Now that the much gossiped arrival of Jawara has come to pass, I'm wondering
what all this means for the UDP/PPP?  If you recalled, Jawara was with the
Coalition up to the last Presidential elections, what happened since then?
Going by OJ's comments a few days ago in the papers, did Jawara cut a side
deal with Jammeh to the exclusion of OJ and the Coalition's who is who?  How
come OJ, the guard dog of the PPP Frontier, up to a week ago was not aware
of a date certain for Jawara's return?  Does this explain the bizarre events
that followed Jawara's arrival, from arriving at 4:00am to his muzzling from
the airport to his residence?  Or is Jawara in cahoots with the APRC is this
silent comedy?  Folks, this Jawara/APRC creeping looks more like a
conspiracy against Gambians the more one looks at it.  Are we seeing another
Sheriff Dibba style cross-carpet?  I'm asking these questions because I know
that we are not going to get to the truth from either Jawara or the APRC.
If Jawara is acted upon at this stage of the show, for what ever reason,
watch out when Mansa Jammeh starts giving him some money.  He might make
Sheriff Dibba look like a Saint in this "Kora Affair".  And who said "Kora"
does not rhyme with "Bugarabu"?  Please read on.


The Independent Published Monday, June 3, 2002


No ‘red carpet’ reception in spite of promise Sir Dawda’s return causes
family furor

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Barely hours after he touched down at the Banjul International Airport early
last Saturday, Sir Dawda’s family members have criticised the ‘unnecessarily
heavy’ security presence, which prevented them from welcoming him to the
country he left as a deposed leader almost eight years ago.

Sir Dawda whose homecoming in the wee hours of Saturday was described as a
low-key affair suddenly put paid to a maze of local speculation, hype and
doubts over his return, which had spanned several months. Disappointed
family members of the deposed Gambian leader most of whom came from Barajali
(his home village) and Brikama told the press that Sir Dawda’s reunion with
his homeland was supposed to be a happy and lively affair but had
unfortunately passed off as a homecoming lacking in ceremony due to the
absence of any state official to meet him in spite of a promise echoed by
the Secretary of State for Tourism to give the erstwhile leader a ‘red
carpet’ reception.

Saikanding Jawara, the erstwhile leader’s elder brother who was with other
members of the family at the airport said he was deeply dismayed over why
they were denied entry by security officers who said they were acting on
strict instructions.

Saikanding said the welcome party was there upon the invitation of Sir Dawda
who he explained had telephoned him from the UK with a request to be
received by them. He said they were appalled that Sir Dawda was not allowed
to speak to anyone. ‘Sir Dawda telephoned me hours before he arrived,
wishing to see us at the Banjul International Airport but when we turned up
at the appointed time, the security despite knowing that we are his own
blood, refused us to even have a glimpse of him’ he said, as his voice
strained with desperation. Some old men and women who complained that they
were at the airport more than six hours before his arrival said it was
inconceivable that such a high-profile figure could be given an official
snub.

Alhagie Higinkeh Jaiteh and Sankung Fatty also relatives of Sir Dawda said
the security ‘cordon’ around him did not help to assure them that President
Jammeh’s government was being friendly and accommodating towards Gambia’s
president of thirty years. Immediately after disembarking from his plane,
Sir Dawda was whisked away to a waiting array of cars, which sped to his
Fajara residence, providing him no chance to meet his well-wishers some of
whom were at the airport before 2 am Saturday.

Despite earlier hints of a planned state reception headed by President
Jammeh, there was no government official present at the airport.

Only Abdoulie Kujabi the deputy director of the National Intelligence Agency
with plainclothes security officers were his escorts as he was being
accompanied by ten members of his immediate family among them Chilel Jawara.
Sir Dawda’s family criticised the ‘indifferent’ attitude of the country’s
leadership to his homecoming, which they said was a deliberate attempt to
downplay his national importance. ‘The importance of such a man is
undeniable even to those who rule the country today’ one family member
enraged over the low-profile nature of Sir Dawda’s return remarked.










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