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The Ceesay And Jobe Families Need Your Help

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Press Release from the Ceesay and Jobe Family; Requesting for help from anyone that may have Information on the two missing Gambian born US Citizens
Like many families whose love ones disappeared without trace under the Jammeh regime, we the Ceesay and Jobe family have anxiously waited for more than 3 years hoping to be re-united with Alhagie Mamute Ceesay and Ebou Jobe.

Alhagie and Ebou who are both Gambian born US citizens decided to visit in May 2013. The main purpose of their visit was to start a business but also to empower the many youths in the country.

Based on credible eye witness accounts which has already been reported to the State Department and the FBI, Alhagie and Ebou went to watch the Youssoufa Ngum’s (Musa Ngum’s son) show on June 22 2013. There were NIA officials present at the show, and were following the two. On their way home from the event, their car was stopped at the Burusubi checkpoint. The two were asked to get out of the car and were handcuffed and threw in the back of the pick-up truck. They were later taken to the house that they rented. The apartment was completely ransacked and they were later taken to the NIA office. This was the last time they had any contact with the outside world.

For over three years, we have learned to work relentlessly just to keep hope alive. Some days the grief is so unbearable but we kept moving hoping for a day when Gambia will be free from tyranny and we will all be re-united with our love ones.

We believe there is someone out there that has some information and we are pleading with you to please come forward (however small or sad). You can get in touch with us on one of the numbers below or via email or Twitter.

There are still many other victims still unaccounted for, we are also pleading on behalf of those families, for you to come forward with any information that can help them as well.

This has been a long tough journey, and the family miss Alhagie and Ebou dearly. We are hopeful that this ordeal will soon end with your help!

Contacts in US;

Olay Ceesay – 682-472-2090

Juka Ceesay – 917-520-5249

Contacts Gambia;

Alhagie Ebou Ceesay +220 797 2087

Email Address; [email protected]

Twitter; @FreeAlhagieEbou

ECOWAS chief Souza satisfied with peaceful outcome of Gambia’s post-electoral crisis

The President of the Commission of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has expressed satisfaction with the peaceful outcome of the post-electoral crisis in The Gambia.

Marcel de Souza made revelation on Tuesday January 24th 2017 in Abuja, Nigeria, on the occasion of his New Year message to development partners and members of the diplomatic corps accredited to the regional organisation.

He commended the forces of the ECOWAS Mission in The Gambia (ECOMIG) involved in the operations for the restoration of democracy, peace and security along key points in Banjul, the Gambian capital, for their dexterity and professionalism.

“The operations took place without shedding of blood, without any casualty, and without any foreign intervention whatsoever. This is a clear indication that Africa can face her own challenges and find solutions to her problems” he said.

The Commission President took the opportunity to praise the efforts made by ECOWAS Heads of State and Government and friendly countries, as well as the various presidential mediation missions resulting in the successful resolution of the crisis.

Mr Souza paid special tribute to Mrs Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, President of Liberia and Chairperson of the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government, and in particular to Muhammadu Buhari, President of Nigeria and ECOWAS Mediator, alongside John Dramani Mahama, Ghana’s former President and Co-mediator of the regional body.

He also welcomed the remarkable efforts made by Professor Alpha Condé and Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz, Presidents of Guinea and Mauritania respectively, for successfully conducting the final mediation leading to the departure of the former Gambian President Yahya Jammeh to Equatorial Guinea leadin to a peaceful take over.

The ECOWAS boss further paid tribute to Nigeria, Senegal and Ghana’s Armed Forces for deploying troops and providing logistics at short notice, and thanked Senegal’s President, Macky Sall, for the warm welcome accorded to ECOMIG troops, as well as the facilities extended to them to enable them carry out their mission.

On demands for amnesty and claims for guarantee made by the former President of The Gambia for himself, his entourage and supporters, the ECOWAS Principal noted that the requests will be examined by ECOWAS decision-making bodies, the African Union and the United Nations.

Regarding the new Gambian President, Adama Barrow, the Commission President called on him to embrace national unity and reconciliation of all Gambians, economic recovery, consolidation of renewed peace and democracy, while avoiding settling of scores and witch-hunting.

Families raise concerns over whereabouts of Journalist Chief Manneh, others

Family members of missing Gambian journalist Chief Ebrima Manneh and Kanyiba Kanyi, employee of CCF are demanding for the new government to look into their case and make sure their families are properly informed of what happened.

Chief Ebrima Manneh used to work for the Daily Observer Newspaper, a columnist of the ‘Crime and Investigation’. He was also State Correspondence at one time. He was arrested at his workplace by the state security agents since 2006.

Sarjo Manneh, father of the missing journalist explained the pain and anguished he is living with for the past 10 years. He lamented about the sleepless nights and tears shed since his son was abducted by the agents of the former President Yahya Jammeh. He said he has been searching for him all these years without any avail.

“I went to the National Intelligence Agency and all police stations across the country. They said he is not in their custody,” Sarjo Manneh said.

The old man who was sobbing while talking described his missing son as a hardworking person. He blamed the former President Jammeh for the disappearance of his son and called on the new government to intervene in his release if he is definitely alive.

“The Matter has been filed at the Major Crime Unit at the Police Headquarters,” Adama Manneh, Chief Manneh’s sister said.

Meanwhile, Lamin Kanyi alias ‘Kanyiba’ former employee of the Christian Children Fund also went missing for more than 10 years. He was arrested by the state security agents and has not bee seen since.

“They arrested him in the presence of his family and was never seen again,” Wandifa Kanyi, Kanyiba’s brother said.

Wandifa Kanyi said his brother has wife and children living at home. He explained the trauma the family has been living with since the disappearance of their love one. He called on the new government to intervene.

Meanwhile, the Manneh and Kanyi families have welcome the move taken by the new government to release political prisoners but also raised concerns about their love ones. They called for drastic actions to be taken if definitely their love ones have been killed by the former government.

Gambia’s Ex-Army Chief Masanneh Kinteh named Military aide to President Barrow

Gambia’s new President Adama Barrow has named former Army Chief Lt. General Masaneh Kinteh as his senior military aide.

This appointment was announced on Wednesday by Halifa Sallah, the spokesperson of the Coalition government at a press conference held at the Kairaba Beach Hotel.

Until his new appointment, Mr Kinteh was since 2012 relieved from the Gambia Armed Forces and assigned to the Foreign Service been Gambia’s ambassador to Havana, Cuba.

Kinteh was among the eleven Gambian diplomats that jointly wrote a letter to former President Yahya Jammeh appealing to him to accept the will of the people and to hand over power peacefully for the interest of the country.

