It all looks genuine on paper but in reality it is one of the latest sophisticated schemes by Gambia’s gold digger First Lady to scam and fleece unsuspecting investors and ordinary Gambians of their hard earned money.

Some few weeks ago the wife of Gambia’s dictator Yahya Jammeh, First Lady madam Zainab Suma Jammeh launched a foundation that she said is setup to support cancer patients in the country eventhough her husband claims to treat cancer.

At the time, many critics dismissed the initiative as yet another money making scheme by a broke First Family determined to do everything blatantly possible to dupe unsuspecting people.

Now critics have been proven right. And the duping scheme is starting right with struggling civil servants who are being forced through a government directive to take part in a solidarity fund raising march to kick start the First Lady’s foundation.

It could be recalled that just last week, Gambian civil servants have been told that they should prepare for an eventual unannounced mass layout because of lack of funds to maintain a big public service workforce like we have in The Gambia.

In the face of eminent threat to decent living characterized by joblessness, Gambian civil servants are now told to not only participate in the First Lady’s so called cancer support march but also that they should buy T-Shirts at the cost of D250

Department heads are even warned to purchase a minimum of 50 T-Shirts which should be worn by their employees.

Currently Gambia is facing its worst economic crisis with some international bilateral organizations warning of dare consequences for the country unless serious reforms take place. At a time when institutions are struggling with meager resources, some without proper sanitary facilities or money to maintenance their vehicles, they are now forced to divert public resources into a foundation that is setup to scam and drain public coffers.

It was a refreshing evening for many diaspora Gambians on Monday 1^stFebruary 2016 when Gambia’s populist politician Omar Amadou Jallow who is the interim leader of the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) was interviewed on The Fatu Network on efforts being taken by Gambia’s opposition leaders to come together under one umbrella to challenge Dictator Yahya Jammeh in the 2016 general elections.

For months now many people both in the Gambia and in the diaspora have been wallowing in some kind of perplexity mainly because of mixed messages coming out from the opposition leaders in the Gambia regarding a grand coalition. Some members of the diaspora have even started calling for a plan B to challenge the dictatorship in the facing of continuing unwillingness by the party leaders to sit and discuss about a solution in dealing with the incumbent in the polls.

But appearing on The Fatu Network’s popular show as part of the dialogue series with political parties in the Gambia in preparation for the 2016 General Elections, populist politician Mr Omar Amadou Jallow (OJ) lifted the spirit of many listeners when he said that efforts are in motion to bring all the parties around the table for a serious discussion on the need for a united candidate wholly endorsed by all the opposition parties to serve as a flag bearer.

Mr Jallow said the opposition parties themselves have seen the need for this and that as far as he was concern, there is a high possibility for unity. Mr Jallow refused to be drawn into a blame game but rather urged the diaspora to remain positive about the ongoing efforts to opposition unity.

Mr Jallow said 22 years of brutality by the ruling party should be enough for even the doubters to start thinking about a tangible solution which is comprehensive enough to help Gambians out of the predicament they are found in. He called on fellow politicians to redouble their efforts “in building confidence among ourselves, among our supporters and among our advisers in seeing that 2016 is not a wasted opportunity in defeating dictatorship.”

Mr Jallow heavily criticized the President Yahya Jammeh for presiding over mountains of human rights abuses. He also challenged the President to tell Gambians how from a poor lieutenant in 1994 when he led the military coup, he has now claimed to be richer than the Gambian state. Mr Jallow said time has come for Gambians to put aside whatever difference they may have and concentrate on the bigger picture of strategizing to remove President Yahya Jammeh in the 2016 polls.

Mr Jallow made it clear that he has no leadership ambition and that all he wants is to see that the opposition unite under one umbrella. The PPP interim leader who said he was on mission at the time of the interview said immediately he returned, he would initiate a meeting for all the political parties to sit and discuss about the crucial issue of all party coalition against the incumbent.

