By Kaba Sallah
Those of us who called for Gambians to come to their senses on this Kukoi Saga have been vindicated, by this new demining revelation that, after all, Kukoi Samba Samyang, himself, had consciously renounced, rejected, disowned and disavowed his Gambian citizenship, and swore allegiance to the Republic of Senegal! So, now what was all the hoopla all about?
Those who understand and know the porous borders and fluid ethnic affiliations, have always maintained that Kukoi’s family was originally from the Casamance region of Senegal. It was very common to see people who live in Casamance, send their kids across the border in Gambia, to seek formal education in English, or seek employment , especially in the then police and Field Force! That is a topic for another day, so we will leave that alone for now!
Kukoi had given up on Gambia, given up on our cause to remove his ideological kinsman; Jammeh’s clutches from our proverbial national throats! Kukoi chose the easy way out, many other refugees living in Senegal did not renounce their Gambian citizenship. They are fighting the good fight with dignity. …and are safe in Senegal, some since 1994!
It has finally come to light that Kukoi applied for Naturalization for Senegalese citizenship under false pretenses, and under a false alias and identity. As a purported Senegalese citizenship, it is illegal to threaten the peace of another country. His true identity would have revealed that, in July of 1981, directly and indirectly, his actions led to the death of some 36 Senegalese nationals, and also advocated, on radio and other literature, to inflict bodily harm on its citizens’ and to disrupt the peace of the country .
President Macky Sall need not go any further, under Senegalese law and constitution, and the powers bestowed upon him, to revoke Kukoi’s Senegalese citizenship and forcibly remove him from the country. Senegal, as a sovereign nation, it need not and will consult any stateless organization in implementing a decision for its national security interest.
Kukoi Samba Samyang is a mysterious and dangerous man, a compulsive liar, a man with multiple personalities and identities, conflicting loyalties …who would want such a dangerous man within their borders? No functioning and sovereign nation, like Senegal, will tolerate such behavior. Clearly Wade was misguided in his pan-Africanist fantasy and Utopia, that he can salvage what is left of Kukoi’s reputation! We all know that Wade is from a different generation, and he still harbors and romanticizes about the ‘fleeting’ and evanescent dream of African unity ….no wonder he spent $29Million on a giant statue, while people within shouting distance of the useless structure are under water and homeless…
Macky Sall is young, more realistic and pragmatic and has taken a policy decision to revoke Kukoi’s Senegalese citizenship and expel him out of the country ….Now, let us see whether Amnesty International or any International body for that matter have any enforcement mechanism to ‘make’ Senegal reverse this decision! I wonder what happened to Kukoi’s clueless and misguided sympathizers and ‘collaborators’, they have all gone AWOL, MIA, and abandoned him like the Black Plague, as expected, in light of more damning and repulsive revelations about Kukoi’s true colors and intentions ! …..
Chi jamm
Kaba Sallah