By Lamin Njie
The United States on Monday slapped travel restrictions on former president Yahya Jammeh, his wife and two children.
The US State Department in a statement on its website on Monday said it “is publicly designating former president of The Gambia, Yahya Jammeh, under the terms of Section 7031(c) of the Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Appropriations Act of 2018, due to his involvement in significant corruption.”
“Section 7031(c) provides that, in cases where the Secretary of State has credible information that foreign government officials have been involved in significant corruption or a gross violation of human rights, those individuals and their immediate family members are ineligible for entry into the United States,” the statement said.
“The law requires the Secretary of State to publicly or privately designate such officials and their immediate family members. In addition to the designation of Yahya Jammeh, the Department is also publicly designating Jammeh’s spouse, Zineb Yahya Jammeh, his daughter, Mariam Jammeh, and his son, Muhammad Yahya Jammeh.”
The world’s most powerful nation said the move is consistent with its commitment “to combating corruption, increasing respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms, and promoting good governance globally.”
“The United States stands with the government of The Gambia, its people, and civil society in support of The Gambia’s transition towards greater transparency, accountability, and democratic governance, for the benefit of all Gambians,” the US State Department statement added.