Following Mr Jallow’s appearance on the Fatu Network, callers upon callers expressed their renewed hopes for a coalition involving all the opposition political parties. Some of the callers said Mr Jallow’s appearance has rekindled hopes that not all is lost and that a solution could be in the horizon.

It’s a period of anxiety in The Gambia as many civil servants have already been notified of potential layoff thanks to the continuous faltering of the country’s economy which is in a near crumble.

The Fatu Network has been informed by one of its credible sources that the dictatorship through the Personnel Management Office (PMO) has already informed department heads of a government plan to conduct a massive layoff of civil servants.

The most affected people are those in the security including: immigration, police, fire department, customs enforcement agencies etc. Other government departments are also said to be lined up for the massive layoff.

Our trusted source who saw one of the memos said “Fatu Jammeh is really really broke. Do you know what is the latest in Banjul? He has given directives that they should let go alot of people in his government. Force retirement is about to happen. A lot of people will be forced into retirement next month.”

News of a potential massive civil servant layoff did not come as a surprise to many keen observers of trends in the Gambia. Many of Gambia’s development partners have withheld development support to the country because of its appalling human rights record and its refusal to adhere to democratic reforms.

One of the country’s main foreign exchange earner, tourism is also in deep decline in terms of tourist arrivals mainly due to the president’s bad style of governance and his continuous public utterances always threatening minorities and members of the opposition.

Until recently President Jammeh has been widely believed to be financing his government Programmes through proceeds from criminal activities like aiding and abetting drug cartels using Gambia as a transit zone, money laundering and corruption.

But the European Union and the US in particular have since swiftly move in to deny the Gambian dictator from further benefitting from proceeds of some of those criminal activities by closing the loopholes and asserting their presence in the region.

Now it seems the dictator has no choice but to layoff his over bloated civil service most of whom are ignorant school dropouts whose only job is to spy on innocent Gambians.

The Fatu network is keenly following this story and will inform of any updates from Banjul.

Some African states oppose sending peacekeepers to Burundi without the government’s consent after the president said such a move would be treated as an invasion, Gambia’s president said on Saturday, the first day of an African Union summit.

The African Union’s peace and security council announced a plan in December to deploy a 5,000-strong force to the central African nation, where hundreds have died in the worst violence since an ethnically charged civil war ended in 2005.

Burundi is high on the agenda for the two-day summit as rising violence has rattled the region which has a history of ethnic conflict. The 1994 genocide in neighboring Rwanda killed 800,000 people.

“It is not only Burundi that is resisting that idea,” Gambia’s President Yahya Jammeh told reporters at the AU headquarters in Addis Ababa when asked if there was opposition to the plan for peacekeepers. He did not name any nations.

But when asked if Gambia, which is a member of 15-member AU peace and security council was among them, he said: “Without the consent of Burundi, yes.”

Before the summit, an African diplomat had told Reuters that Egypt, another council member, had voiced reservations. Egyptian officials could not be reached for comment.

Officials have said African leaders at the summit would try to persuade President Pierre Nkurunziza – who triggered the crisis by standing for a third term in July elections – to accept such a force. But they also said it was unlikely to succeed.

“When it comes to troops, our position has not changed. It is a no-go area under any conditions,” Burundi’s Foreign Minister Alain Nyamitwe told reporters in Addis Ababa.

Leaders from the 15 members of the council met on Friday in a bid to resolve differences but failed to reach a decision, said Smail Chergui, the AU’s peace and security commissioner.

If the AU sent a force without Burundi’s consent it would have to invoke Article 4 of the AU charter that allows it to intervene in a member state “in respect of grave circumstances, namely: war crimes, genocide and crimes against humanity”.

U.N. Security Council would give final authorization.

The United States has urged African leaders to work “behind closed doors” to convince Burundi’s president.

“The country now stands perilously close to the brink,” U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon told the AU council on Friday, praising the plan for a peacekeeping force, known as MAPOBRU.

