On this day 27 years ago, former president Jammeh and Edward Singhateh marched from Yundum Barracks to Banjul and seized State House. As they were marching with their loyal soldiers, former President Jawara managed to get on an American military ship in the sea behind State House. Jawara’s time as president after 30 years was definitely up. Jammeh, 29 years at the time, then ascended as Gambia’s new leader.
Jammeh oversaw a two-year transition as a military head of state and in 1996, elections were held where he ran as a civilian after retiring from the army. He won that election and then went on to win three other elections, in 2001, 2006 and 2011. While Jammeh had done well in terms of infrastructural and other developments such as the University of The Gambia and GRTS TV, the man had also committed some terrible things. He doesn’t have the best human rights record and the TRRC has confirmed he over 200 murders occurred during his 22 years rule. Soldiers from his so-called death squad have explained to the TRRC how they took orders from him and executed both citizens and non-citizens.
In 2016 Jammeh decided to seek re-election. It was going to be the fifth time. And while casting his vote, Jammeh looked confident, smiling all the time. But Jammeh dramatically lost election to Adama Barrow, his main challenger. And silence fell on State House as the electoral commission chairman Alieu Momar Njai said Mr Barrow was Gambia’s new president.
Jammeh initially called President-elect Barrow and congrajuluted him. A week later, he went on State TV GRTS and said he was annulling the election because he was cheated. A bitter political impasse erupted but it ended in January 2017 with Jammeh leaving the country as ECOWAS troops entered the country seeking to remove him from power.
Jammeh’s rule will be remembered for him wanting to rule for one billion years only for that to end prematurely in 2016. Jammeh would have been in power today if fate had treated him kindly. He is now living in exile in Equatorial Guinea.
