Mustapha Danso

Mustapha Danso (* unknown; † September 30, 1981 in Banjul ) was a Gambian constable in the military who murdered Emmanuel "Eku" Mahoney in 1980 , the deputy commander of the country's paramilitary field force . Danso's act also ultimately led to an attempted coup in July 1981 and his own execution .

Assassination attempt and consequences

Danso shot Mahoney with an automatic firearm in October 1980 . When convicted in December, Danso was found guilty of murder and sentenced to death . The unrest sparked by this incident led to the attempted coup which began on July 30, 1981 and was led by Kukoi Samba Sanyang . President Dawda Jawara was able to end the revolt on August 5th with the support of Senegalese armed forces .

On September 30, 1981, Danso was executed in Banjul. It was the first execution since the Gambia gained independence in 1965.

literature

• Tijan M. Sallah: Economics and Politics in The Gambia. In: Journal of Modern African Studies. Vol. 28, No. 4, December 1990, ISSN  0022-278X , pp. 621-648
• Arnold Hughes: From Colonialism to Confederation. The Gambian Experience of Independence, 1965-1982. In: Robin Cohen (Ed.): African Islands and Enclaves (= Sage Series on African Modernization and Development. Vol. 7). Sage Publications, Beverly Hills et al. 1983, ISBN 0-8039-1966-2 , pp. 57-80, here p. 69.
• Gambia executes first since 1965. In: The Globe and Mail , October 2, 1981, p. 18.