Ousainou Mbenga has swiftly reacted to Kairo News article titled Mbenga And The Bragging Snakes. For reasons best known to him, Mr. Mbenga snubbed Kairo News. Instead of sending his reaction to us, he preferred to use his Facebook wall to defend himself. In our efforts to give Mr. Mbenga the right to reply even though he didn’t have the courage to shoot email us, we retrieved the posting for publication to prove a point that the faces behind Kairo News are not scared of criticism – negative or positive. Until Yaya Dampha – the author of Mbenga And The Bragging Snakes – comes with his rebuttal, readers can peruse through the verbatim reaction published below and make judgment.
TO SENDENG, NDOW AND CHAM FAMILIES
Dear Compatriots!
I hope these lines find you in the best of health and the highest spirit of demanding justice for your respective family member.
In case you haven’t read or heard about the slanderous, irresponsible and childish allegations of my involvement in the death of your beloved family members, I hereby set the record straight.
It is my national responsibility to reach out to your families to expose the treacherous intent of the smear campaign. I will not dignify the “character assassins” claiming to be U.D.P stalwarts with a response. My constructive criticisms have always been and will continue to be objective as oppose to being subjective against any entity whose actions are counter to the ideals we all fought for. I would want to believe that these “character assassins” represent the fringes of their party.
On May 17, 2017, Kairo News online paper and its mean spirited character assassins crafted and unleashed a tasteless article titled: “Mbenga and the bragging snakes” with mudslinging allegations against me to silence my criticisms of the political actions of the current government.
First, I have never met nor spoken to the late solo Sendeng. But I had the opportunity to meet his courageous son at the maiden press conference organized by the “Committee for the victims of Jammeh’s atrocities” in April 2017. If I had a hand in the April 14, 2016 demonstration, Solo would have been still alive. My policy has always been never to agitate or incite Gambians on the ground to go out in the streets unless I am there with them.
The committee has initiated an unprecedented plan of action to demand justice for all of Jammeh’s victims and never to allow an occurrence of such barbarity in our beloved Gambia. This honorable action in the New Gambia is what I am interested in. All other childish distractions will not work.
The issue of Saul Ndow and Mahawa Cham is different. I have known Saul Ndow since my childhood days and met Mahawa Cham once in Dakar, Senegal. These “Join-the-lists”- not journalists, should defer to the professional journalists in the interest of facts not fiction. It was our shared determination to uproot the Jammeh regime that our paths crossed. These allegations are absolute rubbish, fabricated by mean spirited “join-the-lists” to smear my character.
These “character assassins” have nothing to offer our beloved Gambia but a recipe for chaos in a blind pursuit of an illusory hegemony. Remember, repression breeds resistance! No government or regime will be exempt from criticism whether within 5 months or 3 years. # Gambia Justice Must Prevail!
Yours sincerely,
Ousainou Mbenga
Ends
When people like me speak and it doesn’t make sense, no one cares, but when the people we think or we considered high class in our society start saying nonsenses, we the rank and files try to deduce the little sense out of it.
The only sense that is backing or pushing Mr Ousman Mbenga to be speaking bla bla as if he is suffering from diarrhoea of words, could only be one of these two things:-
(1) In the struggle to get the dictator out, he has a hidden agenda that doesn’t work out, peharps his dream of a particular person to replace Jammeh…
(2) He may have a hidden agenda, belief or idea, that is close to something better known to him…could it be tribalism? better known to him, but he is sitting on something.
This government don’t even serve more that three months, he started sayung all sorts of things like “ngure yi yuhuye doyaga”, they should come out with a development plan, things like that. A government less than hundred days and knowing the way they took over… let’s be reasonable.
After all what effort, suggestion or proposal did you put to them as your contribution?
How many days did it take Trump to set up his government?
I will rather accept an idea from a farmer from my home who did not know A or B, as long as is practically applicable and is hopeful to yield interest for the Gambia, than big bogus ideas in black and white from you and people like you, that will just be a mere illusion, for vultures to be flying with.
May Allah help the Gambia.
Did Mr. Mbenga snubbed Kairo or thought it’s the best idea to go on Facebook about the issue? What if his reactions to the particular article went to Kairo and got published but given another creepy ‘Barking Dog’ title? Editors are behind the scenes and you might not know what they are up to less they prove to have the expected journalistic integrities. Hope I will not be mistaken for Mr. Mbenga or a close associate of his. Who would even listen if I say I have never laid eyes on him?
