TheNewsGuru

Tag: Gambia

  • Support for Gambia’s Jammeh crumbling as sixth minister resigns

    Gambia’s tourism and culture minister on Tuesday said he will step down, in what was a sign of dwindling support for Gambia’s outgoing president Yahya Jammeh, who refuses to recognise his loss in a recent election.

    Benjamin Roberts is the sixth member in the incumbent president’s cabinet to resign in less than 48 hours, following the ministers of trade, foreign affairs, finance, environment and sport.

    Observers believe the resignations showed that Jammeh, who ruled Gambia for 22 years with an iron fist, is increasingly politically isolated.

    The 51-year-old autocrat refused to accept the result of the Dec. 1 election, which saw him lose power to Adama Barrow, a real estate mogul little known before his candidacy.

    Barrow, who is scheduled to be sworn in as president on Thursday, fled Gambia to the Senegalese capital, Dakar, amid fears of violence on Saturday.

    Senegalese President Macky Sall had accepted to host Barrow at the request of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) after repeated attempts failed to convince Jammeh to cede power.

    ECOWAS also pledged to send troops to ensure a peaceful transition of power.

    On Monday, Gambia’s Supreme Court postponed for the second time a petition Jammeh filed to challenge the presidential election.

    The court has been dysfunctional since Jammeh fired several of its judges in mid-2016 and could only sit if judges are flown in from neighbouring Nigeria or Sierra Leone.

  • U.S. warns Yahya Jammeh: ‘You’re losing opportunities’

    U.S. warns Yahya Jammeh: ‘You’re losing opportunities’

    The U.S. has warned the embattled President Yahya Jammeh of The Gambia, saying he is losing opportunities to peacefully handover to President-elect Adama Barrow and avoid the consequences of his actions.

    Jammeh’s tenure ends Jan. 19, the same day that Barrow is expected to be sworn-in as his successor.

    Both the African Union and ECOWAS have said that Jammeh will cease to be recognised as Gambian President from the date.

    Spokesperson of the U.S. Department of State, Mr John Kirby, said at a press briefing on Tuesday that Jammeh was putting his legacy and The Gambia in peril.

    “President Jammeh is losing opportunities to respect the will of the Gambian people and to peacefully hand over power to the president-elect, which is supposed to happen on Thursday.

    “Doing so would allow him to leave office with his head held high and to protect the Gambian people from potential chaos.

    “Failure to do so will put his legacy – and, more importantly, the Gambia – in peril, and we have been clear about this,” he said.

    According to him, the accusation by Jammeh of external interference in The Gambia’s internal affairs is not tenable.

    “I don’t know what interference he’s referring to, but we obviously want to see The Gambia succeed.

    “And we want to see the president-elect properly installed and to have in place a government, which is responsible for and responsive to the needs of the Gambian people.”

    The U.S. had on Friday, indicated support for ECOWAS to take all necessary action on Jammeh if he fails to handover to Barrow.

    The U.S. had regretted that Jammeh’s action had made the situation in The Gambia to become “very uncertain”.

    “We call on President Jammeh to listen to his own people, to listen to the Gambian people who have clearly called on him to accept the results of the Dec. 1 election.

    “And to again agree to what he already agreed to, which is a peaceful handover of power to President-elect Barrow.”

    Kirby, however, said the U.S. “believes that ECOWAS can certainly play an important role in providing security and addressing some of the concerns that there could be violence around the transition”.

    He also said that the U.S. was not ruling out its support to a military action, saying: “We do, and I’m not trying to back away from that in any way, shape, or form.

    “I just would say that we do, obviously, support ECOWAS as a force for peace and security in the region, and specifically in The Gambia.

    “Well, again, I don’t want to speak to what possible actions they may take. I don’t want to get out in front of those decisions,” he said.

    Kirby noted the unfortunate accidental airstrike on an internally displaced people’s camp in Rann locality of Borno.

    According to him, the U.S. will continue providing the Nigerian Government with counter-terrorism assistance against the Boko Haram insurgents.

     

     

    NAN

  • BREAKING: Gambia President, Yahya Jammeh declares state of emergency

    Gambian President Yahya Jammeh on Tuesday declared a state of emergency, citing foreign interference in a presidential election he lost to opponent Adama Barrow last month.

    The declaration was necessary “due to the unprecedented and extraordinary amount of foreign inference in the December 1 presidential elections and also in the internal affairs of The Gambia,” Jammeh said on state television.

    This had created an “unwarranted hostile atmosphere, threatening the sovereignty, peace, security and stability of the country,” he added.

    According to the Gambian constitution a state of emergency lasts seven days if the president declares it unilaterally but up to 90 days if the national assembly confirms it.

  • Four ministers quit Jammeh’s government

    Gambia’s Ministers of Finance, Foreign Affairs, Trade and Environment have resigned from President Yahya Jammeh’s government, according to report on Tuesday.

    They all resigned as regional forces prepare to oust the veteran leader unless he steps down by Thursday.

    Jammeh, in power since a 1994 coup, has become increasingly isolated at home and abroad after he refused to accept his defeat in the December 1, 2016 presidential election, the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports.

    The president’s surprise defeat was seen as a boost to democracy in the former British colony, which has had only two presidents since it gained independence in 1965.