It could be recalled that on Friday, July 6th, 2012, Kinteh was relieved of his services as Chief of Defense Staff of The Gambia Armed Forces and assigned to the Foreign Service. He was replaced by current CDS Major Gen. Ousman Badjie who was his deputy for two years.

Before been Chief of Defense staff, Kinteh was appointed head of the defense forces in October 2009, replacing former Major General Lang Tombong Tamba.

A native of Sankwia Village in Western Jarra, Kinteh who has a long and outstanding military career bags Masters degree in the United Kingdom.

The unconstitutionality of the CONSTITUTION

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By Lamin Darboe

Numerous articles emerged since the appointment of Fatoumata Tanbajang as Vice president and I observe majority of them missed a key ingredient of a constitution, that is natural justice and fairness and non-discriminatory function.

 
Some exposition are at best dishonest and other seem to bother on spite not only for sobriety and fitness of the candidate for the purpose but the huge human capital she could bring on deck to aid the success of the coalition. Others even challenge the resourcefulness of a coalition all together, however these instigations were not unexpected.

 
The defeated APRC party will try a lot of tricks, insinuations and some charlatan derisions to disparage the coalition. They will seek to throw aspersion on the effort of the coalition to present a coherent and progressive government.
As the mandinka saying goes “a dethroned alkalo never love the success of the village”

 

 

Folks, if Mr Tabanjang is disqualified to take up the position of vice president because of her age then the present Gambian constitution is not only incongruous with international human right laws and regulations but it is inherently unconstitutional.

 
Before I dilate on the above insinuation, let me fervently state that the constitutional section most people quote refers to the age of president of the state not the vice president.
Even though it was apparent that the 1997 constitution which was JUNTA constitution, was subtly yet advertently knitted to disqualify Laywer Darboe.

 
No doubt it was also discriminatory and disharmonious with international human rights regulations.
The constitution should not discriminate people on the basis of AGE, TRIBE. LANGUAGE, GENDER ETC. If it does, then that section should be challenged in court.

 
I cannot find any constitution in the world where there is an age ceiling. Such a constitution will be reactionary and retrogressive because it will fail to tap a great resource of people with so much experience and wisdom who have actually accomplish so much in life and are only looking for self- actualisation-leaving a legacy.

 
I for one is satisfied there is no constitutional infringement in her appointment and if need be this discriminatory constitution must be put in the dock as it does not serve a democratic purpose which we all yearned for in the last 22 years. A constitutional should not be designed to serve an individual’s political whims but in must be guiding framework to support justice for all, a reference point for a our democratic institutions, foster an equal opportunity for all irrespective of age, tribe and gender to participate in our democratic process.

 
Since any law that discriminates on the basis of age, gender, tribe will unconstitutional, then it is logical that any constitution that diminish the democratic participation of citizenry based on age is itself unconstitutional and disharmonious.

 

The First Task for the ‘Barrow-Government’ – Release Political Prisoners My Suggestion

By Abdou Karim Jallow

We are looking forward to our brothers and sisters being released from illegal and unconstitutional and arbitrary arrest and detention without trial. Currently there are a number of our sons and daughters languishing in state orchestrated detention and imprisonment. Many are and still continue to be deprived of their liberty on grounds not in accordance with law as guaranteed by Section 19 of the Constitution. Many of these people were never made known the reason or reasons for their detentions, and deprived their rights to consult legal practitioners. Some were never knowingly to us brought before a court. Others were tried by kangaroo courts and thus did not receive fair trials. No one person can tell except the authority who instructed for their detention if they have or being about to or upon reasonable suspicion to commit any criminal offence under the laws of The Gambia, which should have been made known to them within 3 hours of their arrest or detention, and should be brought before a court within 72 hours of their arrest or detention if not released (Section 19 (2), and (3) respectively of the Constitution of The Gambia).
It is amongst such unconstitutional rules that the people of The Gambia took bold steps to uproot the previous leadership, and to bring in a government that will respect the people and govern according to rule of law and respect for human rights; be the servant of the people and not be their master. We are in a new era and with the hope and conviction that the new government will measure to expectations of the people, and the first test is to do justice and release all political prisoners and detainees such as Mr. Ousman Jammeh, former Deputy Minister of Agriculture who has spent 15 months in detention without taken to court, Mr. Amadou Sanneh former Treasurer of the UDP who was tortured and never received a fair trial; Alhagie Ousman Sawaneh, the Imam of Kanifing South, who is believed to have spent over 200 days in detention, and the list goes on….. Please release them so that they can join their families and friends to celebrate the birth of a ‘New Gambia’. Let me please echo the words of wisdom of my great friend and Pan Africanist Mr. Samba Johm who highlights that “The task of nation building now commences. The era of talking is over and the time for action is now.”
Good Luck PRESIDENT BARROW and the COALITION!

Once Upon A Time In Gambia

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By Reuben Abati

I have very vivid memories of my last visit to The Gambia. This was in 2013 when President Goodluck Jonathan paid a two-day visit to the country. In the course of that visit, President Jonathan commissioned the new Chancery of the Nigerian Embassy in Banjul, and also met with the Nigerian community, in addition to the usual bilateral meetings. Nigeria and The Gambia have very strong cultural and diplomatic relations.

 
We were quartered at a very nice, hospitable sea-side hotel, the Coco Ocean Resort. One of the first things I noticed was the large population of female tourists, lounging by the pool-side and the sea-side, with biceps-wielding, six-packs-flaunting young dark-skinned men on the prowl, with gigolo-ish gait and mien. A female member of our entourage who had gone to the restaurant alone, later returned – visibly shaken and alarmed and what was her problem: one of the male ushers in the hotel had asked her if she would need a man to keep her company so she could have a real taste of Gambian hospitality.
We laughed over it later, but you could not but wonder whether this was one of the reasons why The Gambia holds a special attraction for middle-aged ladies from Europe. There was no time to conduct further research into that aspect of our encounter with The Gambia. I was far too busy for that. But there was no doubt that The Gambia under President Yahya Jammeh took the country’s tourism endowments seriously: a beautiful seaside, good weather, low crime rate, good hotels, beautiful women, adventurous young men, and a meek populace.

 
President Yahya Jammeh was determined to give President Jonathan and his delegation a good reception. From the airport to the hotel, you would think a festival was afoot. A public holiday was declared and our visit was aired live on radio and television. When we got to the hotel, President Jonathan’s vehicle was immediately serenaded by a cavalcade of horse-riders and a full band of drummers, singers and bag-pipers in colourful costume. They led our convoy to the Presidential suite, where security had been heavily deployed in fitting recognition of the importance of the visitor. President Jammeh like virtually every other West African President took a special liking to President Jonathan- the only one who was aloof and liked to act like the father of everyone was that one in Cameroon, although I must say when we went there for a security summit, he received us excellently well too.

