Gambia’s founding president Sir Dawda Jawara has died at the age of 95, his family confirmed on Tuesday.
Jawara who marked his 95th birthday last May died earlier on Tuesday.
Leading tributes to Gambia’s independence leader, President Adama Barrow described him as a peaceful softly spoken man who rightly earned himself the name “Kairaba” – meaning “peace”.
Jawara has been living a quiet retirement in Fajara, 11km outside Banjul since his return from exile in 2001, seven years after he was ousted in a military coup led by his eventually successor Yahya Jammeh.
The son of a trader, Sir Dawda Kairaba Jawara, was born on May 16, 1924 in Barajally, MacCarthy Island, and originally trained as a veterinarian before eventually being convinced to enter politics in the late 1950s.
His thirty-year rule was reputed for his reputation as a champion of human rights.
He won multiple elections before he was toppled in 1994 by then Lieutenant Yahya Jammeh who went on to rule The Gambia until he lost the country’s last presidential polls three years ago.
WN/as/APA