By Alhagie Jobe
Gambia’s President Yahya Jammeh is absent again at the United Nations General Assembly which opens Monday in New York.
As usual, Mr Jammeh delegated his Vice President Aja Isatou Njie-Saidy accompanied by some cabinet minister to attend the 193-member world body General Assembly. The Gambian delegation arrived in New York late Sunday and lodging at the Royal Regency Hotel, located in Yonkers Westchester County in New York.
A total of 135 heads of state and governments and more than 50 ministers are expected to attend the General Assembly with 545 meetings requested by the United Nations Chief Ban ki-moon who is said to be taking part in 62 events according to the UN.
The State House did not give any reason as to why Mr Jammeh is personally not attending but this is not the first time he is absenting himself from such global convergence. At regional and continental level, Mr Jammeh has been absenting himself from many ECOWAS AND African Union Summits.
Many believe Mr Jammeh’s absent at the United Nations is because he is scared of another possible military coup in his absent as some elements in the Gambia Armed Forces are totally not happy with the regime.
Another reason many said is he is totally scared of is what could await him from Diaspora Gambians in US who were said to have made plans to staged massive protests to welcome him at the airport, at hotel and at the UN Building to further expose his brutal regime and call for his resignation.
His earlier encounter with the UN Chief Ban ki-moon is also another issue believed by many as the cause of his absent.
In May 2016, during an interview with Jeune Afrique, Mr Jammeh slammed UN chief and Amnesty International for demanding an investigation into the death in custody of an opposition activist. He told Ban Ki-moon and Amnesty International to go to hell!”.
Solo Sandeng, a senior figure in Gambia’s main opposition United Democratic Party (UDP), died in custody in April after being arrested for participating in a rare demonstration.
Mr Jammeh struck a defiant note. “I don’t see the point. People die in custody or during interrogations, it’s really common. This time, there is only one dead and they want investigations? I will not. No one can tell me what to do in my country”.
Mr Jammeh has ruled The Gambia with a rod of iron since 1994 and still insists he would remain president “as long as God and the people wish”. He has been elected in 1996 and since then has been repeatedly reelected for five-year terms and will stand for a fifth term again in presidential polls slated for December.
