{"id":86031,"date":"2025-09-15T07:28:04","date_gmt":"2025-09-15T07:28:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/uncategorized\/dibba-defends-backing-bensouda-says-support-is-opinion-not-a-crime"},"modified":"2025-09-15T07:38:24","modified_gmt":"2025-09-15T07:38:24","slug":"dibba-defends-backing-bensouda-says-support-is-opinion-not-a-crime","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/dibba-defends-backing-bensouda-says-support-is-opinion-not-a-crime","title":{"rendered":"Dibba Defends Backing Bensouda, Says Support is \u2018Opinion, not a Crime\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Gambia. <\/strong><\/span>Ebrima Dibba, deputy national organizing secretary of the United Democratic Party (UDP), has defended his support for Talib Ahmed Bensouda as a potential presidential candidate, insisting that his position is a personal opinion and not an act of disloyalty.<\/b><\/p>\n

In a leaked WhatsApp audio exchange with a fellow party member, Mr. Dibba urged the UDP to prioritize candidates capable of winning elections and improving the lives of Gambians.<\/p>\n

\u201cUDP, do you want to be in the opposition until the end of this world, or do you want a change of government so that livelihood can be easy for people?\u201d he asked in the recording. \u201cLet\u2019s make a change that can give us victory, and that is my opinion.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mr. Dibba pointed to Mr. Bensouda\u2019s electoral record, noting that the mayor of Kanifing Municipal Council has twice been elected with strong public support. Backing him, Mr. Dibba said, is about ensuring the party\u2019s future.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe person that you made mayor two times, and the people like him\u2014that is my opinion for us to make him our presidential candidate,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Mr. Bensouda, who previously sought the party leadership but later withdrew his bid, remains a divisive figure within the UDP. Mr. Dibba\u2019s open endorsement has drawn criticism from some members, though he dismissed the backlash as misplaced.<\/p>\n

\u201cI do not change my opinion for anything,\u201d he said. \u201cI did not insult or tarnish anybody\u2019s image, and I did not take anything from anybody. I just say let\u2019s try to select this person as our candidate. If that is a disaster, then it has been with people.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mr. Dibba added that internal democracy must allow for differing views. \u201cYou said the party is democratic, but you don\u2019t want anybody to express their opinion,\u201d he said. \u201cIf I think that selecting somebody can give us victory, and if saying that makes me a bad person, then I will accept it.\u201d<\/p>\n

For More News And Analysis About Gambia<\/span> Follow Africa-Press<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Gambia. Ebrima Dibba, deputy national organizing secretary of the United Democratic Party (UDP), has defended his support for Talib Ahmed Bensouda as a potential presidential candidate, insisting that his position is a personal opinion and not an act of disloyalty. In a leaked WhatsApp audio exchange with a fellow party member, Mr. Dibba […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":86030,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,12],"tags":[260],"class_list":["post-86031","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-policy","tag-gambia"],"yoast_head":"\nDibba Defends Backing Bensouda, Says Support is \u2018Opinion, not a Crime\u2019 - Gambia<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Ebrima Dibba, deputy national organizing secretary of the United Democratic Party (UDP), has defended his support for ...\" \/>\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\/dibba-defends-backing-bensouda-says-support-is-opinion-not-a-crime\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Dibba Defends Backing Bensouda, Says Support is \u2018Opinion, not a Crime\u2019\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Ebrima Dibba, deputy national organizing secretary of the United Democratic Party (UDP), has defended his support for ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/dibba-defends-backing-bensouda-says-support-is-opinion-not-a-crime\" \/>\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=\"2025-09-15T07:28:04+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-09-15T07:38:24+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/gambia\/sites\/19\/2025\/09\/sm_1757909265.042446.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1280\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"720\" \/>\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=\"2 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\/dibba-defends-backing-bensouda-says-support-is-opinion-not-a-crime#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/dibba-defends-backing-bensouda-says-support-is-opinion-not-a-crime\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"Dibba Defends Backing Bensouda, Says Support is \u2018Opinion, not a Crime\u2019\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-09-15T07:28:04+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-09-15T07:38:24+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/dibba-defends-backing-bensouda-says-support-is-opinion-not-a-crime\"},\"wordCount\":348,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/dibba-defends-backing-bensouda-says-support-is-opinion-not-a-crime#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/gambia\/sites\/19\/2025\/09\/sm_1757909265.042446.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Gambia\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"policy\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/dibba-defends-backing-bensouda-says-support-is-opinion-not-a-crime#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/dibba-defends-backing-bensouda-says-support-is-opinion-not-a-crime\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/dibba-defends-backing-bensouda-says-support-is-opinion-not-a-crime\",\"name\":\"Dibba Defends Backing Bensouda, Says Support is \u2018Opinion, not a Crime\u2019 - 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