Gambia: Yahya Jammeh Writes To President Barrow

Gambia’s former president, Yahya Jammeh has sent a letter to his successor, Adama Barrow wishing him and his administration well and readiness to give advice and support when needed.

Mr Jammeh who was defeated in last month’s presidential election left into exile on Saturday after as part of a deal brokered by regional group Ecowas. As part of the deal, him and his closed associates were given immunity and safe pass out of the country. He was also allowed to take personal items including luxurious vehicles.

Prior to leaving Banjul, Mr Jammeh wrote an open letter to Mr Barrow stating: “As I have already stepped down as President of the Islamic Republic of The Gambia, I hereby wish President Adama Barrow all the best from the bottom of my heart. The Almighty Allah has decided and I will be found wanting if I as a Muslim and a former President do not sincerely wish him and his administration all the best. For the welfare of all Gambians, anytime my advice and support is needed by President Adama Barrow; I am ready to offer him sincere advice and services.

On this note, I hereby donate to President Adama Barrow all the rice that is harvested at my Vision 2016 farms, that is the entire harvest for him to give to the women who have been helping at the farms in Central River Region (CRR) as seed rice as most of them had no harvest at all due to the floods.

I hereby appeal to President Adama Barrow and his administration to support Vision 2016 on behalf of the women as this is the only way to ensure food self-sufficiency. “Growing what you eat and eating what we grow.”

On this note, I hereby also appeal to President Barrow to do everything possible to encourage Colonel Baldeh to come back and continue to manage the Vision 2016 Farms as he has an excellent rapport with all the women from different communities that come to work on the farms otherwise it will fail; and this will be a catastrophic blow to the women of CRR and beyond who depend on the Vision 2016 farms not only for quality seed rice given to them free of charge, but Colonel Baldeh have been ensuring that the Vision 2016 tractors plough these women’s fields on time and free of charge thereby boosting their production by also 95% yearly.

To conclude, I call on President Barrow to come in immediately and take over the supreme responsibility of President, Head of State, Commander- in-Chief and First Citizen of our Republic.”

Source (JollofNews) – 

Check out the luxury cars exiled Gambian ruler Yahya Jammeh acquicred (Photos)

These cars which includes Bentleys, Rolls Royce and more were purportedly stolen by Yahya Jammeh before he stepped down.
Speaking at a press conference in the Senegalese capital Dakar, Barrow's special adviser Mai Ahmad Fatty, said that a Chadian cargo plane had transported luxury goods out of the country on Mr Jammeh's behalf in his final hours in power, including vehicles.
Mr Barrow's adviser said that officials at the Gambia airport have been ordered not to allow any other belongings of Jammeh to leave, including the remaining luxury cars waiting at the Airport to be shipped out.
Yahya Jammeh, who ruled Gambia for more than 22 years, went into exile on Saturday. More photos below...

A British tourist was imprisoned by Gambian police for taking photo at Banjul ferry terminal.

A UK resident was arrested on 18 January after she was caught taking a photograph near Banjul ferry terminal.

Monica Njie told the IBTimes UK that she spent two days at the Gambian police headquarters after an officer saw her taking a picture of a woman carrying cooking pots.


"I am a gender activist and wanted to take a photo of the woman for my work," Njie said. "As soon as I had taken the photo, a man told me to hand over my phone and come with him to the National Intelligence Agency's headquarters."

At the NIA headquarters she was told to hand in all her belongings and thrown in a cell. She was not allowed to call her family or see her 18-month-old baby.

"I kept asking them if I could breastfeed my baby. Only after 36 hours had gone by was my sister finally allowed to bring the baby."

After being held for 48 hours, Njie was released. She said that her arrest is directly linked to the civil unrest which has ensued since Jammeh's refusal to hand over power to Adama Barrow.

"The NIA support President Jammeh. They are trying to control everything that goes out in the media."

Sabrina Mahtani, a spokesperson for Amnesty West Africa, said that they had been alerted to other arrests since Jammeh declared a 90-day state of emergency.

President Jammeh's refusal to stand down has led to political turmoil in The GambiaCarlos Garcia Rawlins/Reuters

She said: "We also documented four young men who were arrested on Wednesday at a shop selling Gambia 'Has Decided T Shirts'. Respect for human rights must not be a casualty of the current political crisis. The declared state of emergency must not be used as a pretext to crack down on fundamental rights."

Jammeh has asked for a deadline for him to leave office or be forced out by UN-backed forces to be extended until 16:00 GMT on Friday. Jammeh's elected successor, Barrow, was sworn in as president at a ceremony in Senegal on Thursday. Troops acting in support of President Barrow have paused their advance.


Source Newsweek

Embattled ex president of Gambia,Yahya Jammeh,bows to pressure, asks for time to vacate office,

Embattled out-gone President Yahya Jammeh of The Gambia has asked a shift in deadline of midday to 4pm to vacate office as ECOWAS soldiers close on him.

Government sources said the request was made when the leaders of Guinea and Mauritania arrived in the capital, Banjul, in a last-ditch diplomatic effort to get him to cede power. A regional military force that crossed the border in support of his democratically elected successor, Adama Barrow, was awaiting orders on Friday. Marcel Alain de Souza, chair of the west African union Ecowas, said troops would force Jammeh out if he refused to leave the country.

The West African troops entered the Gambia on Thursday night, hours after Barrow was forced to hold his inauguration as president in Dakar, the capital of Senegal. De Souza said the west African force, which includes tanks, has so far met no resistance. Banjul, the capital, was deserted on Friday. Dozens of vultures spread their wings on the large ground outside State House, and a lone cyclist, perhaps one of the few remaining tourists in the country, made the most of the empty roads.

