Gambiaj.com – (BANJUL, The Gambia) – United Democratic Party (UDP) leader Ousainou Darboe has strongly refuted claims by former Gambian Vice President Fatoumata Jallow-Tambajang that her abrupt dismissal from government in 2018 was politically engineered to make way for him.
Speaking Monday on West Coast Radio’s flagship program Coffee Time with Peter Gomez, Darboe described Tambajang’s narrative as “misleading,” insisting that her removal stemmed from her own actions rather than any political conspiracy.
Tambajang, in a recent appearance on the same program, had alleged that her dismissal was orchestrated with the involvement of then-UN Permanent Representative Momodou Tangara to pave the way for Darboe to ascend to the vice presidency. But Darboe dismissed the claims as baseless.
“I had absolutely no hand in her removal from office. She paved the way for her removal by her own actions,” Darboe said, pointing specifically to a controversial letter Tambajang allegedly signed to the United Nations, presenting herself as “acting president” during President Adama Barrow’s absence.
Darboe said he confronted Tambajang after evidence of the letter surfaced while he was abroad. “I nearly jumped out of my skin when I saw that letter. I asked her, ‘Why did you deceive me?’ She had earlier denied ever signing such a letter. That, for me, was the real cause of her downfall,” he said.
The UDP leader further rejected Tambajang’s assertion that constitutional amendments scrapping the age limit for the presidency were made to benefit him. He argued that she, not him, was the first beneficiary of those reforms.
“If the constitution was amended for me, then I would have been appointed vice president immediately. But she was the one appointed first, not me,” Darboe explained, adding that he had initially declined President Barrow’s offer of the post due to constitutional disqualification at the time.
Darboe also recounted how he personally intervened to ensure Tambajang’s appointment despite internal resistance. “I stood by her to be appointed vice president. People were trying to block it, but I fought for her. For her now to suggest that I engineered her removal is unfair,” he said.
He stressed that contrary to Tambajang’s claims, he was unaware of any decision by President Barrow to sack her and would have tried to dissuade him if he had known.
The UDP leader, visibly pained during the interview, said he found it “embarrassing” to publicly address the issue but felt compelled to “set the record straight.”
Tambajang served as vice president and minister of Women’s affairs from 2017 to 2018 before her sudden dismissal, which fueled speculation at the time about divisions within the Barrow government.