 
We felt very much at home in The Gambia. We were kept in rooms that were a bit far away from the President. And whenever that happened, the aides were always excited. It meant we could have a little more freedom away from the searching eyes of the security people around the President. And those ones, I will tell their story someday because they were fond of disturbing other matters of state and personal interest by suddenly interrupting with calls: “Oga dey call you, Oga says you must come now, now” only to get to the big man and he tells you, “No, I didn’t ask after you.” By the time you hang around for a while, just in case the big man would change his mind, whatever plan you were pursuing would have been aborted, or seeing you, the boss would find an assignment for you or drag you into a meeting. Angry, deflated, you went to the security man who made the phone call: “But you said Oga sent for me.” Those guys always managed a poker face: “But you know it is always good to stay around Oga in case he needs you.”

 
I was impressed by Jammeh’s hospitality and respectful disposition towards President Jonathan. I recall that in 2012, when President Jammeh tried to succeed President Jonathan as Chairman of the ECOWAS Authority, his own colleagues, including President Jonathan, opposed him. He rarely attended ECOWAS meetings. His then Vice President, the motherly, regal and polite Isatou Njie-Saidy always occupied The Gambian seat. But he usually showed up when a new Chairman was to be elected. Seniority is something that is taken seriously within the club of African Presidents.

 
They refer to themselves as “my brother, my brother”, but they are always very mindful of seniority and that is one of the reasons why the likes of Paul Biya, Robert Mugabe, Yoweri Museveni, Teodoro Obiang Mbasogo behave and speak as if they are God in human form. Each time Jammeh wanted the ECOWAS Chairmanship position, he behaved as if it was his birthright, but in 2012, and again in 2014, he was bypassed for junior Presidents as had been the case since he first expressed interest in the position in 2001. He was the only long-serving President who was never allowed to chair ECOWAS. He must have been aware of President Jonathan and Nigeria’s stand on the question of his Chairmanship, but he never held it against both. In fact, Nigeria and Nigerians were so influential in The Gambia under Jammeh, ordinary Gambians complained openly about the overwhelming influence of Nigerians in their country.
Everything went well during our state visit until it was time to meet with President Jammeh in the State House. It was part of my duty to introduce the Nigerian President’s delegation, except someone else seized the microphone and I stepped down. In The Gambia, mere protocol recognition of the President of the country ended up being a major problem. His full titles had to be mentioned, and in a correct order in order not to upset him. The pre-meeting briefing by my Gambian counterpart dwelt too heavily on the titles: His Excellency, Sheik Professor Alhaji Dr Yahya Abdul-Aziz Awal Jemus Junkung (AJJ) Jammeh Nassiru Deen Babili Mansa, President of the Republic of The Gambia. It was something like that. The security guards were also rough and menacing. Security men often do not understand the language of diplomacy. We went to many countries where we were treated roughly and our own security men often threatened to retaliate if the affected country ever visited Nigeria. I don’t think we ever got a chance to retaliate because our protocol system proved to be more orderly.

 
The State House in The Gambia when we eventually went in, however, was quite modest. It looked like the guest house section of Aso Villa. The meetings went well too. And Jammeh, to my surprise, spoke very well. He didn’t sound like the fool he was portrayed to be in the Western press. He was articulate, debonair, well-composed and mentally sharp. I guess these are required qualities for dictatorship and crookedness. And I admired Jammeh. He is afterall, my age-mate. He sat there, in his royalty, running a country, and I was there, switching between a microphone and a notebook, documenting his history. But something else happened that gave a true picture of Jammeh’s Gambia.

 
Our official photographer, Callistus Ewelike (he took over from Kola Osiyemi– God bless his soul) had issues with Jammeh’s security men. Security men at State Houses around the world are unfriendly towards journalists. They seek to control access. They consider journalists busybodies, looking for negative news. Accreditation and the use of tags should ordinarily take care of this, still, the security people just prefer to misbehave, and I witnessed that even in the United States where we were treated as if the visiting media was a team of terrorists. There was no violence in the US, but in The Gambia, they seized Callistus Ewelike’s camera and smashed it. Callistus is an aggressive, stubborn photo-journalist. He would fight if you try to stop him from doing his job.

 
He was a staff of the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) handed over to me by Ima Niboro when Kola took ill. Callistus must have resisted the Gambia goons, claiming his right as President Jonathan’s Official Photographer. In The Gambia under Jammeh, the President and the security agencies ruled as if there would be no tomorrow. They trampled on everyone else’s rights. Anyone who tried to act like a free man was brutalised and dumped in prison. For 22 years, Jammeh sat on his country and his people with the help of marabouts and security enforcers. He kissed the Koran everyday, but he did not act according to its dictates. He wore a trademark white garment, but his true garment was of a black colour from the kingdom of Satan.

 
Ewelike’s travails eventually became a full-fledged story on the second day of our visit when President Jammeh’s spokesperson and the rest of his media team started looking for me at the Coco Resort. We were to be treated to a luncheon before departure. The luncheon had started but I got cornered. Jammeh’s spokesman brought a brand new camera to replace the one the Gambian security people had destroyed. Callistus was with me. The Gambians apologized. Apology was taken and accepted. They said they didn’t want the two Presidents to hear about the incident. I gave them my word that I would not mention it to President Jonathan. Then, they pleaded that we should accept the replacement camera they brought.
I told them not to bother – as far as we were concerned, whatever happened was occupational hazard and Nigeria would replace its own damaged equipment. I looked at Callistus. He was eyeing the new camera greedily. At a point, he called me aside and whispered: “Oga, this camera they are giving us is better than the one they smashed oh. This one na better camera. Oga, abi make we take am?” I stood my ground. I also consulted Ambassadors Hassan Tukur and Daniel Hart who said accepting a replacement would amount to a diplomatic tit-for-tat. I thanked The Gambians for their good sense and assured them that we were fine with the photographic coverage of the visit so far, despite the damaged camera. I always had a back-up photographer and cameraman, in any case.

