THE KUKOI aka KUFIN COUP OF 1981 IN BANJUL

The trails of kukoi kufin samba sanyang
Ranked among the saddest part of The Gambian history is the event of the 1981 aborted coup. Kukoi as was noted from his election loss from contested in the 1977 election for NCP left him with bitter taste and pain. Kukoi lost with a very high margin. Reliable information heard it that Kukoi aka Kufin left the Gambia sometime after losing the election. Bitter and angry, Kukoi left for the paradise of dissident wanabe hot spot, the capital of fostering antagonist.. Libya Arab Jamahiriya. Kukoi travelled to Libya, spend some time there, build up his revolutionary mentality of overthrowing the government of the double barrel name president DK Jawara.
Kukoi is said to proceed to Russia from Libya. He later resettled in Sweden, the favourite country of the former MOJA die-hards. Sweden became synonymous with MOJA dissidents, still some former members are base there, although some abandon the cause and join president Jilanka aka AJJ.
Kukoi stayed in Sweden passing himself as a Doctor. He use the title Dr Kukoi. People later doubted his doctorate title and rather referred to him Dr Liar. He was said to be uttering humongous untruthful statements to numerous Gambians resident in Sweden. But one thing is clear, Kukoi made his intentions well-known. He has ambitions to overthrow Jarawa. People doubted him; they took it for his usual boosting and misleading utterances.
Kukoi on the other hand was serious, he intends to bring misery to the slumbering and peace loving Gambians. His election oain may not have disappeared even after four years.
The atrocities of 1981 are still fresh in the minds of eye witnesses. The brutal murders of the Senegalese army officers parachuting at yumdum international airport by the coupes. This act is against international rules of engagement in war situations. But hell, Kukoi and his accomplish careless just like today, Yahya and his members are carrying on jailing, beating and sometimes killing defenceless Gambians.
Kukoi and his brutal coup members reign for nearly three days, but during that short period, many elders were made to utter foul words against Jarawa and his government. Among this people are the late Sanjali Bojang, a PPP die-hard, Ismaila Suso of radio Gambia and many prominent elders. I was told that many people die because of their reliance on jujus. This people erroneously believe that their tons of jujus would protect them from bullets. How wrong they thought. Yet, till today, yahya Jammeh parade’s himself with jujus all over his body thinking, he can be saved by them when trouble arises. Gullible thinking.
What role did the MOJA communist played in the coup? This need to be known. Because it is stated that in Sweden, some Gambian stage a demonstration against the presence of Senegalese forces in Banjul. Yes, many Gambian wanted that Jawara to be exited a long time ago, but coup is never the best way to replace a leader. Yahya is a proof to that. He thinks overthrowing Jawara meant being an immortal holy leader that no Gambian has the right to question him and his actions. The key to understanding our present is opening our eyes to the past. The MOJA members who may have partake in the 1981 coup should detail to us the reasons for their involvement in a bloodbath and why they all ran to Sweden.
What is your experience of the 1981 coup?
Detail accounts have been documented about the 1994 coup, all horrendous. We were told the coup was bloodless, yes, when you are not an army officer. Seriously, i sympathises with good officers of the Gambia national army who were either killed or locked up for no reason and underwent brutal torture by their fellow Gambians. This is why it good we understand the ideas of leadership aspirant of our country. The notion that Gambians are peace loving and so on and so forth is rubbish. We are capable of anything just like our brothers in Sierra leone and Liberia.