Africa-Press – Gambia. Yankuba Darboe, chairman of the Brikama Area Council and a senior figure in the United Democratic Party (UDP), has accused Kanifing Municipal Council Mayor Talib Ahmed Bensouda of sowing division within the opposition party.
In an interview with Mengbe Kering TV, Mr. Darboe said the UDP had remained cohesive since its founding in 1996, until Mr. Bensouda’s rise within the party allegedly introduced factionalism.
“Since 1996, the UDP has not had any camp problems, but Talib’s arrival changed that,” Mr. Darboe said. “He brought this camp business to the party. As a UDP member since 1996, I can attest that we never had camp issues until Talib joined the party; that is the time it happened.”
Mr. Darboe accused Mr. Bensouda of fostering rival groups within the UDP, claiming that the internal rifts had weakened party unity.
“If you tell them that we have camps within the party, they would say, ‘Yanks have a camp, Rohey has a camp, Lamin Sanneh has a camp,” he said. “We don’t have any camp; there is no other camp aside from Talib’s Camp.’ That is the camp that some drifters are still in the party. I don’t know whether they will go or not.”
He argued that the departure of some of Mr. Bensouda’s allies has helped restore unity within the party.
“Their departure is what is good for the party,” Mr. Darboe said. “Because creating a group within a group destroys it. When they left, the ones that are still in the party, we all have one voice, and we have one leader,” he said.
Mr. Darboe also stressed that the UDP’s purpose extends beyond presidential ambitions, pointing to the party’s governance role in local councils across the country. “If you build a party just for the presidency, that is not democracy,” he said.
The UDP, founded in 1996 and led by ANM Ousainu Darboe (no relation), remains the largest opposition party in The Gambia. The recent remarks by Mr. Yankuba Darboe come amid growing internal rifts ahead of the 2026 presidential elections.
For More News And Analysis About Gambia Follow Africa-Press