 
That encounter was a blessing in disguise. It saved me from the first course at the Presidential luncheon, which had started while we were outside the hall discussing the damaged camera. When we got back to Nigeria, close to eight persons on the Presidential delegation ended up in hospital due to food poisoning! They all took that first course. Nobody died but somehow the information got back to The Gambia and the chef was arrested and charged to court. Jammeh’s rulership of The Gambia was jinxed in many ways. The biggest jinx was his volte-face over the last Presidential election. Gambians deserve a new place in the sun and a new Gambia. But so much depends on new President Adama Barrow. He should look beyond the past and face the future. If he spends his time facing the past, he will disappoint his people and exhaust the enormous goodwill that has brought him to power.

EU Lawmakers Seek ‘Severe’ Sanctions Against Jammeh

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In a strongly worded letter to the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs, and Security Policy Federica Mogherini, members of the European Parliament from the five major political parties have called on the European Union, to immediately implement severe sanctions on former President Yahya Jammeh.

Exiled Gambian President, has been accused of stealing millions of Dollars in his final weeks in power and shipping luxury vehicles out of the country.He left Gambia late Saturday for Equatorial Guinea, following a deal brokered by the Presidents of Guinea Conakry and Mauritania that guaranteed him safe passage in return for him to step down.

“We are writing to you in your capacity as the as the High Representative of European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy to convey our deep and serious concerns for the post-election situation in The Gambia.The EU must be prepared to implement severe individual sanctions targeted at Jammeh himself as soon as possible”.

The EU Parliamentarians, also applaud the decision of many prominent institutions and individuals within Gambia for their condemnation of former president Jammeh’s action to thwart the democratic will of the Gambian people.It is a mark of how important Jammeh’s defeat was to the Gambian people that these organizations and individuals citizens have step forward to oppose him.

“He has done this with the self serving aims of retaining power for himself and avoiding prosecution for the numerous and serious human rights abuses allegedly committed under his rule”.

Parliamentarians, noted that former President Jammeh’s rule has been marked for its severe and brutal oppression of all opponents and dissenting voices, as outlined in the European Parliament resolution on Gambia.This has led to a toxic regime where freedom of speech has been fundamentally restricted.

“The European Parliament has actively been monitoring the situation In the months leading to the election with our May 12 resolution, registering the dire situation in The country.The parliament also send a delegation from the Human Rights Subcommittee to the Gambia in September to see the reality on the ground first hand”.the letter stated

Members of the European Parliament, also hailed the Gambia`s Presidential election as a beacon of hope not only for the Gambia but for Sub Saharan Africa, and applauded the Independent Electoral Commission for conducting a free,fair and transparent election.

“Former President Jammeh and all those alleged to have loot the state coffers, as well as committed human rights violations in The Gambia cannot hide from the long arm of international justice.We will intensify efforts at the European Union,UK Government, and United Nations to ensure their assets are frozen, and other targeted sanctions”.Alieu Badara Ceesay of the Campaign for Human Rights in The Gambia UK said.

Ecowas troops discover serious threat at State House

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By Point Newspaper

Wednesday, January 25, 2017
Informed sources told The Point that ECOWAS forces in The Gambia have reported a large cache of sophisticated arms and ammunition missing from State House in Banjul.

The troops also found that all the air conditioners in State House were loaded with a toxic chemical, which was meant to poison the occupants of any of the rooms.

State Guards officers who were there until Sunday morning are currently being questioned by ECOWAS military officers.

The investigations and other necessary actions are responsible for the delay of the arrival of President Barrow from Senegal.

It would be noted also that on Sunday it was reported that luxury items, including carpets and furniture, were stolen at the State House, the sources added.

President Barrow To Return Home Thursday

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Credible sources have informed The Fatu Network that Gambia’s President, His Excellency, Adama Barrow is expected to return to Banjul Thursday, January 26, 2017, at 16:00hrs local time.

President Barrow who has been in the Senegalese capital, Dakar with his family since January 15, is finally going home after almost two weeks. He traveled there after attending an ECOWAS meeting in Bamako with other African heads of state. From that meeting President Barrow traveled to Dakar with Senegalese President, Macky Sall on the orders of The ECOWAS President, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Liberian President.

The reason for Barrow’s stay in Dakar according to sources was due to security concern raised by experts.

It would be recalled that Barrow was sworn-in in Dakar at the Gambian Embassy during his stay there.

 

 

First order of business – The Constitution versus The Vice President

Article written by Sana Sarr

It’s very encouraging that Gambians are having a debate about what’s constitutional.

SUMMARY OF THE ISSUE

The constitution states that someone younger than 30 or older than 65 cannot be president. Allegedly, Madam Tambajang is 68 years old and that makes her ineligible to be considered for vice president.

I would like to address, in the simplest form I know, some of the arguments I’ve read supporters trying to make over the past day. I make the disclaimer that I am no lawyer or constitutional scholar so my arguments are based purely on common sense, from my perspective as a layman.

THE ARGUMENTS

“This law applies only to the president, not the vice president” – Because the vice president is the first successor if the president resigns, is impeached or somehow incapacitated from doing his job, the VP must meet the same standards required for the presidency. This is evident in the constitution as the document redirects you to the section that lists the qualifying factors for the president in the case of the vice president.

“We are going to amend the constitution anyway because there are so many bad laws in it.” – By all means we should amend the current version of the 1997 constitution. I’m not even against drafting an entirely new one and putting it up for adoption in a national referendum. However, there are legal ways to effect constitutional amendments. Until we go through that process, we have no choice but to follow the laws as they currently are. With that said, I must warn against changing laws just accommodate individual or group desires/needs. Let us work with the national assembly to change bad laws. Let us have a new constitution to change bad laws. However, let us not make amendments just to accommodate Madam Tambajang, Adama Barrow or Alpha Barry.

“This is Jammeh’s constitution and should not be followed” – No, this is NOT Jammeh’s constitution. This is the constitution of the Republic of The Gambia. It was voted on in a referendum. While some of the bad amendments came afterwards, they were accepted and legalized by the people we voted for to represent us in the National Assembly. That makes it OUR constitution, not a Jammeh constitution. I hope this teaches us that we need to take the election of our national assembly members seriously. The president is there to execute the laws. The national assembly are the ones to MAKE the laws. They’re the ones who can stop any presidential excesses so we should properly vet who we elect to serve us.

“We never followed the constitution so why start now?” – We voted Jammeh out largely because he never respected us or the laws of the land. We elected this new administration to correct that. We should therefore expect and demand that this and all subsequent governments respect and follow the constitution. Failure to do that means we are going back to the Jammeh days that we all hate so much. Besides, the elections that brought us Barrow were based on that constitution so we can’t really say it was never followed.

