Farimang Mamadi Singateh

Al Hajj Sir Farimang Mamadi Singateh, GCMG (10 November 1912 – 19 May 1977) was the second and last Governor General of the Gambia, representing Queen Elizabeth II as head of state. Succeeding Sir John Warburton Paul, who had previously been the last Governor of The Gambia before independence, Sir Farimang was the only Gambian citizen to hold that post, beginning in 1966. When the country became a republic in 1970, the office was abolished, and the Prime Minister, Dauda (later Sir Dawda) Kairaba Jawara became an executive President.

Sir Farimang Singhateh was working as a Dispenser/Pharmacist in the Royal Victoria Hospital. He then moved on to have his own Clinics in Soma and Farafeni before going into the private sector he spend time in Basse and Mansakonko serving those communities.While working in his FARAFENI Clinic is when he was appointed as the first Black Governor General by the Queen of England. Stories have been told that horses was his form of transportation in the early 40"s and 50"s as cars were not available at that time or era. He was an Ahmadi Muslim and ameer (president) of the Gambia's Ahmadiyya community. Singateh refrained from any politics till his untimely death in 1977 and went back to his medical practice which was his first love and spent time with his children traveling to Kolda and Dakar visiting friends and family.^[1] A street in the capital, Banjul, was named in his honour.

References

1. Historical Dictionary of The Gambia, Arnold Hughes, David Perfect, Scarecrow Press, page 214