“Now we must do everything we can to put in place an inclusive political process.” he said.

Opponents of Nkurunziza say he violated the constitution and a peace deal that ended the civil war by running for a third term. Supporters cite a court ruling that said he could run.

His miraculous escapes out of Senegalese prisons have been the subject of debate and speculations with some even suggesting he has supernatural powers – this is the stuff of mystery movies.  Modou Faal also known as Boy Djinneh (name alluding to his “magical powers”) escaped a record five times out of Senegalese prisons – Harry Houdini would have found a good show partner in this fellow.  All his crimes were robbery related according to authorities.

But alas – his luck finally ran out in the neighboring Gambia where he chose as his final hideout after what was yet another daring escape from a prison in Diourbel, Senegal.  Other prisons he outfoxed are located in “Kedugou, Zinguinchorr, Kolda, Reubeuss” according to the Gambia government mouthpiece, the DailyObserver.  He was arrested by the Gambian Police after a tipoff from International Police Organization (Interpol) came in from Senegal giving his whereabouts detail as a guesthouse around Bakoteh/Serekunda area.

The Senegalese government was relieved at his arrest and wasted no time in putting in an extradition request to the Gambian authorities for his return to Senegal.  Supposedly, he was therefore taken to court and awaiting extradition to Senegal – currently remanded with another guy in different cells but the shackles and handcuffs that were originally put on them have been taken out.  He is being monitored and directives have been given that he should not be allowed to see a doctor in the event that he falls ill, this is to make sure that he does not escape.

So the Macky Sall regime in Senegal was shocked to find out that Boy Djinneh was instead charged with murder in the Gambia instead of the authorities in Banjul pursuing the extradition request.  The question that everyone in Senegal is asking is: who did this guy kill and where did the murder take place?  Because according to them, as far as they know, no murders occurred during Boy Djinneh’s crime spree and they are not pursuing him for anything related to murder.

Observers are equally baffled by the murder charge but not quite surprised at the direction – this after all is The Gambia where everything is done at the whims and caprices of one man – President Yahya Jammeh.  Is this his ploy to play hardball with Macky in light of the current bad blood between the two?  According to sources, two Senegalese nationals accused of murder were extradited to their homeland from the Gambia two years ago through Interpol, but this was when relations were good.  In that case, the process did not even follow international protocol or extradition rules; it was done through a mutual assistance.

President Jammeh according to observers maybe trying to mix the proverbial “apples and oranges” again – he could be making such an insane and unjust move to use this case to extract concessions from Macky Sall.  He has been lamenting the fact that the Senegalese authorities have been reluctant to cooperate in sending Gambians back from Senegal even after repeated requests from his regime.  But these Gambians are running from persecution and human rights abuses being meted out on them by Jammeh himself – the two are therefore completely two unrelated, different matters.  This move has signaled his reluctance to hand Boy Djinneh back to Senegal if Macky is not willing to hand people like Ben Jammeh, Sedia Bayo, and many others back to Gambia.  He is in essence trying to blackmail Senegal by upping the ante by way of charging this guy with an even more serious crime – murder.

How Senegal will react to this illegal move by Jammeh is anyone’s guess, but if history is any indication, Macky Sall will not allow him to get it his way once again.  Senegal after all is a country of laws and Macky cannot be seen to reciprocate in a scheme that is meant to put the lives of innocent people in danger.  The chess game continues and the world is keenly watching.

Information reaching The Fatu Network has said that the chief cook of The Gambian President, Yahya Jammeh has absconded to a neighbouring country. Shiekh Sanyang until recently was in charge of President Jammeh’s personal kitchen and whatever the First Family eat. Some few months ago, rumors were making rounds that President Jammeh might have been poisoned when he felt ill during his dialogue with the people tour, which took him around the country. During this period, President Jammeh was said to have been gravely ill with some linking it to a probable food poisoning.

