By Dida Jallow-Halake
The poet once dubbed “Young, Gifted & Gambian”,
Going by the name of “Gambia’s Pen”,
Is mysteriously silent! (Like “The Prince of Brikama”)
Did The Pen break his pen? (Like “The Bard of Bakau”)
While blinded to the light of the Eternal Moon,
As he stayed stuck in the mud –
Hurriedly gathering the corrupting Sixpence?
So it is left to an older and rusted poet,
Whose own pen is nearly broken by Old Age,
To recognised the Achillean Heroism,
Of an even older Gambian Gentleman,
A quiet and humble 66-year old Lawyer,
Who, Joshua-like, is bringing down the Feared Walls,
Of the Rat invested “Mile 2” Prison.
Now simply named Defiant Darboe.
His Silent Roar emanated from indignation,
At the bloody torture of a Heroic Trio –
And the Heroic Death of a Biko-Like Hero:
The brutal death of Solo Sandeng was the proverbial straw,
That fired-up in his aged Leader Darboe,
A most un-lawyerlike Defiance.
“Their Body or Mine”, Darboe thundered –
In his own quiet way,
As he took to the streets hand-in-hand with colleagues,
Peacefully, Selma-style and Sharpeville-Style,
Demanding the release, or the bodies, of the kidnapped.
But, as with Selma and Sharpeville, no quarter was given:
The State beat the peaceful protesters and jailed them.
Then the State brought them to Court,
Charging the peaceful protesters with violence!
And the State prosecutor thundered:
“No bail – let them go sleep with the Mile 2 Rats!”
At which the Defiant Darboe quietly answered:
“There is no request for bail before the Court –
Until I get those beaten and buried like dogs”.
And so The Gambia and the World watches,
As a Brutal State takes on a quietly defiant Old Man.
Will the State give Defiant Darboe the bodies?
Or if alive, the broken bones on crutches?
Or will the reputedly merciless State kill the Old Man?
Mad thought: but brutal dictator Sanni Abacha did just that –
While the horrified World watched.
So it is that this old poet wishes,
For a few words from The Gambia’s Pen,
During whose own Mile 2 Sojourn this poet rapped:
“Young, Gifted and Gambian” and begged for his Freedom.
Now the Pen is free, says what he … about Defiant Darboe?
The self-styled “Silent Londoner” also remains mute:
When his Ministerial job is now to talk – to Gambians, not the BBC!
Ends
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YEz7tIDeuBg
Now then; Mandingo-Prince-Dida; not even Sharpeville & Rhodes Island managed to break Mandela & South Africans’ spirits for freedom; neither will the cold-blooded murders of our noble comrades & swamp patched Mile II ever succeed in dampening the determined spirits of Ousainou Darboe & the collective Gambian fraternity & friends world over….
If Nigerians could pesticide Sani Abacha like the grasshopper he was; Gambians are prepared to go to any lengths & widths necessary, by all & any means to terminate the Murderous Autocratic kanilai yaya DEVIL jammeh…
The struggle continues, until total liberation of Gambia….
LoL!!!@Bajaw: “Mandingo-Prince-Dida”!!!
I will settle for Luntango, Bajaw – lest the “Gambiano” Knave seeks you out with a Cowards Knife!
These are patriotic sons and daughters of The Gambia . A very civilized people who are not scare of tyrant. A sense of nationalism at display . Waving a national flag and singing national anthem is an indication that we will send the idiotic dictator out of Gambian soon . People are not fearful any more . Jammeh is a coward .
Oh come on Dida; I brushed feathers or in this case scales with crocodiles; what can a lizard nod do to us….
You are now doing a ‘Bilal in Arabia’ for Gambia; you earned the title; keep it up….
LoL Bajaw, you flatterer! “Bilal of Arabia vs. Gambiano Da Lizard”??? Never knew you had it in you to be sooooo funny!!
On a serious note, Lawyer Darbo was brought to court in hand-cuffs!!! But, before you say it, there is a photo of DR. Martin Luther King in hand-cuffs too – from the Selma March.
Bless Lawyer Darboe – the hundreds of people thronging the court must have seen those hand-cuffs too.
See, Dida; those kanilai devilish bracelet-bangles subjugates NONE; much more Lawyer Ousainou Darboe of all people..?
The EVIL kanilai Cannibal & devilish cohort-enablers know this; the trick is to instill fear into the greater peasantry population; which as you can observe are a farce in the videos uploaded….
As humans, we all are prone to fallibility at one time or another in our lives; please continue to stand by Gambia & Gambians in this trying times; the country is for all Gambians & friends alike; & beyond the Autocratic Murderous kanilai FIEFDOM, sky is the limit for all….
Long live the Gambia…..