Lawyer Ousainou Darboe, The flag-bearer of the United Democratic Party (UDP)  on Monday told the media that trying to associate his party with drugs is a cheap politically motivated agenda.

The police patrol team on Saturday arrested Yusupha Jambang who was driving a yellow pickup truck belonging to the United Democratic Party in Bundung.

As stated by the police, the driver failed to stop for checking and while escaping, he caused serious defaces to the patrol vehicle. In a statement issued by the UDP stated that the driver is a mechanic carrying out the maintenance of the vehicle but denied him being a member of the party.

Speaking to the media on the matter, Mr Darboe allege that he received reports of a plot to plant incriminating ‘materials’ on him and other party top officials.

“I want to tell you gentlemen of the press that about three months ago, I had intelligence report that I should advise Momodou Sabally, Ebrima Dibba, Karafa Sonko, Honourable Saho, Ya-Kumba Jaiteh, and myself to be careful where we park our vehicles and ensure that somebody sits in our vehicles at all times because there is a scheme to plant incriminating materials on us,” he alleged.

Sabally, Saho, and Ya-Kumba are being targeted to be quiet while the same arrangement is planned to degrade him in advance of the elections.

“We want to say that the UDP has always been against criminality in this country and more particularly, the use of substances that are harmful to individuals. In my career as a lawyer, I have refused to defend anybody for drug cases. I have refused it and all that is to show our revulsion for drugs and drug use. If someone on his folly uses our vehicle without our knowledge and you want to pin that on UDP, I think that will be most outrageous and very disingenuous,” he argued.

He explained that the vehicle in was taken to a garage with another car for repairing and  it was under the control of the mechanic and not the UDP.

“It is not that the vehicle was in my premises here and taken away. It was totally under the control of the mechanic who was himself shocked because he had finished mechanical work and was left with electrical work and probably this was the electrician who took the vehicle. So no one can blame the UDP for really not exercising control or for being negligent,” he said.

Darboe said “the whole thing was a strategy and a ploy to make sure that UDP vehicles are grounded.

“That is their ploy. I am not sure whether the vehicle can be used as an exhibit, because I have not seen any vehicle being used as an exhibit before because even government vehicles were arrested with cannabis but only the cannabis was used as an exhibit,” he added.

Darboe said any sensible person could conclude that the cannabis were planted in the vehicle. “They want to tarnish the image of the UDP. This is political. We have seen that whenever UDP executives have issues at the police, top NPP officials will go to the police,” he said.  Darboe further alleged that Musa Suso, the deputy governor of West Coast Region, went to the police station on this matter. “He was right there; he cannot deny it. Why would he go there as deputy governor? He should not be seen to be advocating for the election of any political leader or the re-election of Adama Barrow.

“I think the Public Service Commission should really take the appropriate steps and I believe the chairman of the commission is a very principled person and very honest and anything that will be tainting the image of the commission, he will do something about it,” he concluded.

 

By: Fatimah Sonko