{"id":27541,"date":"2023-01-11T11:47:31","date_gmt":"2023-01-11T11:47:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/uncategorized\/solo-sandeng-gets-heros-farewell"},"modified":"2023-01-11T12:03:49","modified_gmt":"2023-01-11T12:03:49","slug":"solo-sandeng-gets-heros-farewell","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/solo-sandeng-gets-heros-farewell","title":{"rendered":"SOLO SANDENG GETS HERO\u2019S FAREWELL"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"color: #ff6600\"><strong>Africa-Press &#8211; Gambia. <\/strong><\/span><b>A massive cross-section of Gambians yesterday bade farewell to slain opposition activist, Solo Sandeng, six years after his brutal murder at the hands of state agents under the tyrannical regime of exiled dictator Yahya Jammeh.<\/b><\/p>\n<p>Sandeng\u2019s only crime was holding a peaceful protest asking for electoral reforms. Protest of any sort was taboo under Jammeh who responded by unleashing a brutal terror torturing Sandeng to death and gravely injuring many others.<\/p>\n<p>The martyr\u2019s body was exhumed from a desolated corner of the secret police\u2019s compound in Tanji and went through a court process which ended in life sentence for the head of the notorious NIA and four others, prompting way for the slain activist\u2019s remans to get a befitting burial.<\/p>\n<p>The Gambia government staged a state funeral yesterday at the now renamed Never Again Arch where politicians, government officials and family paid tribute to the hero of the nation.<\/p>\n<p>In a rivetingly moving tribute, Alagie Mustapha Darboe, a representative of the Sandeng family, said since his demise, the family of Sandeng remained neglected by the state. \u201cHe died for the cause of this government, yet no one came to his family\u2019s rescue since his killing,\u201d he alleged, shaming many of Sandengs\u2019 now powerful former colleagues.<\/p>\n<p>Muhammed Sandeng, son of Solo, said although his father epitomises peace, tolerance, and sacrifice for a greater cause, his legacy is yet to be honoured.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIn our loss, a country found an opportune moment to unite towards a new beginning, towards a progressive nation through the selfless and true actions of a man who was fully conscious of the gruesome consequences that may befall him despite the frightening realities of coming in contact with the callous and brutal nature of that dictatorship. Solo Sandeng decided to give his life up for a greater good,\u201d young Muhammed said.<\/p>\n<p>He added that the nation must reflect on how far it has come towards achieving the true meaning of the values that led to the sacrifice of his father and colleagues. \u201cAre you happy that after seven years we are here respecting the legacy of Solo Sandeng without the electoral reforms that he died for?\u201d he asked.<\/p>\n<p>In his eulogy, the secretary general and party leader of the UDP, Ousainu Darboe, described Mr Sandeng as an ordinary citizen who achieved an extraordinary outcome for The Gambia through selfless devotion to principles he believed in. \u201cThose principles were anchored in his firm belief that democracy was the best form of self-government for all who valued freedom,\u201d Mr Darboe said.<\/p>\n<p>He said that Mr Sandeng, like many other Gambians who lived under the tyranny of Jammeh, was conscious and aware of the death, torture, and disappearances that were the hallmark of that cruel regime. \u201cBut he was never the one to be cowered. He believed that the price of freedom requires sacrifice, and he possessed the courage to face the dangers that stood between what obtained and what he aspired for. Solo believed, as long as there exists a Gambia, there must be Gambians ready and willing to fight for its freedom.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Mr Darboe said Sandeng died in the battle for freedom and democracy, and that it is \u201cour duty to hold his legacy and that of others who fell in the battle for a better Gambia.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe best way to honour the sacrifice of the fallen is to live up to the principles of freedom and democracy for which they paid the ultimate price. Naming monuments after them, and giving national funerals to Solo is of symbolic and optic value, but legislating good electoral laws, and more importantly, by demonstrable conduct, manifesting the core principles of freedom and democracy he advocated and believed in would be a more befitting tribute to him,\u201d Darboe concluded.<\/p>\n<p>The ceremony at the Arch was followed by prayers at the Dippa Kunda mosque and burial attended by a massive crowd, including religious and pollical leaders and diplomats.<\/p>\n<p><strong>For More News And Analysis About <a href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\">Gambia<\/a> Follow <a href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/\">Africa-Press<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Africa-Press &#8211; Gambia. A massive cross-section of Gambians yesterday bade farewell to slain opposition activist, Solo Sandeng, six years after his brutal murder at the hands of state agents under the tyrannical regime of exiled dictator Yahya Jammeh. Sandeng\u2019s only crime was holding a peaceful protest asking for electoral reforms. Protest of any sort was [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":27540,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,7,12],"tags":[2355,2361,260],"class_list":["post-27541","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-head-lines","category-policy","tag-africa-press","tag-africa-press-gambia","tag-gambia"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.1 (Yoast SEO v27.0) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>SOLO SANDENG GETS HERO\u2019S FAREWELL - Gambia<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"A massive cross-section of Gambians yesterday bade farewell to slain opposition activist, Solo Sandeng, six years aft ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/solo-sandeng-gets-heros-farewell\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"SOLO SANDENG GETS HERO\u2019S FAREWELL\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A massive cross-section of Gambians yesterday bade farewell to slain opposition activist, Solo Sandeng, six years aft ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/solo-sandeng-gets-heros-farewell\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Gambia\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AfricaPressTunisiaa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-01-11T11:47:31+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-01-11T12:03:49+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/gambia\/sites\/19\/2023\/01\/postQueueImg_1673425095.51.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1080\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"810\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/solo-sandeng-gets-heros-farewell#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/solo-sandeng-gets-heros-farewell\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"SOLO SANDENG GETS HERO\u2019S FAREWELL\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-01-11T11:47:31+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-01-11T12:03:49+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/solo-sandeng-gets-heros-farewell\"},\"wordCount\":676,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/solo-sandeng-gets-heros-farewell#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/gambia\/sites\/19\/2023\/01\/postQueueImg_1673425095.51.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Africa Press\",\"Africa Press-Gambia\",\"Gambia\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"head lines\",\"policy\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/solo-sandeng-gets-heros-farewell#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/solo-sandeng-gets-heros-farewell\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/solo-sandeng-gets-heros-farewell\",\"name\":\"SOLO SANDENG GETS HERO\u2019S FAREWELL - 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