The Gambia has once again lost a Noble Son. The sudden death of Alhagie Dodou CM Kebbeh, the man who was the country’s longest serving Clerk of the National Assembly, was too shocking to many Gambians, especially those who knew him.
Mr. Kebbeh, a native of Sutusinjang in Foni Berefet District in West Coast Region, died at the Serekunda General Hospital on Monday after a brief sickness.
Mr. Kebbeh was a great man endowed with wealth of knowledge, experience, humility, kindness and piety. Throughout his civil service career, Dodou delivered his very best to The Gambia and her people with fairness.
During his lifetime, Mr. Kebbeh was committed to changing lives, a fact that all his friends and associates attested to. “I wonder whether I will ever recover from the death of a man who means everything to me,” said Yaya Dampha, a longtime close friend of Mr. Kebbeh. “Kebbeh was a close friend, a brother and confidant whose death leaves me with deep sadness. A very kind, humble, pious and gentle man has fallen. What I like most about Kebbeh is his commitment to change lives. Through his efforts, so many poor people acquired education and employment,” Mr. Dampha told Kairo News. He said most of Kebbeh’s goodness came to light after his death.
“The man was like a Saint who hid his goodness from being exposed. I have just been informed that at least five people disclosed being sent to Mecca for pilgrimage by Alhagie Dodou Kebbeh. This was news to even his family. I doubt whether my life will ever be the same without Kebbeh. To call spade a spade, I’m shocked to the bone,” Mr. Dampha said, advising Kebbeh’s family and friends to accept Allah’s will. “We all came from Allah and to Allah we shall return. Rest in peace my brother Alhagie Dodou Kebbeh. I will forever remember you in my thoughts and prayers.”
Thousands of mourners attended Mr. Kebbeh’s final internment at Sutusinjang village today. Speaker after speaker spoke volumes about the former National Assembly Clerk’s good character and piety.
The retired civil servant in his early 60s is survived by three wives and five children.
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