A Grudge Match For The Ages: Darboe’s final shot at the presidency.
By Baba Colley
This time, it’s personal.
The United Democratic Party (UDP) has once again anointed Ousainou Darboe as its flag-bearer. The recent primary—let’s just call it that—ended with a predictable result, albeit with a hint of drama. Prominent challengers like Kanifing Municipal Council Chairman Talib Bensouda stepped aside, clearing the path for the party patriarch. But this wasn’t just a routine nomination; it was the opening act of a deeply personal and long brewing political reckoning.
All eyes are now fixed on December 2026, a presidential election that is slowly crystallizing into a clash between two men bound by a complex history: the incumbent, Adama Barrow, and his former mentor, Ousainou Darboe.
Their story is one of political betrayal and a shattered alliance. For years, Barrow was a minor figure in Darboe’s UDP. The trajectory of both men and the nation was irrevocably changed in 2016. While Darboe languished in one of Yahya Jammeh’s prisons for standing up to the dictatorship after the murder of a UDP activist Mr Solo Sandeng, a coalition of opposition forces made a desperate gamble. They chose Adama Barrow as their unified candidate to topple Jammeh. Using the very political infrastructure Darboe had painstakingly built over two decades, Adama Barrow won.
The realestate broker (I’m using this title loosely) turned president then pardoned his former leader, bringing him into government first as Vice President, then as Foreign Minister. But the alliance soured, culminating in a very public firing. The relationship has been frosty ever since, a cold war now heating up for a decisive confrontation.
To understand the weight of this grudge match, one must understand Darboe’s journey. Before the 1994 coup, he was a respected but private human rights lawyer. With the dominant People’s Progressive Party banned, the vacuum for a democratic opposition was filled by the newly-formed UDP, led reluctantly by Darboe. He was an accidental politician, a private citizen thrust into the spotlight to stand squarely against Jammeh’s junta.
The regime tried to brand him and the UDP as a narrow ethnic enterprise they called (Mandinka Party). The reason why many new comers to Gambian politics don’t see any changes in the behaviors of diehard UDP supporters when they throw this slur at them, is that they have endured it under Jammeh when it could actually put them in the way of physical harm. The label stuck, but it didn’t deter them, and Darboe’s relentless legal battles and unwavering courage made him a national symbol of resistance. He became the warrior fighting to end a brutal regime. His imprisonment in 2016 was the catalyst that finally united Gambians of all stripes, propelling the coalition and his protégé, Adama Barrow to victory.
Yet, the moment of triumph contained the seeds of today’s discord. Key coalition members like Halifa Sallah and O.J. Jallow, wary of exchanging one strongman for another, drafted a moral contract: President Barrow would serve a three-year transitional term and not seek re-election. But once in power, with Darboe now at his side as Vice President, that agreement quickly unraveled.
Darboe’s first and, in the eyes of many coalition supporters, most unforgivable act was to encourage Barrow to abandon the three year deal and serve a full five year constitutional term. It was seen as a profound betrayal, a power grab by the UDP to hijack the coalition’s victory. Though Darboe later tried to walk back his stance after being ousted from government, the damage was done. The image of the selfless warrior was replaced, for many, by that of a power-hungry insider.
Ironically, Darboe got the five-year term he advocated for, but it was Barrow who used that time masterfully. Incumbency provided Barrow with the resources and platform to build his own political empire, formed National People’s Party (NPP) leaving the UDP behind. When the two men finally faced off in 2021, Darboe was not just defeated; he was humiliated.
His subsequent retreat from the forefront led many, including figures like Talib Bensouda, to believe a generational shift was imminent. But the old lion has roared back. Now, Ousainou Darboe isn’t just running for president. He is running for redemption, seeking to settle a score and reclaim the legacy he feels was taken from him. The campaign ahead isn’t merely political; it’s a deeply personal quest for vindication.