Family

“President Barrow Promised to Look After Us But He Has Not,” Solo Sandeng’s Wife Cries Out, Reveals Darboe Has Been Helping

The widow of Solo Sandeng says President Barrow has failed to keep his word regarding looking after them.

Solo was leader of the April 14 2016 demonstration for electoral reforms before he was swooped in on and allegedly tortured to death.

The activist was out along with his kind, demanding election laws in the country be revised -regulations he felt were tailored for former president Jammeh’s easy ascension to the top political steering wheel.

Clutching a handy loudspeaker and flanked by his legion of followers often aligned with the United Democratic Party, Solo staged a peaceful march that was clamped down on by armed action of the police, who, rained batons and triggered momentary disperse of the crowd.

Solo was rounded up, bundled in a waiting vehicle off to the PIU headquarters before being driven to feared spies’ base where he would meet his sudden death emanating from ghastly tortures.

His arrest and subsequently annihilation is conveniently linked to Barrow’s leap to the nation’s throne.

UDP’s Darboe would be forced to demand release of Solo dead or alive prior to his later arrest, trialing and jailing in a move leaving the UDP’s hot-seat void which Barrow would fill, paving way for his contest as an independent candidate of a coalition group that gatecrashed Jammeh’s 22-year reign during that term’s polls.

However, Solo’s family is barely looked after by the current government whose president Adama Barrow vowed they wouldn’t be lacking as long he occupies the political summit -words he hasn’t kept to, at least according to Solo’s wife.

“The life we expected to live after Solo’s demise and the way we’re living is completely different. It’s a big disappointment,” Nyima Sonko said today.

Photo: Solo’s ex-wife Nyima Sonko isn’t pleased with Barrow

She continued: ” Help is only coming from one side that the diaspora as they’re the ones helping build our compound for us to relocate. Ousainou Darboe is also helping us this minute and has been good to us. He sends us fish money all the time, takes Solo’s kids to hospital when they’re sick as all my four kids are asthmatic patients. In the lead up to that, I have been running around until I told Ousainou my predicament. He’s now the one helping.We wish the government take responsibility even before anniversary of his (Solo’s) demise.

“Aside from God and people, Solo Sandeng and his people helped change this government. People who came to protest to ensure change occurred in the  country, those people shouldn’t be forgotten or become beggars. Those activists who sacrificed for this nation shouldn’t be living in pain.

“In the aspect of education, Ousainou Darboe gives me money to pay the school fees of all my children the remaining things like fares and lunch, I hustle that for myself. Now I’m married and my husband too has been helping.

Photo: The Late Solo Sandeng was tortured to death by the NIA

“Solo used to help the family and brought us together. When he was alive, we never faced school fees issues and it was only last week I paid their (the kids’) tuition but that was after Ebrima Dibba and Ousainou got to know about it lately. This shouldn’t be happening because my kids’ father stood up for this country.”

It turned out, Barrow was dashing the family a D10,000 allowance but Mrs. Sonko argued the amount was paltry to what she expected, insisting it barely catered for their needs.

“The Gambia government promised us a lot but they didn’t help the way we’d expected. I spoke to president Barrow over the phone become I returned to the Gambia when I was in Senegal. I was crying at the time, he promised me the government will be there for Solo’s family by God’s will.  Today, I doubt Barrow knows whether we’re alive. Back then, he used to give us D10,000 as allowance but that wasn’t definitely enough it shouldn’t have been our allowance. The truth is, the comfort Barrow and his family enjoy, we should also be treated similarly and the same goes to all the families of those who stood up for this country and lost their lives,” she said.                                                                                                  

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