Of all the presidential candidates for 2016, Mamma Kandeh is the most handsome. Fair in complexion, average in body size and height, always dressed for the occasion and often displays infectious smiles with a flashy white teeth and well-heeled cheeks. 

Small wonder that a lot of girls seem to fancy him, and one of them has taken up the most unlikely of jobs for him: personal bodyguard.

In what could be described as following in the footsteps of the late Libyan leader, Colonel Muommar Gaddafi, the founder and standard bearer of the Gambia Democratic Congress (GDC) has a female bodyguard.

Mamma is probably the first Gambian politician since the country gained independence to put his life in the hands of a young woman – a smooth-skinned one for that.

A source close to the presidential aspirant disclosed to What’s On-Gambia that the woman’s name is Awa. She is married to a Gambian migrant in Switzerland.

How Awa was recruited for the job or what background she has in personal protection and safety remains unconfirmed.