Dawda Jawara

Sir Dawda Kairaba Jawara (16 May 1924 – 27 August 2019 ) was a Gambian politician who served as Prime Minister from 1962 to 1970, and then as the first President of The Gambia from 1970 to 1994, when he was deposed.

Jawara was born in Barajally, MacCarthy Island Division, the son of Mamma Fatty and Almami Jawara.

He was educated at the Methodist Boys' School in Banjul (Bathurst) and then attended Achimota College in Ghana.

He trained as a veterinary surgeon at the University of Glasgow's School of Veterinary Medicine, then completed his training at the University of Liverpool and the University of Edinburgh.

Dawda Jawara was born in 1924 to Almammi Jawara and Mamma Fatty in the village of Barajally Tenda in the central region of The Gambia, approximately 150 mi from the capital, Banjul, then called Bathurst.

One of six sons, Dawda was the lastborn on his mother's side and a younger brother to sister Na Ceesay and brothers Basaddi and Sheriffo Jawara.

Their father Almammi, who had several wives, was a well-to-do trader from an aristocratic family who commuted from Barajally Tenda to his trading post in Wally Kunda.

His family, the Jawaras, had once served as members of the Gbara of Old Mali.

Dawda from an early age attended the local Arabic schools to memorize the Quran, a rite of passage for many Gambian children.

There were no primary schools in Barajally Tenda: the nearest was in Georgetown (Janjanbureh), the provincial capital, but this boarding school was reserved for the sons of the chiefs.

Around 1933, young Jawara's formal education was sponsored by a friend of his father, a trader named Ebrima Youma Jallow, whose trading post was across the street from Alammi's in Wally-Kunda.

Dawda was enrolled at Mohammedan primary school where he was taught by I.M. Garba-Jahumpa.

After graduation from Mohammedan, Jawara won a scholarship to an all-boys High School, where he enjoyed all his classes, but showed the greatest aptitude in science and mathematics.

It was at Glasgow University in the late 1940s, that Jawara's interest in politics began.

Upon matriculation in 1945, he worked as a nurse until 1947 at the Victoria Hospital in Bathurst (now Banjul).

The limited career and educational opportunities in colonial Gambia led to a year's stint at Prince of Wales College and School in Achimota, Accra, in the then Gold Coast, where he studied science.

While at Prince of Wales College and School (popularly known as Achimota College), Jawara showed little interest in politics at a time when Ghana and many colonies in Africa were beginning to become restless for political independence or internal self-government.

While he was happy to have met Ghana's founding father, Kwame Nkrumah, the impact did not prove significant at the time.

After attending Achimota College, Jawara won a scholarship to Scotland's Glasgow University to study veterinary medicine.

At the time, colonial education was intended to train Africans for the most menial of clerical tasks in the civil service.

And it was rare for Gambians to be awarded scholarships in the sciences.

In 1948 he joined the African Students Association and was later elected secretary-general and president, respectively.

Also, while at Glasgow, Jawara honed his political interests and skills by joining the Student Labour Party Organization, Forward Group, and became active in labour politics of the time.

Though never a "leftist", Jawara immersed himself in the Labour Party’s socialist politics and ideology.

At Glasgow Jawara met Cheddi Jagan, who later became Premier of British Guiana, now Guyana.

Jawara classified this period in his life “as very interesting politically”.

It was a moment of rising Pan-Africanist fervour and personal growth politically.

He returned to The Gambia in 1953 and married Augusta Mahoney, beginning work as a veterinary officer.

He completed his studies in 1953.

When Jawara returned home in 1953 after completing his studies as a veterinary surgeon, he first served as a veterinary officer.

He later returned to Scotland to gain a further diploma in tropical veterinary medicine at the University of Edinburgh in 1957.

He entered politics and became secretary of the new People's Progressive Party (PPP) and was elected to the House of Representatives at the 1960 election.

He became the leader of the PPP and then the country's first Prime Minister in 1962, only the second-ever head of government following Pierre Sarr N'Jie's term as Chief Minister.

Under Jawara, The Gambia gained independence from the United Kingdom in 1965.

He remained as Prime Minister and Elizabeth II remained as head of state as Queen of The Gambia.

In 1970, The Gambia became a republic, and Jawara was elected as its first President.

The greatest challenge to Jawara's power came in 1981 when an attempted coup d'état took place and soldiers from neighbouring Senegal were forced to intervene, with 400 to 800 deaths reported by the end of the coup attempt.

Following the coup attempt, Jawara and Senegalese President Abdou Diouf announced the creation of the Senegambia Confederation, but it proved to be short-lived and ultimately collapsed eight years later in 1989.

Jawara continued to rule until 1994 when a coup d'état led by Yahya Jammeh seized power.

Following this, he went into exile, but returned in 2002, and lived in retirement in The Gambia until his death in 2019.