“We’re in a State of Emergency (SOE) so the constitution is invalid” – To begin with, that’s a misunderstanding. Being in an SOE does not make the constitution invalid. It just gives the government a bit more room to get out of that emergency situation. If the constitution were invalid, Barrow’s inauguration would have to be invalid. Additionally, even if the SOE temporarily invalidated the constitution, to use that argument to justify an unconstitutional appointment would suggest that one is forgetting the temporary nature of an SOE. One or more of the following conditions would have to be met for that argument to make fly:
i. You intend to maintain the SOE for the entire duration of Madam Tambajang’s appointment as VP.
ii. The good lady would only serve as VP only until the SOE is lifted.
iii. You will have constitutional amendments to change that law before the SOE is lifted.
iv. You will channel your Benjamin Button and somehow make her younger than 65 before the SOE is lifted.

“Criticizing Madam Tambajang’s appointment is chauvinism or sexism” – No, it’s not. By all indication, this law was aimed more at Lawyer Ousainou Darbo, a male. There is nothing chauvinist or sexist about pointing out when something is unconstitutional. Most of those speaking out against it would have done no less had Darbo or any other male above 65 been appointed.

“She deserves it because she did so much work fighting the Jammeh dictatorship and bringing the coalition together” – There’s no doubting her tireless efforts and there’s no diminishing the importance of her contribution. However, we need to remember that The Gambia is not some booty that we need to start dishing out as rewards to people. I am confident the motivation for her contribution was not based solely on what reward she can get afterwards. My guess is that she was motivated by her love for her country and the desire to see it prosper. The most satisfying reward would therefore be to see the nation succeed. That success can only be achieved if it is founded on freedom and justice for all, rooted in solid institutions. The central pillar of this is respect for the constitution.

“Madam Tambajang is highly qualified and it would benefit the country to have her as VP” – I have not seen many people who would argue her competence. The issue, however, is not how competent she is. It’s simply about following, or going against, the constitution. Qualified as she may be, no benefits she brings can be greater than establishing the rule of law. We must learn to build and rely on strong laws and institutions instead of relying on individuals.

“The age thing does not matter so what’s the big deal?” – Many, including those criticizing the pick, would agree that the 30-65 age restriction is neither logical nor fair. Many would like to see it changed and will advocate strongly for it to be changed. However, the big deal is that any violation on the constitution should NOT be trivialized. It’s the most important document for any nation and we must abide by it on every issue, no matter how minor it may seem.

“We have not seen her birth certificate so we have no evidence she is above 68” – True, I have not seen her birth certificate. I hope that she is not above 65 because lord knows that this administration, and our nation, do need this type of controversy. It would save us all a lot of trouble if we can simply prove she is below 65. That’s my hope. With that said, I must also acknowledge that Madam Tambajang is no stranger. With her years of service in government and international organizations, her birthday cannot be a mystery. I would hold onto that optimism cautiously because it’s not too promising.

“Let us give her a different title different from VP” – We can absolutely do that. However, you would still need a vice president who will be ready to step in if the president were to be incapacitated. Secondly, what would be the point? Why would we be so stuck on assigning this one individual this one position that we’re willing to bend/break/amend laws just suit that purpose? I refuse to believe that there are no other Gambians capable of performing that role. I also refuse to believe that Madam Tambajang cannot serve our country in any other role but the VP.

RECOMMENDATION

This is not even a big deal yet because she has not been sworn in. The administration needs to cut their losses by admitting it was an oversight, appoint someone else as VP and assign Madam Tambajang a different role. With her qualifications and experience, the good lady can serve her nation in so many different capacities. She has earned a lot of respect over her decades of service to the nation and in international organizations. She does not need this controversy attached to her name because it’s nothing but a stain. If they remain stubborn and push this through, it will forever remain an asterisk next to her name in the books of Gambian history. I hope she takes the high road and tells the Barrow administration that while she is honored by the nomination, she humbly declines it because she would not want to do anything that violates the supreme law of the land. That elevates her heroic status in the eyes of many, and it also takes the burden off the Barrow administration and allows them to move forward in building the nation rather than be held back by this issue.

Gambians are tired of a government that does not respect the law. We elected a new government to get us away from that. It would be tragic if our new government begins their tenure by flouting the supreme law of the land with their very first appointment. We can do better. We MUST do better!

Jammeh’s Banjulinding Farm owes over a million in water bills to NAWEC

After looting of the state coffers and shipping vehicles out of the country, one of Gambia’s former President Yahya Jammeh’s Farms is said to owe millions in utility bills to the National Water and Electricity Company (NAWEC).

According to a credible source, Jammeh’s Farm in Banjulinding owes D1,423, 231. 75 (one million, four hundred and twenty-three thousand, two hundred and thirty-one dalasis) as water bills to the national supplier.

It is revealed that Jammeh’s Farm has not been paying bills for the past two years to the national supplier. “Jammeh’s farm in Banjulinding owes a bill of water that they didn’t pay for over two years. It is over one million” the source said.

Meanwhile, more revelations have started on the illegalities and corrupt operations of Mr Jammeh during his 22 years rule in the poor tiny West African nation. Mr Jammeh has since he left the country and went into exile in Equatorial Guinea.

Gambia’s National Assembly revokes State Of Emergency

Gambia’s National Assembly has voted and revoked the State of Public Emergency that was passed and declared by the country’s former President Yahya Jammeh.

The Assembly also revoked the extension of the life of the National Assembly which was extended to further 90 days.

It could be recalled that former President Jammeh and the National Assembly, which his party controls on 17th January, 2017, declared a 90-day state of emergency and further extended the term of the National Assembly following the political impasse that almost plunge the country into military invasion to oust him after refusing to step down after loosing the December election.

In moving the motion on Tuesday at a session in the Assembly Chambers, Hon. Fabakary Tombong Jatta, Majority Leader of the National Assembly urged the members to revoke the state of emergency in accordance with the constitution.

“I want to urge the members to support the resolution base on the alleged conditions no longer exist,” he said.

He said its only the president who has the power to declare state of emergency which could last for 7 days when Parliament is sitting and 21 days when they are not sitting.

Hon. Jatta the petition by the youth groups calling for the Parliament to revoke the ‘state of emergency’.

The group described the actions of the Parliament as ‘unpatriotic’ and ‘disappointment’ to the Gambian people. It called for them to publicly apologize to the people.

“I respect their opinion but disagree with them. If they did not trust us then let them vote us out. We are representatives of the people,” he said.

Hon Samba Jallow, the Minority Leader seconded the motion. He said he was not part of the resolution the day it was passed in the Parliament saying the reason was that the decision was not taken in the interest of the Gambian people.

