 | This articleis missing information about the coup's failure and aftermath. Please expand the article to include this information. Further details may exist on thetalk page.(December 2021) |
| 1981 Gambian coup d'état attempt | |||||||
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| Part of theCold War | |||||||
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| Gambia Socialist Revolutionary Party | ||||||
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| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| 20 | 100 | ||||||
The1981 Gambian coup d'état attempt began on 30 July 1981 and was quashed in early August following aSenegalese military intervention. The insurrection was carried out by members of theGambia Socialist Revolutionary Party and disaffected staff of theGambia Field Force. At the time, PresidentDawda Jawara was in the United Kingdom attending thewedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer. The failure of the coup precipitated the creation of theSenegambia Confederation in 1982.
The coup attempt led to the loss of 500–1,000 lives.[1]
The British colonial government had disbanded theGambia Regiment due to cost concerns in 1958 and created a paramilitary unit of 140 police called the Gambia Field Force.[2] By 1981, the Force was officially made up of 358 police, but may have actually numbered as many as 500.[2] On 27 October 1980, Deputy Commander E. J. Mahoney was murdered by Private Mustapha Danso, at the Bakau Depot. The government explained the incident as a solitary act of mutiny, but still invoked the 1965 common defence agreement with Senegal, leading to the deployment of 150 troops on a joint training exercise called 'OperationFoday Kabba I' for one week.[3] Furthermore, that between one-third and one-half of the Field Force would subsequently participate in the attempted coup, including the recently retired assistant commissioner Ousman Bojang, suggested that dissatisfaction within the Force was widespread.[2]
The Gambian government was concerned about the foreign policy of Libyan leaderMuammar Gaddafi in the region. The Libyan embassy in Banjul had been increasing in size and it was believed that it was supporting local dissidents, including the socialist newspaperThe Voice. As early as July 1980, the Libyans had been accused of providing military training to Gambians who had been recruited by Senegalese rebel leader, Sheikh Ahmed Niasse of Kaolack. On 29 October 1980, the Libyan embassy was shut down and diplomatic relations were broken off.[3]
The background for the rebels involved in the attempted coup came from theGambia Socialist Revolutionary Party (GSRP), founded in early 1980 by Gibril L. George, a former businessman. This party was joined byKukoi Sanyang, a formerNational Convention Party politician who had traveled toLibya and theSoviet Union. After being declared unlawful on 30 October 1980, the party became the Gambia Underground Socialist Revolutionary Workers Party (GUSRWP), and committed itself to overthrow of the Gambian government.[3] Supposed members of the GUSRWP who swore to overthrow the Gambian government included 10 civilians and 36 Field Force officers.[3]
The ideology of the group was a form ofMarxist-Leninist and radicalpan-Africanist thinking. They spoke of "Victory for the Gambian revolutionary struggle under thedictatorship of the proletariat and the leadership of a Marxist-Leninist party" and of "Death toneocolonialism,racism andfascism."[3]
Covert meetings in Serekunda were held in late July, led by Kukoi Sanyang, to plan the coup. Of the 15 members of this group, at least five had been involved in the Field Force. A number were also employed as taxi drivers - lending the name 'taxi driver's coup'. The plotters waited until PresidentDawda Jawara was out of the country to attend thewedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer in London before launching the coup d'état.[3][4]
In the early hours of July 30th, 1981, the coup began. Kukoi Sanyang and 10 accomplices made their way on foot to the Bakau Field Force Depot from Serekunda, five miles away. They broke into the depot using wire cutters and met up with a conspirator in the Field Force - Momodou Sonko - who let them into the armoury. Armed with Kalashnikov assault rifles, the group were able to take the Depot and collected Ousman Bojang, the former Assistant Commander. A number of disaffected Field Force officers also joined them, but the greater number fled. Once the Depot was taken, the rebels moved onto other targets of importance. By dawn, they had secured the Radio Gambia buildings, Yundum airport, and the State House in Banjul. Civilian supporters of the group were given weapons at the armoury in order to assist the coup.[3]
