Africa-Press – Gambia. Ousainu Darboe, leader of the United Democratic Party (UDP) and the party’s presidential flag-bearer, has denied that issuing national identity cards to Gambians living abroad was ever a government policy during his tenure as foreign minister, rejecting a claim made by Mai Ahmed Fatty, leader of the Gambia Moral Congress (GMC).
Mr. Fatty, speaking recently on Coffee Time With Peter Gomez, said that the initiative to extend national ID cards to Gambians overseas was a long-standing government policy dating back to Mr. Darboe’s time in office. Appearing on the same program on Nov. 10, 2025, Mr. Darboe disputed that characterization.
“Well, maybe it was a long-standing policy of a cabinet of which I was not part of, but not the cabinet of which I was part of,” Mr. Darboe said.
Darboe explained that he was the one who initiated the meeting with Mai Fatty at his office, following concerns raised by Gambians in the United Kingdom during one of his visits. According to him, Gambians abroad had expressed difficulties in renewing their passports.
The former foreign minister clarified that the purpose of the meeting was to explore ways to make it easier for the Gambian government to issue passports to its citizens living overseas, not to discuss the issuance of national identity cards.
He emphasized that it was never a policy of the government to issue ID cards abroad. “I don’t think the government of the Gambia would be flouting the laws it has put in place to regulate the issuance of national identity cards abroad,” he said
Mr. Darboe, a veteran lawyer and former vice president, emphasized that the UDP had never proposed using ID cards for voting purposes. Instead, he said, the party’s position is that possessing a national ID card merely allows a citizen to register to vote — a distinction he said some have distorted.
He added that the ongoing issuance of ID cards outside the country violates existing laws and regulations, describing it as “illegal.”
According to Mr. Darboe, the National Identity Card Act prescribes a process for verifying applicants’ citizenship through local authorities such as Alkalolu (village heads), Seyfolu (chiefs), or mayors — procedures he said cannot be replicated abroad
“And I just want to say that I, a lawyer who is very much concerned about adherence to law, will never approve, will never agree to violate the laws of this country on the pretext of that pilot project. It is false,” Darboe said.
Darboe said the country is in a period where “people are trying to justify the unjustifiable,” questioning how anyone could seek to defend what he described as an illegality. He emphasized that any government policy that contravenes existing law cannot be considered a legitimate policy.
“So Mr. Fatty is misleading the Gambian people, trying to justify illegality. And I am surprised that he, as a lawyer, knowing what the Gambia National Citizenship Act provides for, and the regulations, would readily agree to violate that law.”
The UDP leader reiterated that his only advocacy, while serving as foreign minister, was to make it easier for Gambians abroad to renew their passports to maintain their immigration status in their host countries.
“And that is what I was insisting on as Minister for Foreign Affairs and Gambians abroad. I think I owe it to every Gambian to make sure that you have a valid passport, so that your stay in that country will not be regarded as illegal,” he said. Adding that he would never endorse any government initiative that contradicts national laws.
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