Numukunku Darboe, Lawyer Ousainou Darboe's Father.

During the course of the Cherno Baldeh trial, P.S Njie stayed in the small but emerging town of Bansang where he forged strong bonds with prominent members of the town. Amongst these men was Numukunda Darboe, a man of repute, an erudite Islamic scholar who never went through the formal education process, but through his will, passion, and persistence learned to read and write English in adulthood under the tutelage of his great friend, the late Foday Sidibeh. The strong bond between him and P.S Njie, a young Ousainou Darboe was entrusted to the foster care of the Banjul Lawyer under whose guardianship he completed his education in Banjul.

 In 1959, P.S. Njie needed a candidate to represent the United Party in Fulladu constituency. He call his loyal friend Numukunda Darboe. Numukunda’s move was risky and highly controversial especially at a period when partisan politics in Bansang and the country was decided largely along tribal lines. It did not matter to Numukunda P.S Njie was not a Mandinka. It did not matter Pierre Njie was not from the provinces.

 Numukunda contested his first elections in 1960, which he lost to Kebba Leigh and the PPP. He accepted defeat with grace and humility. Despite the endless taunting, discrimination, and intimidation launched against prominent opponents of the PPP in the country, Numukunda Darboe never buckled. In fact, Ousainou Darboe will see the first case of his father’s bravery that sunny morning when loaded his shotgun and laid in wait for the PPP caravans that rolled through Bansang, Among reports of all the arsons, plundering, and physical abuses PPP militants meted out on perceived opponents across the country, it is safe to say that Bansang was one town that was spared the nuisance – go figure. Sanjally Bojang who Lawyer Darboe once defended in a court case will fondly remind Ousainou Darboe about the valor and upright character of his father Numukunda Darboe

Numukunda will recover from the electoral defeat of 1960 to launch his campaign across Fulladu on his bicycle, knocking on doors and selling the agenda of the United Party to anyone willing to listen. He would eventually win Fulladu and the subsequent parliamentary elections against Alieu Marong of Georgetown, and Kebba Jawara of Bansang. The fact that Numukunda Darboe would defy the Mandinkas to side with the other tribes and become the only Mandinka opposition member in the house of representatives

 By Sheriff Kora (Guest opinion piece freedomnews paper, July 29th, 2016)