Gambian microbiologist and senior member of the United Democratic Party died yesterday, aged 59.
A native of Brufut, Kutubo was an ace student at the then Gambia High School from where he continued to pursue further studies at the University of Glasgow. He served as head microbiology at the Royal Victoria Hospital and tutored a generation of Gambians on the subject.
Mr Manneh also worked at a hospital in Saudi Arabia where he made name for himself as a much sought after consultant.
In January 2001, he sustained severe injuries in a car accident involving senior UDP officials in the Central River Region. His wife and two sitting National Assembly members died in that motor vehicle accident.
Since then, Mr Manneh has been confined to a wheelchair but that has not dimmed his passion to serve his community and the party he has given so much to.
His colleagues in the UDP said he had vast experience and acute organisational skills. He was famously quoted as saying that he “returned to The Gambia not to take government job but to consolidate the gains made in democracy”.
In Brufut where he was better known as Atty, Kutubo served as a mentor to the young and was a proud member of the community well respected by many. He is survived by a son currently pursuing a doctoral programme studies in Wisconsin, USA.
His remains were laid to rest at Brufut yesterday.