Now why shouldn’t I believe that Mr. Mbenga didn’t meet Solo Sandeng in the Dakar hotel suite and that he didn’t provide the loudspeaker Mr. Sandeng used, after those allegations look to be very pertinent. Gee! Mr. Mbenga said he didn’t made such a contact with the man at all. Now, Solo’s death seems not to be met with what he stood up against, but indeed looks like he fell in a death trap that he should have dodged. Will someone refer themselves to speeches made by Nelson Mandela with regards to standing up against injustice and oppression of a Nation. And will someone reread about Steve Biko and his concept of freedom? Crooks maybe cultivated to bring down heros but that doesn’t really make them victims of crooks if not the system of oppression the stood against. Solo Sandeng must be honored and not taken for a fool.
The Gambians’ mindsets should grow to better levels still, otherwise we will go as worse as blaming Sidia Jatta’s an colleagues’ accident on the photographs at the cemetery. Damn! Who could be wrong about the hypocrisy, superstition and creepy hatefulness of our society..
Comrade Mbenga states as follows:-
(1) “I have never met nor spoken to the late solo Sendeng”.
(2) “My policy has always been never to agitate or incite Gambians on the ground to go out in the streets unless I am there with them”.
The Law of Evidence is clear:-
The accusations to the contrary were made by journalist Yaya Dampa. Comrade Mbenga’s statement of denial must stand and vidicate him – unless the accuser has evidence to prove otherwise. Over to you Yaya.
Mr Mbenga said ” my policy has always been never to agitate or incite Gambians on the ground to go out in the street unless I am there with them” .
This statement is a lie because Mr Mbenga and many people including myself were never present in the protest in The Gambia despite our calls at the time for Gambian people to support solo Sanderg and the group. Majority of political activists have called on Gambian people including our political leaderships to support solo Sanderg and the UDP peaceful protesters. As political activists , our role is to call for agitation so that the authorities can be aware of the problem affecting the citizenry and citizens to rise up to advocate for their constitutional rights but for Mr Mbenga to state that his policy has always been never to agitate Gambians on the ground to go out in the street unless he was there with them is lack of understanding of the role of an activism . The bottom line is I believe Mr Mbenga is part of the group of desperate job seekers who continue to say or do anything to undermine the regime without given president Barrow’s regime any good ideas or constructive criticism. Those who genuinely care for democracy and freedom of Gambians are not desperate to seek employment in The Gambia. We care about the freedom and liberty that our parents and fellow citizens deserve which was why we fought to liberate our country from military dictatorship.
An allegation connecting Mr Mbenga to Solo Sandeng’s death was made. Mr Mbenga has now refuted the allegations and it is now up to the accusers to produce their proof.
If you Max have proof that Mr Mbenga did indeed agitate for a demonstration, then produce it. Don’t tell us what the role of activists should be. That’s your idea of activism; not everybody’s.
How could you call his statement a lie and never provided anything, except your personal opinion, to prove so?
Bax , you are very confused here as always . Mr Mbenga being an activist always agitate the public to advocate for issues of national concern whether he is present at the location or not . An activism is about agitation , giving voices , expressing support, asking people to involve , participate and to promote an issue affecting them . This is my understanding of activism. This is not your understanding of activism which is why you called Solo Sanderg and his group as ” distraction ” or “threat to national security and peace” . It was the same reason you failed to support or promote the idea of electoral reforms which solo and his group agitated about at the time because you indicated that their efforts was a distraction. You failed to understand that Solo Sanderg was an activist who promoted , agitated and gave voices to have electoral reforms in the Gambia . You simply lack understanding of activism.
… didn’t make
…..Sidia Jatta and colleague’s accident
Max, unlike yourself, I can recall some participants arguing that it is not position and ideal at all to push other people around on the ground, to demonstrate against the then killer status quo in Banjul, if they are not on the ground to take part in those demonstrations in person.You Max, have on several occasions acquiesced to a push for demonstrations, a position of yours that was possibly and indication of your presence on the ground. If so, then that doesn’t necessarily mean that others are lying when they said they have never agitated for a demonstration that will be without their physical participation. Please call back into time sincerely and do Bax’s assignment (proof Mr. Mbenga did agitated for demonstration on the ground without his physical participation), and please desist from making futile repetitive quotes of comments out here as usual.
…… It is not their position or ideal…..