“The reason was to subvert the decision of the Gambian people. There was no existing condition to warrant such declaration, it simply meant to impeach the swearing of the elected president,” he said.

Hon Jallow explained that the mandate of the outgoing president was destined to end after 22 years, saying he had tried several efforts to stay in power but does not bear fruit. He however, acknowledged some achievements registered by the former president towards the country’s development. 

“We would want the incoming government to smoothly work with the national assembly for the interest of the country,” Minority Leader posited.

Hon. Abdoulie Saine, Member for Banjul Central congratulated President Barrow, saying he is the president for the whole country.

“If we start to fight there will be no development. We have different political parties and ideologies but have to respect each other’s opinion that is democracy,” Hon. Saine said.

Hon. Cherno Omar Jallow, Member for Upper Niumi openly apologised to the Gambian people. He said he has chosen to remain neutral to the resolution.

The ‘Illegality’ of Mrs Tambajang’s appointment as VP?

By Sait Matty Jaw

On 1st December 2016, Gambians went to the polls to change the government of Yahya Jammeh and usher in a new and democratic Gambia. Jammeh was defeated and forced into exile after a rocky tussle; and alas, a new Gambia was ushered in. Now that Jammeh is gone, the new government led by Adama Barrow has started appointing its cabinet.

The first appointment, although highly welcomed by many Gambians, has contravened section 70(2) of the 1997 Gambian constitution which states that “a person shall be qualified to be appointed as Vice President if he or she has the qualifications required for the election of the president under section 62”

Section 62 (1)(b) of the aforesaid constitution clearly states inter alia that a person shall be qualified for election of president if “he or she attained the minimum age of thirty years but not more than sixty-five years;”

Mrs Tambajang, as of the appointment, is above 65 years old. She is categorically unqualified based on the cited sections of the Gambian constitution.

The big question is what was the coalition thinking? Were they depending on the declared state of emergency as a legal basis to appoint her? If that is the case, I am sure that they are aware that the imposition of this state of emergency in Jammeh’s final days was termed as illegal and irrelevant by their own, as it was considered a ploy to extend his term. Where we go from here, is up to our legal luminaries to shed light on. What’s clear is that we need an explanation.

This new development has undoubtedly started a debate among Gambians. Some argue that the constitution was amended by Jammeh and as such they see no reason why this should be a problem. However, others argue that the current government must adhere to the whims of the Gambian constitution, until it is reformed or amended to suit the current reality. I am with the latter group.

I am not saying that Tambajang is not qualified or cannot do the work. We know very well what she is capable of doing. She was very instrumental, as a neutral person, in bringing the various parties together and even chairing the coalition convention etc.

Fifteen years ago, long before most of us joined the struggle to liberate our country, she had already decided that The Gambia will not progress under Jammeh. She took part in the demonstration that led to the arrest of UDP party leader Ousainou Darboe. Whereever the movement for democracy called, she was present. Equally, she has laudable experience in the public sector, having served under Jammeh as Minister of Health briefly. She also has experience working for the UN. Indeed she deserves to be VP as much as any other Gambian with the required qualifications and competencies.

However, we have a constitutional crisis that prevents her from being made the VP. We cannot allow the rules to be bent or even ignored. Until we fix this missing link, we call on Barrow and his government to respect the constitution as it is.

Let it be clear from now on. We did not remove Jammeh for Barrow to continue to govern without due process. We voted for change and we voted for rule of law. The Gambia must move forward from here and we will not at any point allow the constitution to be ignored for whatever purpose. We are watching you and every move you take will be scrutinized.

Gambia Forward

‘Billion-year’ Gambian President Was Installed by the CIA

Gambian President and dictator Yahya Jammeh, facing a combined military force composed of Senegalese army troops, the Nigerian air force, and troops from Mali, Ghana, and Togo, has agreed to relinquish the presidency of Gambia. On December 1, 2016, Jammeh was defeated for re-election in a surprise upset by his little-known rival Adama Barrow. Jammeh received only 45 percent of the vote.

During the election campaign Jammeh vowed in an interview with the BBC to «rule for one billion years». After initially conceding defeat to Barrow, Jammeh reneged on his promise to step down and announced he would remain as president.

The Economic Community of West African Countries (ECOWAS) decided that Jammeh had to go, a stance ironically supported by the United States, which had assisted Jammeh in overthrowing Gambia’s democratically-elected president, Sir Dauda K. Jawara, in 1994.

After Jammeh refused ECOWAS’s, the African Union’s, and the United Nations Security Council’s demands to leave office and permit Barrow to assume the presidency, ECOWAS mobilized its military forces. On January 19, 2017, Barrow was sworn in as president in the Gambian embassy in Dakar, the Senegalese capital. Hours later, Senegalese troops began to enter Gambia and Nigerian air force jets buzzed the Gambian capital of Banjul. The presidents of Mauritania and Guinea flew to Banjul to urge Jammeh to leave office peacefully. Jammeh’s fate was sealed when Major General Ousman Badjie, the commander of the Gambian armed forces, recognized Barrow as Gambia’s commander-in-chief.

The demand from the United States for Jammeh to relinquish power was a display of absolute hypocrisy since Washington had not only installed Jammeh into power but two successive U.S. presidents warmly welcomed the military ruler to the White House. Jammeh, who owns a $3.5 million mansion in Potomac, Maryland, was warmly greeted by President Barack Obama at the 2014 and 2015 U.S.-Africa Leaders’ Summits in Washington. President George W. Bush greeted Jammeh at the U.S.-Africa Business Summit in Washington in 2003. With the protection of the State Department’s Diplomatic Security Service, Jammeh’s Moroccan-born wife, Zineb Jammeh, ran up huge totals at the Washington area’s fashionable shopping malls. She also settled on Sam’s Club, a wholesale discount store, to buy massive amounts of household goods. Jammeh is a textbook case of CIA-sponsored kleptocracy on a grand scale.

Under Jammeh, Gambia continued to be a strategic ally of the United States. The kleptocratic Gambian leader permitted the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to maintain an emergency landing site for NASA’s space shuttle in the country and Gambia participated with the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency in the post-9/11 rendition program.

Before being installed as Gambia’s dictator, Jammeh had received training from the Pentagon. Merely a lieutenant in the Gambian National Army. In 1993, Jammeh attended the notorious «School of the Americas» in Fort Benning, Georgia. The school has trained some of Latin America’s most notorious military dictators and death squad commanders. While in Fort Benning, Jammeh was made an honorary citizen of the state of Georgia. The following year, and before he launched his coup, Jammeh attended the Military Police Officers Basic Course (MPOBC) at Fort McClellan, Alabama. He was also made an honorary Lieutenant Colonel in the Alabama State Militia. Jammeh continued to collect American honorifics, including being made an admiral in the non-existent Navy of the State of Nebraska. The corny title is bestowed by the governor of Nebraska to prominent citizens, who have not only included African dictators like Jammeh and his fellow CIA-supported kleptocrat, Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo of Equatorial Guinea, but to the likes of George W. Bush, Ronald Reagan, and Queen Elizabeth II.

