The Washington Post - 29.08.2019

B6 EZ RE THE WASHINGTON POST.THURSDAY, AUGUST 29 , 2019

BY HARRISON SMITH

Dawda Jawara, a veterinary
surgeon who treated cattle in
Gambia before helping his tiny
West A frican nation achieve inde-
pendence from Britain and then
presided over its pro-Western,
multiparty democracy for 24
years as the country’s first presi-
dent, died Aug. 27 near Banjul,
the capital. He was 95.
His death was confirmed by
President Adama Barrow, who
said that Mr. Jawara made Gam-
bia “a champion of international
peace, justice and human rights.”
Local news media reported that
he died at his home in the coastal
suburb of Fajara.
Mr. Jawara was considered the
founding father of Gambia, a nar-
row country of 2 million dominat-
ed by the Gambia River and sur-
rounded on three sides by Sen-
egal. Modest and self-deprecat-
ing, he was raised in the nation’s
rugged interior and went on to
survive a bloody rebellion before
being deposed by another coup in
1994.
For seven years, he watched
from exile in London as his suc-
cessor, Yahya Jammeh, steered
the country toward the strong-
man-style rule Mr. Jawara had
rejected for so long. He was even-
tually allowed to come home,
where he settled with his two
wives — legally recognized in
Gambia — into a role as an elder
statesman and national icon, cel-
ebrating Gambia’s 50th anniver-
sary and the recent return to
democracy.
The Scottish-educated Mr.
Jawara was said to be Gambia’s
only veterinarian when he began
working in the mid-1950s for the
British colonial government.
“There’s not a cow in the Gambia
that doesn’t know me personally,”
he once said. That connection to
the countryside, and to the civil
servants laboring alongside him,
helped launch his political career
just as independence movements
were taking hold across the conti-
nent.

Mr. Jawara became a leader of

the People’s Progressive Party,

was elected to Gambia’s House of

Representatives in 1960 and be-

came prime minister and head of

government two years later. He

was instrumental in negotiating

the country’s 1965 independence,

a milestone he celebrated with a

mansa bengo — a traditional

“gathering of kings” — that in-

cluded the Duke and Duchess of

Kent, guests from some 30 na-

tions and a coterie of “soothsayers

and standard-bearers,” according

to the BBC.

His efforts earned him a

knighthood from Queen Eliza-

beth II, the country’s head of state

until a referendum made Gambia

a republic and Mr. Jawara its first

president in 1970. He w on handily

in subsequent elections and gen-

erally drew high marks for over-

seeing an open political culture

and free press, with Washington

Post j ournalist Leon Dash writing

in 1980 that Gambia was “the

only West African nation to com-

bine unruffled independence

with genuine, multiparty demo-

cratic government.”

Mr. Jawara was later praised by

Richard Bourne, director of the

New Delhi-based Commonwealth

Human Rights Initiative, who

called Gambia “a beacon for hu-

man rights in Africa” in a 1994

letter to Britain’s Independent

newspaper. And Mr. Jawara was

widely credited with successfully

pressing the Organization of Afri-

can Unity to adopt the African

Charter on Human and Peoples’

Rights in 1981, designed to pro-

mote and protect rights across

the continent.

His presidency benefited from

a surge in international tourism,

partly driven by the publication

of “Roots” (1976), Alex Haley’s

semifictional account of his fam-

ily’s origins in the Gambian vil-

lage of Juffure, which Mr. Jawara

declared a national monument.

(He and the book’s protagonist,

Kunta Kinte, were both Mandin-

ka, part of Gambia’s largest eth-

nic group.)

But Mr. Jawara also struggled

with droughts that devastated the

country’s agricultural, peanut-

driven economy, and with inter-

mittent reports of corruption and

nepotism. Those charges contrib-

uted to a 1981 coup, led by a

27-year-old Marxist revolutionary

who announced he was installing

a “dictatorship of the proletariat.”

Mr. Jawara was visiting Lon-

don at the time, attending Prince

Charles’s wedding to Lady Diana

Spencer, and relied on the Sene-

galese army — Gambia did not

have a military — to drive the

rebels out of the capital. One of

his wives and several of his chil-

dren were reportedly seized as

hostages, and when hostilities

ended after one week, officials

put the death toll at 500. Unoffi-

cial estimates rose as high as

2,000.

The incident spurred the crea-

tion of Senegambia, a loose con-

federation between Senegal and

Gambia that lasted for eight years

and rekindled long-standing dis-

cussions of a potential union be-

tween the two countries. Such a

merger never came to pass, and

Mr. Jarawa eventually turned

toward Nigeria for military sup-

port, while Gambians seemed to

tire of his leadership.

He was driven from office in

July 1994, when disgruntled sol-

diers loyal to Jammeh — then a

29-year-old army lieutenant —

staged a bloodless revolt. Mr.

