Gambians paid last respect to Dr. Sedat Jobe
By Sulayman Waan
Following the announcement of Dr. Momodou Lamin Sedat Jobe’s funeral at the Pipeline Mosque, yesterday scores of Gambians mourned the late diplomat in a sorrowful interment.
The funeral attracted cross-section of the society including the Jobe Family, government officials, politicians, business persons, private sector and several others.
In his remarks, Imam Baba Leigh said Dr. Jobe was a devoted Muslim who loved his family and the country at large.
“Dr. Sidat Jobe has worked for the country and fought for it when he was needed the most,” he said.
While saying Dr. Jobe was a good man, he called on the Jobe family to recite the holy Quran for their father.
However, he advised that politics should not divide the country, noting that all political parties and actors have witnessed the last rest to Dr. Jobe.
Hassan B Jallow, chief Justice of The Gambia and a neighbor to Dr. Jobe in Bansang described the decease as a devout Muslim.
“This is a big loss for this country. I have known him since childhood as we are neighbors in Bansang. We are family friends. He was a good neighbor and a pious Muslim.”
“He is somebody who loved this country very much and he has fought for good things for the country both locally and abroad as a diplomat,” he said.
Chief Justice Jallow prayed that Almighty Allah grant the late Dr. Jobe the highest place in Paradise.
Bakary Bunja Dabo, secretary general and leader for Gambia For All (GFA) political party described the death of Dr. Jobe as a great lost for The Gambia and her people. He said Jobe had many qualities.
“When opportunity was given to him, he did his best,” Dabo, a former Vice President and Economy Minister acknowledged.
Dr. Jobe’s bio in brief
Momodou Lamin Sedat Jobe (24 July 1944 – 6 April 2025) was the Gambian Foreign Minister from 1998 to August 2001.
He lived in self-imposed exile in Sweden and was heading the pro-democracy Gambia Consultative Council, which was established in 2013.
Sedat Jobe was born in Bansang, Gambia. He completed his higher education in France, finishing with a doctorate from the University of Grenoble in 1976.
When he was not working as a career diplomat, he taught at the University of Dakar from 1974 to 1978 and Howard University from 1978 to 1980. He also worked for UNESCO latterly as its director of culture (1981–1996, 1996–1997).
He returned to the Gambian diplomatic service as an ambassador at large between 1996 and 1998 and was appointed secretary of state for external affairs in January 1998.
As foreign minister, Jobe tried to lead an unsuccessful delegation to Guinea-Bissau to try to negotiate a settlement to the country’s civil war that erupted in 1998. He resigned in August 2001, following the expulsion of the deputy British high commissioner, Bharat Joshi.
He supported President Yahya Jammeh in the 2006 presidential election but later turned against him.
In January 2013, he called for the military to overthrow Jammeh by force, while also strongly criticizing Mai Fatty, the leader of the Gambia Moral Congress.
SW/COB/08/04/25