It was during the administration of President Bill Clinton that the green light was given for Jammeh to be installed in a CIA-led coup in Gambia.

On July 24, 1994, President Jawara was at his palace in Banjul entertaining the commanding officer of the visiting U.S. Navy tank landing ship, the USS La Moure County. Also present was U.S. ambassador to Gambia, Andrew Winter, a career foreign service officer who represented a new breed of U.S. ambassador – one that routinely and publicly involved himself in the domestic political affairs of the nation to which they were posted. While Jawara and the ship’s commander exchanged diplomatic niceties, junior army officers, led by Jammeh, staged a coup against the democratically elected government.

Following the announcement of the coup, La Moure County’s skipper could only offer Jawara; Lady Chilele Jawara, one of his two wives; 14 of his 19 children; and his finance minister and police inspector-general a ride to his ship and American protection. Once on board, Jawara was permitted to use the vessel’s communications equipment to contact his military leaders. To Jawara’s dismay, the coup leader, Jammeh, had arrested Colonel Boubakar Dada, the head of Gambia’s 800-strong army, along with ten Nigerian military advisers.

Instead of stepping in to help the Gambian leader, who had known every American president since John F. Kennedy, the Clinton administration merely offered to mediate between Jawara and the rebels. State Department spokeswoman Sondra McCarty suggested the United States was «trying to facilitate dialogue between the two side,» as if the Jammeh and his coup partners possessed legitimacy.

The U.S. Navy ship took Jawara to neighboring Senegal where he was granted political asylum by its government. Jawara’s relationship with Senegal had become testy in recent years. In 1982, Jawara and President Abdou Diouf had agreed to establish the Senegambian Confederation. Many Gambians criticized the agreement as a de facto annexation of Gambia by Senegal as its 11th region. Sensing the opposition of his people, Jawara scrapped the confederation in 1989. However, this decision did not meet with the favor of the U.S. State Department’s incoming breed of African specialists, who were enthusiastic about African integration. In their view, Jawara seemed to be swimming against the tide and an anachronism that should be dealt with appropriately. After being «dealt with» by the CIA, Jawara eventually took up residence in England.

Ambassador Winter never made a demand that the junta step down and allow Jawara to return to his office in The Quadrangle in Banjul to resume his presidency. The CIA and the Pentagon has already invested heavily in Jammeh as «their man». Jammeh’s pre-coup military training in the United States is similar to that of Rwandan dictator Paul Kagame, who was trained at the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College in Fort Leavenworth, Kansas before he left in 1994 to lead an invasion of Rwanda from Uganda, after which, he took over the government.

Witnessing the extreme measures the United States was taking to restore ousted Haitian President Jean Bertrand Aristide to power, Jawara said: «We have an even stronger case than Haiti». He added: «I will feel very let down if military rule is allowed to take root [in Gambia]». However, Bill Clinton would not only deal harshly with Gambia but, in the end, Bill and Hillary Clinton eschewed Aristide after they turned Haiti into their personal cash cow. Thanks to the double dealing and corruption of the Clintons, Gambia and Haiti both fell under kleptocratic regimes. Jawara remained exiled in England and Aristide was, for a time, exiled to South Africa after being ousted in a CIA-initiated coup in 2004.

The United States is fond of calling for democracy in countries like Gambia, Haiti, and Rwanda, but those calls come after the CIA destabilized the countries with military coups. Uncle Sam shamelessly wears the hat of a supreme hypocrite.

By: Wayne MADSEN

Source: Strategic Culture

Fatoumata Tambajang is Gambia’s new Vice President

Fatoumata C.M. Jallow -Tambajang, the Gambia’s political change agent has been appointed as the new Vice President of the new government of President Adama Barrow.

Tambajang has ever been a good mediator engaging opposition parties to create a credible gender-balanced coalition for the 2016 National Elections which resulted to her election as Chair of the Coalition that fought to effect a regime change.

Her appointment was announced on Monday by Halifa Sallah, the Spokesperson of President Adama Barrow at a Press Conference held in Banjul. He further announced that the remaining list of Cabinet ministers will be announced later on State TV GRTS.

Tambajang did great strides to unite opposition members in defeating the former dictator Yahya Jammeh in the December 2016 presidential election, ending his 22 years rule of tiny West African nation.

Fatoumatta C.M. Jallow Tambajang was born on October 22 1949 in Brikama, a trading town in The Gambia. She schooled in the Gambia, Dakar and France. She is a national female icon, mother of eight (8) children and an award winning UNDP-groomed development practitioner focused on gender mainstreaming.

During her work with UNDP and Women NGOs in various leadership capacities for over 20 years in both in stable and challenging environments, including 5 years in war-torn Mano River and Great Lakes Regions leading to her being victim of a rebel hostage situation in 2001 and 2002 she still strived and stuck to her commitment gender parity.

She is a dynamic human rights defender with effective women’s rights and political activism in the Gambian mainstream Struggle for Democratic Change against the 21 year dictatorial regime for social justice, poverty alleviation, equity and prosperity.

Last year, she was pinpointed as a mediator engaging opposition parties to create a credible gender-balanced coalition for the 2016 National Elections. She later was elected Chair of the coalition due to her great strides to unite opposition members in defeating the incumbent in December 2016.

Fatoumata was former adviser on women and children affairs to the First President of The Gambia and has chaired the Gambia National Women’s Council and represented it at the Gambia National Economic and Social Council for six (6) years bringing about the strengthening of the National Council/Women’s Bureau and key women NGOs, empowered women in entrepreneurship, basic education and maternal and healthcare; a marriage bill was also adopted against early marriage; Government also supported the elimination of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM): 1980 Council’s Act.

She was also former Secretary of State (SoS), Health, Social Welfare and Women’s Affairs and engineered reforms and initiated and launched a fund for special needy medical patients – The Sera Jarjue Fund.

She was awarded Gambia’s highest national citizen award by the the first Gambian President, Sir Dawda Kairaba Jawara.

Did Halifa Sallah fault Mai Fatty’s allegations of D500M withdrawn by Jammeh?