Jawara escaped the country

aboard a U.S. Navy warship, for-

tuitously anchored off Banjul for

military exercises, and unsuc-

cessfully called on Britain and the

United States to return democra-

cy to Gambia.

Jammeh later told the BBC that

he was prepared for a billion-year

rule, “if Allah says so.” He stepped

down in 2017 under pressure

from regional powers, after dis-

missing an election victory the

previous year by Barrow, the op-

position leader.

Dawda Kairaba Jawara was

born in the central Gambian

town o f Barajally on May 16, 1924.

His father was variously de-

scribed as a prosperous trader

and a farmer, who selected Daw-

da out of his six sons to receive

schooling in the capital, then

known as Bathurst.

Mr. Jawara studied veterinary

medicine at the University of

Glasgow, qualifying as a surgeon

in 1953, and returned to Gambia.

He converted to Christianity, tak-

ing the name David Kwesi, about

the time he married Augusta Ma-

honey in 1955, according to a

political history of Gambia by

Arnold Hughes and David Per-

fect.

They l egally separated, and Mr.

Jawara — who reverted to Islam

and his old name — married

Chilel N’Jie, then 16, followed by a

woman known as Lady Njaimeh,

23.

He had at least eight children,

according to news accounts. In-

formation on survivors was not

immediately available.

[email protected]

DAWDA JAWARA, 95

Founding father led Gambia for 24 years before 1994 coup

ASSOCIATED PRESS

GAMBIA PRESIDENCY/REUTERS

ABOVE: Dawda Jawara, a

veterinary surgeon who later

helped Gambia achieve

independence, became the

nation’s first president in 1970.

RIGHT: Mr. Jawara, at center

in the second row, is seen at the

1969 Commonwealth Prime

Ministers’ Conference in

London. He was knighted by

Queen Elizabeth II, Gambia’s

head of state until 1970.

He was instrumental in

negotiating the

country’s independence,

a milestone he

celebrated with a

“gathering of kings.”

BY KATHERINE SHAVER

Maryland transportation offi-
cials are still studying how to best
reduce traffic backups at t he Ches-
apeake Bay Bridge. But G ov. Larry
Hogan (R) said Wednesday that
building a third span at the exist-
ing bridge is the only option he
would approve.
“There is only one option I will
ever accept: adding a third s pan to
our existing Bay Bridge,” Hogan
tweeted. “While the federal proc-
ess requires multiple proposals,
the data is indisputable — this
option would maximize conges-
tion relief & minimize environ-
mental i mpact.”
Hogan, c iting information f rom
the s tate s tudy, said n ot building a
third span would result in 14-mile
delays at the bridge by 2040.
Building a third span, he tweeted,
is the “only serious way forward”
to relieve cross-bay traffic conges-
tion.
Hogan’s comments came a day
after the Maryland Transporta-
tion Authority said its $5 million
study had so far narrowed the
options for reducing traffic con-
gestion to three possibilities:
building an additional bridge
north of the existing one; within
two miles of i t; or to the s outh.
According to state officials, the
study found that a span within t he
same two-mile “corridor” as the
existing bridge would reduce traf-
fic the most, but they said they

would continue to analyze the

more northern and southern cor-

ridors, as well as a “no-build” a lter-

native r equired by federal law. A u-

thority officials said they rejected

the i dea o f adding ferry, bus or rail

service because rail would be pro-

hibitively expensive and none

would do enough to reduce traffic.

Hogan announcing that he has

already made up his mind has

opened him up to criticism that

the s tate’s s tudy will become a way

to support t he governor’s f oregone

conclusion.

The federally required studies,

which must include public input,

typically weigh a number of op-

tions and p redict each one’s e ffects

on the environment, local commu-

nities and historical sites. They a re

considered the way for govern-

ment agencies to publicly and

thoroughly vet ideas for costly in-

frastructure investments that can

have significant i mpacts on w ater-

ways, w ildlife a nd c ommunities.

Gary V. Hodge, a transit advo-

cate and former Democratic com-

missioner in Charles County, said

he is concerned the “Titanic cost”

of building a third span would

siphon money from expanding

transit and other ways to better

move people rather than vehicles.

The federally required review

process “requires objective analy-

sis of alternatives,” Hodge said.

“When you preorder the conclu-

sion, you’re basically warping the

process.”

Other critics, including Anne

Arundel County Executive

Steuart Pittman (D), have said

building an additional bridge

would disrupt communities on

both sides of the bay, increase

traffic on local roads, promote

car-centric development, d estroy

shoreline parkland and give

short shrift to transit.

Hogan spokesman Michael Ric-

ci said the Maryland Transporta-

tion Authority will complete the

federal environmental review of

four options — the three possible

corridors for a new bridge as well

as the r equired no-build o ption.

He said the governor simply

wanted to be “ clear” a nd “unequiv-

ocal” that he favors building a

third span because the study has

already found that it would best

reduce traffic.