Suprisingly, President Jammeh shortly made a massive cleansing of his household staff including the cooks and the chief security of his Household, Modou Jatta.

Apparently Sheikh Sanyang was arrested and detained although reasons for this were not made public, but it was suspected that his arrest and subsequent detention might have been connected to the rumor of Presidential poisoning by his household staff. Now that Sanyang himself has absconded the jurisdiction of The Gambia has added to the long held suspicion that his arrest and detention might have something to do with the suspected poisoning of President Jammeh.

The Fatu Network will continue to closely monitor the story to get to the bottom of the matter.

The Secretary General of the People’s Democratic Organization for Independence and Socialism (PDOIS) Mr Halifa Sallah, has said that his party is not a stumbling block to opposition party unity in The Gambia. Rather he said, PDOIS has been advocating for a system that ensures that each opposition party that wants to be part of the unity framework should come up with an agenda for such unity which is put on the table and thoroughly discussed.

He said: “parties should not talk of unity just for the sake of it. We are talking of unity because certain fundamental elements of our democratic process are lacking. So the opposition parties that want change in such a situation should have a clarity of purpose, so that we don’t replace one bad system with a worse one.”

Mr Sallah was speaking on The Fatu Network’s Today Show Program on Monday, January 25th 2016 during which he talked about a wide range of issues about the political situation in The Gambia and why the opposition parties have still not formed a coalition as being advocated for by Gambians both in the diaspora and on the ground.

Mr Sallah’s interview was preceded by that of Lawyer Ousainou Darboe, leader of the largest opposition United  Democratic Party (UDP). It is all part of efforts by the Fatu Network to engage Gambian political parties to form a formidable and viable coalition to contest the 2016 General Elections against an already entrenched dictatorship.

Halifa Sallah in the interview said PDOIS is till open to and yearning for an all opposition party unity. He however suggested a primary type of selecting who the coalition leader should be. He said the primary will ensure that parties put their programs to the people, to enable them select the party/candidate  they believe has the most convincing alternatives to the current government. “We need this type of leadership selection so that those leading are doing so from a legitimate informed choice the people themselves make.”

Mr Sallah said he is hopeful of an opposition unity even before the elections if other parties can come to the table with an agenda for unity for scrutiny and discussion.

Answering questions from callers, some of whom vent their frustration at what they called the lack of urgency on the part of the opposition to form a united front against the incumbent, Halifa Sallah said by every imagination, the opposition are doing their individual and collective best efforts to bring back sanity in The Gambia. He said that effort may not be good enough for some in the diaspora but that should not be the reason for relentless opposition bashing.

Sallah urged the diaspora to continue the dialogue with the opposition but at the same time he said, the diaspora should also unite. On the issue of  Gambians in the diaspora voting in elections, Halifa asked “If it happens in other countries, why not The Gambia?,”.

The Fatu Network has got a disturbing news from one of our trusted sources in the security forces of large scale recruitment of Guinea Bissau nationals into The Gambia National Army (GNA). The move is causing alarm even among a usually docile and despondent GNA. A trusted source who has reached us said “for sometime now OGA (referring to the president) has been ordering the top brass of the GNA to enlist into the army people from Guinea Bissau who are mainly youths.”

Our trusted source said these new recruits are mainly based in Kaninlai….the birth place of president Yahya Jammeh. Even though our source could not assertain the reason for enlisting these foreign nationals into the army, he said the general suspicion within the GNA is that they might be used by the dictator to unleash terror on innocent civilians during the election period. He said: “I can confirm to you that OGA is definitely unsettled by the current state of affairs and he is really afraid of the elections. It is therefore reasonable to suspect that these new recruits could be the ones he may rely on to commit atrocities against the Gambian people.”

Indeed for years now President Jammeh is known to be relying on a group of militia called the “Junglers” who are mainly people from the Southern Senegalese Province of Cassamance that share the same ethnicity with President Jammeh.