The country’s chief of defence staff, Ousman Badjie, was seen speeding in the direction of Banjul. He has switched allegiance several times over the past month, and was celebrating with Barrow supporters in the streets last night.

It is unclear what side he and the military would take in the event of an Ecowas attack on State House, though most sources  believed he was no longer with Jammeh.

The twitter handle of Charles Onyango-Obbot ‏@cobbo3 said “ Jammeh asks for deadline extension – from midday (local time) to 4pm! He’s not done packing #Gambia

Source Vanguard.....

THE CLOCK IS TICKING FAST : Gambia’s Yahya Jammeh has until noon to resign from office before being ejected by ECOWAS troops.

Out with the old. (Reuters/Afolabi Sotunde)


The clock is ticking for Yahya Jammeh, the longtime president of the Gambia. After 22 years in power, Jammeh has until noon local time to cede power to Adama Barrow, winner of the Dec. 1 elections. Barrow was inaugurated as the new Gambian president in a makeshift ceremony at the country’s embassy in Dakar, Senegal yesterday (Jan 19.) given Jammeh’s refusal to vacate office.

Following Barrow’s inauguration, troops deployed by the Economic Community of West African Countries (ECOWAS) entered Gambia, and reportedly encountered no resistance. In a bid to allow for a last shot at reaching a peaceful, diplomatic solution, ECOWAS’ military action has been temporarily suspended until noon.

Final talks with Jammeh are expected to be led by Alpha Conde, president of Guinea. But should those talks fail, like previous talks with ECOWAS leaders have, Marcel Alain de Souza, chairman of the ECOWAS commission says the regional bloc’s troops will continue their advance with the goal of forcing Jammeh out of power and installing new Barrow who has remained in Senegal waiting for the impasse to be resolved.


“If by midday, [Yahya Jammeh] doesn’t agree to leave the Gambia under the banner of President Conde, we really will intervene militarily,” de Souza said.

Jammeh has sought to stay in power by filing an election petition with Gambia’s highest court claiming anomalies and errors in the results of the December elections. After the Supreme Court said it was unable to hear his petition until May due to a shortage of judges, Jammeh has insisted on remaining in office until a decision is made by the court.

Nigerian Airforce Commodore is head of ECOWAS troops in Gambia

Nigerian Airforce chief Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar, briefing journalists on the operation in The Gambia

A Nigerian, Air Commodore Tajudeen Yusuf is the head of the ECOWAS troops in The Gambia.

The Nigerian troops arrived Dakar, the capital of Senegal on Thursday in accordance with the mandate of Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).

The Force Commander, Operation restore Democracy in the Gambia, Air Commodore Tajudeen Yusuf, in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN ), said the troops would restore democracy in the Gambia.

Yusuf said that some of the troops arrived on Wednesday, adding that with the arrival of other set on Thursday, the military had been sufficiently deployed and ready to do what they knew better.

“With the arrival of some troops since Wednesday and those that arrived on Thursday, the next thing is to put ourselves together for actions.

“We are now fully deployed. Men and officers are fully prepared to face any challenge from any quarters in the course of our professional operations,” he said.

The force commander further said that Nigeria was the coordinator and leader of the operations under the ECOWAS countries.

Yusuf said that more troops might be coming, but that for now, the troops had all they needed to carry out their responsibilities without any problems, whatsoever.

“The intervention may not be too long. The operation is to restore democracy in the Gambia.

“That I believe we are already achieving and after that, it may need stabilisation to ensure there is absolute peace in the country,” he said.

Jammeh's whereabouts unknown as West African Troops enter Gambia.

The whereabouts of former president Yahya Jammeh is unknown as military forces of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) crossed from Senegal into Gambia.

This is coming hours after President Adama Barrow was sworn into office, the African Press Agency reported Thursday.

Long convoys of military vehicles with armed soldiers entered the troubled nation through the border town of Karang, resident Abdoulie Bah told dpa.

The troops are expected to search for long-term ruler Yahya Jammeh, who refuses to give up power despite losing the Dec. 1, 2016 presidential election to Barrow.

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres expressed his “deep concern” about Jammeh’s refusal to step aside.

The UN Security Council voted unanimously to back Barrow and called for a peaceful transition of power.

The resolution called on former president Jammeh “to carry out a peaceful and orderly transition process,” and to transfer power to Barrow in accordance with the Gambian constitution.

It also supported ECOWAS “in its commitment to ensure the respect of the will of the people … as expressed in the results of the December 1 elections.”

Earlier on Thursday, Barrow was sworn in as Gambian president in neighbouring Senegal, after weeks of political impasse caused by Jammeh’s refusal to accept the election result.

“This is a day no Gambian will ever forget,” said Barrow after he was sworn into office by the president of the Gambia Bar Association, Sherif Tambedou, at Gambia’s embassy in Senegal’s capital, Dakar.

Barrow promised to work towards national unity and establish good governance through “comprehensive” constitutional and legal reforms.

“We will now build a Gambia where what you know counts more than who you know,” Barrow said in a promise to end decades of nepotism and corruption.

Barrow’s inauguration came after an escalating political standoff triggered by Jammeh’s rejection of the election results.

Barrow had been scheduled to be inaugurated in Gambia, but the ceremony was jeopardised by Jammeh’s refusal to give up power. He is Gambia’s third president since independence from British rule in 1965.

During his inaugural speech, Barrow asked Gambia’s security forces to remain loyal to the constitution and commanded all soldiers to remain in their barracks.

Armed soldiers found outside their barracks would be regarded as “rebels,” the newly sworn-in president said.

The call for peace comes after Barrow had to flee for security reasons to Dakar on Saturday, after multiple attempts by West African leaders to convince Jammeh, who ruled Gambia for 22 years, to step down failed.

Jammeh’s whereabouts were unknown on Thursday.