Over the last 17 years, The Gambian people have been subjugated into a dictatorship in which several have disappeared and countless have migrated to foreign countries. As I write, Dr. Amadou Scattred Janneh sits in jail for exercising his democratic rights and Sister Ndey Tapha Sosseh and Mathew Jallow have been charged in absentia by the kangaroo courts of the dictatorship for fearlessly standing up for their democratic principles. Unfortunately, The Gambia is no longer the “Smiling Coast of West Africa.” Interestingly, I left The Gambia and Kombo East Constituency because of the PPP thugs and the same people have shamelessly paraded their loyalty to the dictatorship.

Candidly, Sir Dawda Kairaba Jawara was not a bad leader. It was his MPs who fought to destroy the opposition candidates in their constituencies. My situation was the “Jalang” that the PPP MP was rumored to have put on me. It was a shock to the people when I met this former MP and I proudly shook hands with him. He even asked if I could eat from the same bowl with him. To his surprise I concurred, but his supporters pulled him away from me. Unbeknown to the people of Kombo East, this MP’s late father promised that he would vote for me because my late great grandmother and his father came from the same mother and father. As a small child in Perang Berending, I used to follow the old man to his house when the PPP thugs shouted insults at him for supporting Pierre S. Njie. In another dimension, it was the late grand “marabout” of Perang Berending who had convinced me to seek the NCP candidacy.

Over the last 5 years, I have remitted over $60,000 to Gambia. I know with certainty that countless Gambians have even remitted more. Though I am not convinced that a disjointed opposition can mount a serious challenge to an unfair election, I am withholding funds to any family member who cannot promise me that he or she would vote for the opposition. While this decision may affect my dear family members, I consciously cannot continue to give them a blanket support. I believe the entire country of The Gambia is my family.

How can I continue to do business as usual when the dictatorship that has turned the country into a pre-colonial period, several have disappeared and countless have migrated to foreign country? It is often said that a politician never leaves politics. Thus, my fellow Gambians, please join me in sending the same message to your family members in The Gambia.

Sincerely,

Dr. Lamine Jassey Conteh.