Further President Jammeh for years has been interfering in the internal affairs of Guinea Bissau where forces loyal to the slained General Ansumana Mane where hosted and camped in Kaninlai which led to a deplomatic fallout with Guinea Bissau at some point prompting former President Kumba Yalla to threaten to invade The Gambia.

It is also clear that President Jammeh has lost the balance of political power he used to wield in Guinea Bissau especially since President Sall of Senegal became president. It is not clear whether these new circuits are also being trained to cause political disturbances in Guinea Bissau which has witnessed a series of military coups.

Whatever the case, our security source said the army is gravely concerned about the latest trend.

Our source also said that for two weeks now, the APRC nominated member of parliament, Hon Babou Gaye Sonko has been visiting the main military barracks campaigning openly and urging all newly recruited members of the army to get registered to massively vote of the ruling APRC party.

Our source said the army as an institution is typically concern about this politicization of the institution which suppose to remain above partisan politics.

A couple of months ago, President Yahya Jammeh’s sexual escapes and rape of under-age Gambians girls was the subject of intense coverage by the Fatu Network, with revelations that created a firestorm of criticism and anger towards the Gambian iron fist dictator.  Jammeh, concluded everyone, is a pervert who needs to be stopped – the crimes were too pervasive and horrible to ignore.

Well; it seems his wife, Zineb Jammeh was listening and paying close attention.  According to our State House insiders, she moved to make sure some of the pimps masquerading as Protocol Officers in presidential mansion were all either fired or moved, issued stern warnings to the guards, and made her presence more felt in the building.  These moves led many to believe that she was taking charge of affairs to finally set the house in order.  However, it seems she doesn’t think these actions were alone enough, and would not have a lasting effect – she may be moving to take more drastic decisions.

Jammeh is a very lonely man these days, thanks to Zineb – she is avoiding him and they are not on talking terms anymore.  When Fatu Network queried how come they are scene in public together, the insiders who wish to remain anonymous for fear of facing the dictator’s wrath, caution us to not be fooled by the public façade – the attitude at home is a whole different story.  “The whole public thing is fake, she is always in her room at home and wouldn’t allow Jammeh to come anywhere near her.  Poor Jammeh is always in the other room mostly watching TV till 4AM” said one of the insiders.  “As for the soldiers and the guards in the compound, they have sensed that the situation in the household is very tense and because of it, Jammeh is very pissed and unhappy, so this is not a time to come anywhere near him” continued another insider.

According our sources, Yahya Jammeh is very lonely because of this escalating situation.  He is mostly depressed and with his health condition deteriorating, he is on a downward spiral.  Despite the public persona, he is very worried and concerned for his future.  He now thinks the whole world is scheming to harm him, and these conditions are fueling his paranoia.

It must be emphasized that if any thinks that his current misfortunes has forced him to change his ways, you would be mistaken – Jammeh, according to a source, has only switched venues for his rape of Gambian girls.  Two young girls were seen going into his room at different times in Kanilai last Saturday night.  State House is off limit, so he has decided to smuggle the girls to Kanilai instead now since Zineb refuses to go to his home village, and therefore will not be quick to find out what happens there.

Everyone is now contemplating Zineb’s next move.  The bubble could bust any day according to observers.

Meanwhile, Zineb on January 21, 2016, hosted Senegalese Musician Youssou Ndour, Cabinet Minister and other dignitaries to a breakfast meeting at The Coco Ocean, to launch the five year strategic plan of her Foundation, Operation Save The Children.

The leader of Gambia’s main opposition United Democratic Party, Lawyer Ousainou Darboe has said that his party is not afraid to mobilize it supporters and face President Jammeh in the streets as part of broader demands to open up the democratic space. Lawyer however said any such action has to be measured and well calculated where the people themselves are ready for such action.