“We respect the process and

have to allow for public comment

and public meetings t o educate the

public on this p roject,” Ricci said.

Public comment, he added,

“could possibly lead to improve-

ments” i n the g overnor’s p referred

third span.

Ricci said the state won’t know

the c ost of b uilding a third span —

or how the s tate w ould pay f or i t —

until the second part of the study

specifies an alignment and the

type and l ength of a new s tructure.

The question of where — and

whether — to build an additional

bridge ultimately might not be up

to Hogan, depending on how long

the r est of the s tudy t akes and how

easily the s tate c an f ind the m oney

to build i t.

Hogan, who is term-limited,

will be out of office after the 2022

election.

[email protected]

MARYLAND

Hogan: Adding a third span to Bay Bridge the ‘only serious way forward’

“This option would

maximize congestion

relief & minimize

environmental impact.”

Gov. Larry Hogan (R), in a tweet

obituaries

BRIAN WITTE/ASSOCIATED PRESS

Gov. Larry Hogan (R) in 2016 by the Chesapeake Bay Bridge. Hogan, citing information from the state

study, said not building a third span would result in 14 -mile delays at the bridge by 2040.

OF NOTE

Obituaries of residents from the
District, Maryland and N orthern Vir-
ginia.

Genie Rosebrock,
teacher
Genie Rosebrock, 77, a teacher
at Gallaudet University from 1967
to 1974 and in the Fairfax County
Public Schools from 1977 to 2003,
died Aug. 1 at a hospital in A lexan-
dria, Va. The cause was p ancreatic
cancer, said her executor, Denise
Grafton.
Ms. Rosebrock, an Alexandria
resident, was born in To ledo. She

taught English, drama and art at

Fort Hunt High School, Irving

Middle School and Hayfield Sec-

ondary School.

Sharon Keim,

photography dealer

Sharon Keim, 91, who operated

a dealership in artistic photo-

graphs, “In the Mind’s Eye,” out of

her h ome in B ethesda, M d., during

the 1980s, died Aug. 1 at a care

center in Golden, Colo. The cause

was heart ailments, said a daugh-

ter, Elizabeth Keim.

Mrs. Keim was born Sharon

Hieronymus in South Bend, Ind.

She was a member of the board of

overseers of the Corcoran College

of Art and Design. She moved to

the C olorado c are center in M arch.

Virginia Washburne,

hostess, catering chief

Virginia Washburne, 86, a for-

mer hostess and chief of catering

for 30 years at Washington hotels

who retired in 1997 from the Park

Hyatt Hotel, died July 7 at a care

center in Monticello, Fla. The

cause was pneumonia, said a

daughter, Paige Ripani.

Mrs. Washburne, a Washington

resident, was born Virginia Knox in

Seattle. Among t he hotels she worked

at were the Madison, Four Seasons,

Mayflower, Hilton and Sheraton.

Mark Cohn,

cybersecurity specialist

Mark Cohn, 66, a cybersecurity

specialist who was chief technol-

ogy officer for Unisys Federal, died

July 14 a t his home in Washington.

The cause was lung cancer, said a

sister, Jeanne Cohn-Connor.

Mr. Cohn was born in Warner

Robins, Ga., and had lived in the

Washington area since the late

1970 s. Early in his 34 years at

Unisys, he designed systems for

air t raffic control.

Frank Phillips,

computer analyst

Frank Phillips, 85, a computer

analyst with the Defense Depart-

ment and earlier as an Air Force

enlisted man, died July 29 at his

home in Dale City, Va. The cause

was c ongestive h eart failure, said a

son, Bruce Phillips.

Mr. Phillips was born in Chicop-

ee, Mass. He retired from the Air

Force as a senior master sergeant

in 1974 and from the Defense De-

partment i n 2006.

Robert Dalton,

lawyer

Robert Dalton, 87, a State De-

partment lawyer from 1961 until

retiring this year as a senior advis-

er on treaty p ractice, d ied July 9 a t

his home in Washington. The

cause was cancer, said a niece,

Annette Dalton.

Mr. Dalton was born in

Brookline, Mass., and began his

State Department career as a law-

yer in the passport office. From

1991 to 2019, he was an adjunct

faculty member at Georgetown

University Law School.

Mary-Hill French,

volunteer

Mary-Hill French, 102, a volun-

teer participant in Welcome to

Washington, which provides edu-

cation and social activities for for-

eign visitors and residents, died

July 26 at a hospital in Bethesda,

Md. The cause was a pulmonary

infection, said her husband, Bev-

an French.

Mrs. French, a resident o f Chevy

Chase, Md., was born Mary-Hill

Kueffner in St. Paul, Minn. She

settled in the Washington area

50 years ago after having worked

for i ron mining companies in M in-

nesota.

— F rom staff reports