As we enter the New Year, it is good to revisit the past year and highlight the key moments that made the headlines. It was an eventful year.

Politics

Politics, yet again, dominated most of the headlines and the national discourse both online and offline. The Sacking of Abubakar Darboe (known to you as Ousainou) was arguably the highlight of the political news.

Darboe enjoys Godlike status in ‘Sonkodou’. His militants did not take his sacking well as it caught them by surprise, but for everybody else, it was a matter of when and not if he will be sacked.

President Barrow fired the warning shots at the turn of the year by saying”2019 will be a turning point. You are either in or out”.

In a separate, but similar developments, Abubakar retaliated by sacking eight UDP NAMs accused of siding with President Barrow. The troubled Tallinding NAM Fatoumatta Jawara did not receive well her expulsion and went on a tirade against her former leader.

She divulged into Darboe’s checkered past (allegedly) at a taxpayers’ sponsored meeting. She appears to be mentally unstable and needs help. Her contributions at the National Assembly lately confirmed our suspicion.

Society

There is this old Senegalese drama “Badou Mun Leup” where the leading actor playboy Badou was in a dilemma as to between his two girlfriends who to marry. He ended up marrying both on the same day.

The Gambia’s amateur filmmaker Momodou Lamin Touray aka Sisqo must’ve watched the drama and said to himself “I will do this in real life”. And boy, he did just that.

Gender-based violence

Former beauty queen, Fatou Toufa Jallow emerged from the woods of Canada and alleged that she was raped by former President Yahya Jammeh. While on transit in Senegal, she granted the international media interview about her ordeal.

On home soil, she did a presser with local journalists and rounded off at the TRRC. Her story keeps changing whenever she speaks about it creating doubts in the minds of many.

A man who would struggle for column inches made it to the front pages of daily newspapers for the wrong reasons. Ladies' man Melville Roberts was accused by at least a dozen young women of rape/sexual violence. The evidence he released via his friends suggests he had consensual sex with some of them. Oddly enough, one of his former girlfriends who said she wasn’t violated is leading the fight to get him jailed. A bitter ex on a revenge mission or did he actually rape them?

Arts and Culture

According to the National Council for Arts and Culture, over 50 artists (including support staff) were granted visas this summer to travel to Europe to perform. It is no doubt the start of the revival of our music.

Jizzle announced his arrival on the big stage by filling up the Independence Stadium in his backyard (Bakau) during his Finally album launching.

Brikama’s ST wouldn’t let him have the last word as he bettered his Saluto album launching record attendance.

Written by Saul Sarr
UK