Kukoi Samba Sanyang (1952 – 18 June 2013) led a 1981 rebellion against the democratically elected Gambian government of President Dawda Jawara. On 31 July 1981, while Jawara was abroad, a 12-member National Revolutionary Council (NRC) headed by Sanyang seized control of the country. The leftist NRC accused Jawara's government of being "corrupt, tribalistic, and despotic". They also announced the suspension of the country's constitution and proclaimed their intention to establish a "dictatorship of the proletariat". He died in Mali in 2013.