In my appearance on Peter Gomez’s Coffee Time radio programme last Thursday, I was asked who, among the contenders in The Gambia’s December 5, 2026 presidential election, I believed stood the best chance of winning. My answer was unequivocally President Adama Barrow.
Since then, I have been informed of allegations circulating on TikTok, reportedly promoted by certain opposition supporters, accusing my good friend, government spokesman Ebrima G Sankareh, and me of participating in a clandestine financial arrangement. According to these allegations, President Barrow pays me D30,000 monthly, which Mr Sankareh allegedly collects and secretly delivers to me in exchange for my political support. The accusers have even challenged us to deny these claims publicly, specifically on the same radio programme where I expressed my opinion.
Let me make my position unmistakably clear that these allegations are false. President Barrow has never paid me a clandestine monthly allowance of D30,000, D20,000, or even D200 through Mr Sankareh or any other government official in exchange for my support. Those making these accusations should produce credible evidence rather than attempt to manufacture a scandal around an honest political opinion.
My longstanding friendship with Mr Sankareh makes these allegations particularly offensive. I have known and worked with him for close to two decades, beginning during our years in exile in the United States, when I regularly contributed to his popular online newspaper,
‘The Gambia Echo’, alongside the late, erudite writer Matthew Baldeh, may his soul rest in peace. Our fathers were also close friends in their younger days, according to what his mother told me. Ebrima is, therefore, much more than an acquaintance; he is like family.
Those who portray him as a petty political fixer either do not know him or deliberately misrepresent his character. He is an intelligent, forthright and principled individual. Furthermore, he has spent considerable time pursuing his doctoral studies in India over the past two years, a fact that makes the insinuations about his alleged monthly collection and delivery of money particularly questionable.
But let us move beyond personal attacks and address the substantive issue of why I support President Barrow.
My position is based on my assessment of his political strengths, communication skills and ability to connect with ordinary Gambians. I have yet to be persuaded that any other current contender would necessarily govern in a fundamentally different or more effective manner. More importantly, I believe Barrow possesses a political advantage that his critics frequently underestimate, particularly, his ability to communicate directly with the electorate in the languages they understand best.
Consider the presidency of Sir Dawda Kairaba Jawara. He was an exceptionally educated, articulate and internationally respected statesman whose command of English earned him considerable recognition, including a British knighthood. Yet his intellectual accomplishments alone did not keep the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) in power for more than three decades. His electoral success depended substantially on political lieutenants who could translate the party’s message into the language, idiom and everyday realities of ordinary Gambians.
The late Sanjally Bojang, former Vice President Saihou Sabally, Dr Momodou Manneh, the late Omar Jallow (OJ), the late Landing Jallow Sonko and the late Buba Baldeh, among others, understood how to mobilise people through persuasive local-language campaigning. Their political value lay not merely in their official positions but in their ability to make the party’s message accessible and compelling to voters. Jawara’s political longevity cannot be understood without appreciating that contribution.
Yahya Jammeh subsequently demonstrated an equally important, and sometimes more direct, ability to communicate with voters in Mandinka and Wolof. His early emphasis on development, accountability and transparency also helped him cultivate support, whatever one’s ultimate assessment of his record. His experience reinforced the fundamental lesson of Gambian politics that political communication is most effective when leaders speak in languages that resonate with their audiences.
President Barrow has taken this advantage further. His ability to address Mandinka, Fula and Wolof-speaking communities in their own languages enables him to connect directly with voters across significant sections of the electorate. In the appropriate setting, he can communicate with a familiarity and confidence that make people feel he understands their culture, concerns and aspirations.
This is not a trivial accomplishment but a formidable political asset.
Barrow does not always need an intermediary to interpret his message or persuade his audience. He can often do that himself. While some critics concentrate on his academic credentials, his political effectiveness rests on qualities that formal qualifications alone cannot provide. He is accessible, aware of his audience, can be personally engaged and has the instinct for communicating with ordinary people.
There is a useful parallel with US President Donald Trump. Trump has repeatedly demonstrated that political success does not depend exclusively on academic distinction or conventional elite approval. His direct, repetitive and audience-conscious communication has helped him mobilize a substantial electoral constituency. The comparison is not intended to equate their policies or records, but to illustrate how a leader’s ability to reach voters directly can outweigh the criticisms of intellectual and political elites.
I believe Barrow understands this reality. If he remains his party’s principal campaign communicator, continues engaging voters directly in their languages and presents a convincing account of his achievements and future plans, he can strengthen his electoral position considerably.
My support for President Barrow is a political judgment, not a commercial transaction. I am entitled to express it, just as his opponents are entitled to challenge it. What they are not entitled to do is invent payments and present them as facts without credible evidence.
Having assessed the field as it stands, I consider President Adama Barrow the most electable contender for December 5, 2026. I believe his command of local campaign languages, his direct connection with ordinary Gambians and his political instincts give him an advantage that his rivals do not have.
I support Barrow because I believe he is best positioned to win—not because anybody pays me to say so. Let the electorate decide on the basis of competing records, ideas and visions for The Gambia. That is the democratic contest we should be having.
By Lt Colonel Samsudeen Sarr (Retired)
The author is a former Commander of The Gambia National Army and Former Gambian Diplomat.