In a wide ranging interview lasting more than three hours with The Fatu Network where thousands of listeners tuned in to the program, the UDP leader swore that he was not afraid to lead people in the street. “But you have to know that from experience, the populace needs to be fully prepared for any eventual showdown because the opposition is dealing with a callous, brutal regime that is ever determined to unleash terror on defenceless civilians,” he said. Lawyer Darboe said any protest action will need to well be organized in such a way that they the organizers would not have to regret their actions afterwards.

On the contentious issue of an all-party coalition against the incumbent, the UDP leader said so far they have not held any discussions on that yet prompting many callers to vent their frustrations at what they called the lack of urgency on the part of the opposition to put aside their differences and form an formidable coalition for an electoral showdown with the ruling party.

Some of the callers even went as far as denouncing the opposition for putting in unnecessary stumbling blocks to the efforts put forward by the diaspora in seeing through a united opposition front. But Lawyer Darboe while acknowledging the concerns raised by the diaspora said they too should understand that the opposition parties are still united on several issues including the need to put their efforts together to press for electoral reform. “In politics anything is possible. So people should not be frustrated to the point of despair. I believe that what unites us is bigger than anything that could divide us,” he said.

On the issue of independent candidate, Lawyer said his party has not been approached by any group yet to suggest the idea of opting for an independent candidate. He however cautioned those pushing for such an idea to also carefully study the political dynamics on the ground so that their pronouncements would not lead to costly error that would be difficult to correct.

The UDP leader also called on the diaspora to continue the engagement because as he put it: “you are an important constituency with immense power and if you wield that power appropriately, it would surely lead to some very positive impact on the ground.”

He also pleaded with those dissenters in the diaspora who are calling on people not to register in the ongoing supplementary voter registration to “please reconsider their position because the sure way we can defeat this callous system is when people get registered and then also vote for the opposition.”

Following the interview, a number of callers have also suggested the need for the diaspora to also get organized to prepare for the task ahead.

A month after he declared The Gambia an Islamic State, President Yahya Jammeh sent a directive to all government departments instructing women to cover their hair at all times during working hours to the amazement of Gambia observers who thought he will remain true to his promise that the declaration will not affect dress codes or how people live their lives.

But unbeknownst to Gambians and the International community, the headscarf directive had nothing to do with imposition of Islamic dress code, but everything to do with yet another sinister agenda of Jammeh’s – money.  In Jammeh’s true style and Modus Operandi, he neatly tied the directive to Islamic edict and tied the timing right into the declaration window so as to mask his true intentions and game plan.

When Jammeh declared The Gambia an Islamic State, Turkey thought it gesture of goodwill and show of appreciation of the move to send container loads of hijabs (headscarf) to the country to be distributed among women who would want to comply with the new environment being imposed.  As soon as this information of Turkey’s offer arrived, Jammeh put his criminal mind to work.

The gift that was supposed to be distributed for free to deserving poor women ended up being earmarked by Jammeh for a huge payday for himself.   It was at this point he wrote the directive that instructed all women to cover their heads during work hours.  As part of the package, every woman in these departments will be given a headscarf on credit basis and the payment will be deducted from their paychecks.

The imposition of the headscarf rule was met with stiff resistance from activists in the Diaspora who mobilized to insist it be rescinded.  The Christian leaders in the country led by Fr. Edward Gomez also strongly criticized the move in a sermon that was heard throughout the world; thanks to the video posted by a Facebook user and shared by activists.  Other Christian leaders like Rev. John Loum and Muslim Imams like Imam Baba Leigh joined in the chorus to condemn what they termed “an effort to draw a wedge between Muslims and Christians in the country.”  President Jammeh having sensed the anger the move was generating both locally and internationally, capitulated saying in a statement released to the media “Women are (Mr Jammeh’s) best friends, they are his sisters and he is here for their wellbeing and happiness at all times,”.

The sad truth is; it is evident now that Jammeh thinks governing is a joke, and therefore engaging in such blatant schemes of deception is perfectly okay.  The Gambia is in big trouble.