Halifa Sallah, the spokesperson of Gambia’s new President Adama Barrow ‘faulted’ allegations by President Barrow’s so-called adviser Mai Ahmed Fatty who alleged that former President Yahya Jammeh who went into exile in Equatorial Guinea, within the period of two weeks alone, nearly withdrew nearly 500M dalasis approximately (11M or £8.8M).

At a press conference in the Senegalese capital, Dakar on Sunday, Fatty who is said to be President Barrow’s special adviser alledged that exiled former President Jammeh made off with more than D500M during a two-week period alone plundering the state coffers. This he said is a lot of money considering that we spent about 200M dalasis on recurrent expenditure relating to payment of civil service and so forth.

“The Gambia is in financial distress. The coffers are virtually empty. That is a state of fact. It has been confirmed by technicians in the ministry of finance and the Central Bank of the Gambia” Fatty Said.

Fatty also confirmed that a Chadian cargo plane had transported luxury goods out of the country on Jammeh’s behalf in his final hours in power, including an unknown number of vehicles. He said officials at the Gambia airport have been ordered not to allow any of Jammeh’s belongings to leave. He said officials “regret the situation,” but it appeared that the major damage had been done, leaving the new government with little recourse to recoup the funds.

He said this is only what they have discovered so far since Jammeh and his family took an offer of exile after more than 22 years in power and departed late Saturday.

Meanwhile, in the same night, Halifa Sallah, the spokesperson of President Barrow who is in Banjul, faulted Presidential Adviser Fatty’s allegations on the BBC Newsday late night programme.

Halifa said no institution has been audited so far to know something has been lost in an institution. “President Barrow has aides but also has his spokesperson in my very person. If you want authentic and reliable information, please rely on what he says and what I say” Sallah said.

Below is the full interview!

 BBC: Can you verify the claims by one aides and adviser to President Barrow that this huge amount and materials where taken away by Mr Jammeh?

Halifa Sallah: President Barrow as you said has aides but also has his spokesperson in my very person. If you want authentic and reliable information, please rely on what he says and what I say.

BBC: Ok the person who this statement is attributed to is Mai Ahmad Fatty, just to be clear because its obviously a very big allegation that is been made. Is it true that Yahya Jammeh emptied the coffers, took luxury goods including cars and loaded them onboard a plane and took it out of the country?

Halifa Sallah: The mediation team comprised of the President of Mauritania and the President of Guinea who did broker an agreement for Ex-President Jammeh to leave and that has actually happened. What is on the ground now is the attempt by the government to protect all the properties of the government…(BBC interrupted)

BBC: OK let me play you this clip so that you listen to it and hear yourself what Fatty said!!

Halifa Sallah: Well, what is important is to bear in mind that we are not arguing what SOMEBODY says. We are saying processes…………..(BBC interrupted)

BBC: But as spokesman of Mr Adama Barrow, I hope you will accept that there is need to clarify this. Did Mr Jammeh took away all these.

Halifa Sallah: I don’t need to clarify anything. We have an institution and institutional processes……(BBC interrupted)

BBC: And that’s not my question Sir. I appreciate that you have institutions but………..(Halifa interrupted)

Halifa Sallah: No institution has been audited to know something has been lost in an institution.

BBC: That is a fair point. I will accept that. But…….(Halifa interrupted)

Halifa Sallah: Government is about institutions and institutional processes. No institution has been audited at the moment to know anything is lost in an institution. I am telling you as a person who knows how a government works and am telling you how the government is going to work. Ministers are going to be appointed, they will go into those institutions and find out what has happened in those institutions, report about that because its a government that is ready for accountability. But you cannot make allegations without any auditing of accounts; you don’t know what has happen there. These are things you as a journalist and we as people to run a government base on processes should not be led to believe.

BBC: Halifa Sallah, Spokesman for President Adama Barrow thank you!

Eq. Guinea opposition denounces arrival of Gambia’s Jammeh

The Associated Press:

Equatorial Guinea’s opposition has denounced the government’s decision to welcome exiled Gambian President Yahya Jammeh, who flew to the Central African nation over the weekend after 22 years in power.

Andres Esono Ondo, secretary general of the Convergence for Social Democracy, said in an email Monday that President Teodoro Obiang would be responsible “for what might occur” as a result of Jammeh’s presence on the country’s soil.

In a statement over the weekend, opposition groups said welcoming Jammeh was like welcoming “the waste of Africa.”

Obiang’s government not yet commented on Jammeh’s presence in Equatorial Guinea.

Jammeh lost the December election to Adama Barrow but refused to step down, forcing Barrow to be inaugurated last week in Senegal. Barrow is now planning his return to Gambia.

CREDIT: The Morning Call

ECOWAS chief says ECOMIG to remain in Gambia, whisk away mercenaries, look for hidden weapons

Marcel Alain de Souza, the President of the ECOWAS Commission has issued a strong assurance message saying the troops that where deployed under the ECOWAS Military Intervention In Gambia (ECOMIG) to remove former dictator Yahya Jammeh from power, will remain and secure the Gambian territory for a given period.

He made the revelation on Saturday, January 21, 2017, during a visit to the headquarters of the High Command of the ECOMIG Forces in Senegal.

“We are certain that there are secret weapons depots and we have consequently included the search of such weapons to ECOMIG mission. That’s why ECOWAS forces will secure the Gambian capital and the Gambian territory for a given necessary time. We will look for hidden weapons and mercenaries will be whisked away to create a true situation of tranquility, to secure the return of populations who fear reprisals and to ensure that the country regain its national unity” he said.

The ECOWAS chief congratulated the West African Forces engaged in the restoration of democracy in The Gambia for the professionalism, sincerity and efficiency in the conduct of such operations. He reiterated the support and encouragement of all ECOWAS institutions and urged them to remain vigilant in securing their positions.

Souza used the opportunity to praise the extra-ordinary leadership of the ECOWAS Heads of States and Governments, all presidential mediation missions as well as the leaders of the friendly countries of ECOWAS who contributed to the peaceful settlement of the post-election crisis in The Gambia.

He paid particular tribute to the Nigerian, Senegalese and Ghanaian Armed Forces for the provision of troops and logistics for the operations. He also thanked Senegalese President Macky Sall for the warm welcome given to the troops of the ECOWAS Mission to The Gambia and all the facilities for the smooth conduct of the operations.

Meanwhile, Halifa Sallah, the spokesperson of the Gambia’s new coalition government has also spoken at a press conference today to assure the people that the forces are not in the country for invasion but to work together with their Gambian counterparts to sanitize the country’s entire territory especially, the State House which is the seat of the presidency.

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