The smallest country on the Africa mainland has produced a striking number of world-famous figures in history, law, and music. Here are the Gambians who travelled far beyond the river.
From our history
Kunta Kinteh. The most famous Gambian who ever lived, and he lived in the 1700s. Captured near the village of Juffureh and sold into slavery, he became the ancestor at the heart of Alex Haley’s Roots, read and watched by hundreds of millions. The island in the River Gambia now carries his name.
Sir Dawda Jawara. The veterinary surgeon who became the country’s first president and led it, peacefully, out of colonial rule. The quiet founding father.
On the world stage
Fatou Bensouda. A lawyer from Banjul who rose to become Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court in The Hague, prosecuting the world’s gravest crimes. One of the most powerful legal figures on earth came from our small coast.
The music
Sona Jobarteh. Born into one of the great griot families, she became the first woman to build a professional career as a kora virtuoso, an instrument tradition had reserved for men. She now fills concert halls across the world.
Jaliba Kuyateh. At home, no name is more beloved. The King of Kora turned griot music into a stadium celebration; a Gambian wedding without a little Jaliba is barely a wedding.
Foday Musa Suso. A kora master who took the instrument onto the world’s biggest stages, recording with jazz and classical giants, and proved the kora belongs anywhere there is music.
And the story is not finished. A new generation of Gambians, writers, musicians, athletes, and filmmakers, is busy adding names to this list. Some of us are still writing our chapter.
For such a small place, that is a long shadow. Which famous Gambian did I miss? Add them below. And if you like your history told with fire, I gather some of these heroes in The Little Book of Afrocanos, my manifesto on Africa and the people who refused to be forgotten.
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