Statecraft & Independence
Distinguished
Ousainou Darboe
born 1948
Led the Gambian opposition for twenty years through detention and exile
Distinguished is level 3 of 4 in the The Gambia Hall of Fame: sustained excellence over a career, widely honoured at home. See how the levels work.
Why they are here
A human rights lawyer who stood against Yahya Jammeh in election after election, was arrested repeatedly, was jailed in 2016 while Jammeh was still in power, and came out of prison to serve as foreign minister and vice-president.
Ousainou Darboe was a leading lawyer before founding the United Democratic Party in 1996 and becoming the principal opponent of Jammeh's government for the next two decades.
He stood for president three times, was charged with murder in 2000 in a case later dropped, and was arrested and jailed for three years in 2016 after leading a protest over the death in custody of a party activist, Solo Sandeng. He was still in prison when Jammeh lost the December 2016 election. Released that December, he became foreign minister and then vice-president in the government that followed. Whatever the arguments about his later politics, the Gambian opposition survived the Jammeh years in large part because he kept it standing.
He stood for president three times, was charged with murder in 2000 in a case later dropped, and was arrested and jailed for three years in 2016 after leading a protest over the death in custody of a party activist, Solo Sandeng. He was still in prison when Jammeh lost the December 2016 election. Released that December, he became foreign minister and then vice-president in the government that followed. Whatever the arguments about his later politics, the Gambian opposition survived the Jammeh years in large part because he kept it standing.
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