In a blistering rebuttal, the APP-Sobeyaa Party has condemned Momodou Sabally’s recent tirade against its leader, Lawyer Essa Mbye Faal, labeling it the “desperate howl of a disgraced political mercenary” whose career is marred by opportunism and betrayal.
Ousainou Bobb, the party’s spokesperson, unleashed a scathing counterattack, accusing Sabally of hypocrisy, intellectual dishonesty, and a legacy of servitude to Gambia’s most notorious figures.
Sabally, a former Head of the Civil Service under ex-dictator Yahya Jammeh, fired verbal salvos at Faal, a respected legal luminary and former lead counsel of the Truth, Reconciliation, and Reparations Commission (TRRC). Sabally’s critique accused Faal of lacking merit and undermining the TRRC, claims Bobb dismissed as “laughable” given Sabally’s tainted history. “This is a man whose every job has been a reward for groveling, not a recognition of ability,” Bobb declared, pointing to Sabally’s role as Jammeh’s “lapdog” during a regime infamous for oppression and plunder.
The Janneh Commission, tasked with investigating corruption under Jammeh, banned Sabally from public office for life—a verdict Bobb called “an indelible stain” on his reputation. Yet, Sabally’s political shapeshifting continued unabated. After Jammeh’s ouster, he joined the United Democratic Party (UDP), only to abandon it for a cushy advisory role under President Adama Barrow—an administration he once savaged. “This is not the behavior of an intellectual; it is the hallmark of a scavenger,” Bobb charged, noting Sabally’s swift retraction of past criticisms once Barrow dangled a paycheck.
The irony of Sabally’s attack on Faal, Bobb argued, is staggering. Faal’s distinguished career at the International Criminal Court, the United Nations, and the TRRC starkly contrasts Sabally’s record of “servility and complicity.” While Sabally accuses Faal of cronyism, Bobb countered that Sabally’s actions under Jammeh fueled the need for national reckoning. “If anyone embodies ‘yekkalanteh’ cronyism, it is Sabally himself,” he said.
President Barrow recently took a swipe at Sabally’s ilk, telling Muslim leaders at State House, “Being the most educated does not qualify one to be a good worker.” Bobb interpreted this as a jab at Sabally’s hollow “intellectual” persona, suggesting Barrow revels in watching his former critic squirm under newfound loyalty. “Voters see through this farce,” Bobb added. “Sabally’s flip-flopping renders him a laughingstock.”
Meanwhile, Faal’s record speaks for itself. From prosecuting at The Hague to leading the TRRC, his career reflects a commitment to justice and meritocracy—values Sabally “could never comprehend, let alone emulate,” Bobb said. Too busy advancing The Gambia’s future to respond personally, Faal left the rebuttal to his spokesperson, who vowed to consign Sabally “to the dustbin of rotten countrymen who have sold their souls for money and position.”
As The Gambia looks ahead, Bobb insisted the nation deserves leaders like Faal, not the “noise” of a disgraced figure like Sabally. “Let him wallow in his irrelevance,” Bobb concluded. “We will not rest until Gambia’s vision of progress is realized.”
