Claim: Ousainou Darboe, the leader of the United Democratic Party threatens to deport Senegalese if he is elected president

Source: Senego (Senegalese medium)

Verdict: Unverifiable claim, UDP denied such statements

Senegalese online paper, Senego, has published an article in French on the November 13, 2021 title ‘Gambia: Candidate Ousseynou Dabo threatens to extricate Senegalese if elected President.’ The person who authored the report on Senego is Cheikh Tidiane Kandé. The article was reproduced by other online outlets, including Buzz Senegal and News.in-24 sites.

Claim

Gambians are heading to polls to elect a president on December 4. Campaigns are on high gear as candidates tour the country canvassing votes.

A Senegalese online media outlet Senego reported that Darboe had said on the campaign trail that he would deport Senegalese national if elected into office. According to the story, Darboe had said Senegalese have huge controls on the Gambian economy. The article also claimed Darboe said during the campaign he will get rid of Senegalese security personnel who are providing protection for the presidency.

“During the election campaign, Mr. Ousseynou Dabo, great opponent of Yahya Jammeh and a confirmed nationalist, to achieve his electoral target, highlighted his extreme nationalism by threatening to throw the foreign community outside the Gambian borders, including the Senegalese,” states a part of the article.

Fact-check

Malagen media and election campaign monitoring desk has been keenly following the campaign trails of political parties, paying special attention to how campaign messages are being delivered across the country by politicians and other influential people in ensuring peaceful and credible elections.

So far, we have not come across any statement where Darboe revealed plans to deport Senegalese nationals or other non-Gambians.

There is no public information anywhere, especially from the Gambian media outlets, that are present at UDP rallies throughout, attributing such claims to Darboe.

It is true that Darboe has said at a press conference in June that ECOMIG forces will not be his bodyguards if he is elected president. He did not say during the press conference that ECOMIG will leave the country.

Senego and other outlets that reproduced the article did not indicate in the report the time and place where Darboe purportedly made such remarks. The article merely said Darboe made such utterances during election campaigns.

The UDP officials also told Malagen comments attributed to Darboe are false.

Verdict: Unverifiable claim, UDP leader denied such statements

Researched by Kebba Jeffang