    But Jammeh’s defiance has sent the tiny West African country into crisis, causing government defections and opening up the prospect of military intervention by other countries in the region.

    A senior Nigerian military source said Nigeria and other West African nations were prepared to intervene militarily to remove Jammeh if he remains in office after Wednesday, when his presidential mandate runs out.

    “The chiefs of defence staff of West African countries met on Monday to discuss strategies on the best way to get Yahya Jammeh out if he refuses to hand over power,’’ the Nigerian, who declined to be identified, told NAN.

  • Gambia: Jammeh’s election challenge postponed

    Gambia’s Supreme Court has declined ruling on President Yahya Jammeh’s petition to overturn his election defeat, the report said on Tuesday.

    It said that many Gambians wait nervously to see how the veteran leader will react to his rival’s planned inauguration this week.

    Jammeh initially conceded defeat to opposition leader Adama Barrow following the Dec. 1 poll and later changed his mind, drawing widespread condemnation and the threat of a military intervention by regional neighbours.

    Whether Gambia succeeds in swearing in Barrow is viewed as a test for democracy in West Africa, a region which is seeking to draw a line under a history of coups and autocratic rule.

    The Supreme Court has not sat for over a year and the entire judge’s seats bar that of the chief justice are unoccupied.

    Jammeh has hired judges from Nigeria and Sierra Leone to hear the petitions, but they have failed to arrive in Gambia.

    “It is crystal clear that the justices from Nigeria and Sierra Leone are not coming,” the court’s Nigerian Chief Justice Emmanuel Fagbenle said.

    The chief justice said the court would be adjourned until the next regular session in either May or November, but added that the petitions could be heard if the judges arrived sooner.

    The court’s inability to convene only deepens the political crisis in Gambia. Allies of Jammeh said there could be no inauguration with petitions still pending before the court.

    “In the interest of justice, the petition must be heard and determined before the inauguration can take place,” said Edward Gomez, a lawyer for Jammeh’s APRC political party, reacting to the adjournment.

  • ‘ECOWAS to take all necessary actions in The Gambia’

    ‘ECOWAS to take all necessary actions in The Gambia’

    UN Office for West Africa and the Sahel (UNOWAS) says ECOWAS has decided to take all necessary actions to enforce the results of the Dec. 1, 2016 presidential election in the Gambia.

    Mohamed Chambas Head of UNOWAS, disclosed this while briefing the UN Security Council on the political and security situation in the region.

    Chambas is also the Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General.

    Chambas pointed out that there was progress in West Africa and the Sahel, but warned of the region’s political challenges, the Secretary-General’s spokesperson, Stephane Dujarric, said at the briefing.

    The UN envoy cited a “rising tide of democracy” throughout the continent, noting that a number of countries had recently held elections which largely complied with electoral norms and standards, upholding their status as a model in the region and beyond.

    Referring to the presidential elections in the Gambia, and the ensuing crisis, Chambas said: “However, some countries in the region had witnessed political uncertainty or significant security challenges.’’

    “We were saddened by the quickly unfolding political crisis resulting from President Jammeh changing his mind and deciding to reject the results,’’ he said.

    He further updated the 15-member council on the initiatives to resolve the situation there taken by ECOWAS that agreed to uphold the elections results and decided to take all necessary actions to enforce the results.

    “UNOWAS is fully involved in supporting the ECOWAS-led mediation, which continues to explore all avenues towards a peaceful transfer of power,” the UN envoy added.

    The Secretary-General’s West Africa and Sahel envoy also informed council members of elections in Cape Verde and Ghana as well as in Guinea, where polls anticipated to be held in February had been postponed.

    In his briefing, Chambas also spoke of the continuing security and humanitarian challenges in Nigeria due to frequent attacks perpetrated by the Boko Haram militant group.

    He appealed for more funding and support for relief programmes in the country.

    He further updated the council on UNOWAS’ close collaboration with other UN missions in the region and in the context of the drawdown of the UN missions in Côte d’Ivoire, and Liberia.

    He added that it worked on issues related to regional stabilisation, technical support and in the implementation of its Resolution 2282 (2016) and the General Assembly Resolution on Sustaining Peace.

  • In-Photos: Buhari arrives Gambia for peace talks with Jammeh

    President Muhammadu Buhari on Friday arrived Banjul, Gambia for talks with Gambia’s embattled President, Yahya Jammeh.

    Recall that Jammeh had earlier asked the high Level ECOWAS mediation mission led by Buhari not to come to Banju on Wednesday for peace talks, suggesting they should come by Friday (today).

    Joining President Buhari for the peace talks are; Former President of Ghana, John Mahama, President Ellen Sirleaf of Liberia and other eminent African leaders.

    The Gambia is expected to inaugurate a new president on January 19, but despite losing the December 1 election, President Jammeh had insisted he won’t step down.

    See photos below:

    In-Photos: Buhari arrives Gambia for peace talks with Jammeh In-Photos: Buhari arrives Gambia for peace talks with Jammeh

  • Don’t come to Gambia today – Jammeh warns Buhari, other ECOWAS delegates

     

    Embattled President Yahya Jammeh of The Gambia has warned the high Level ECOWAS mediation mission led by Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari against coming to Banjul, the Gambian capital on Wednesday for peace talks.

    He asked them to instead come on Friday.

    President Buhari, who is leading the mediating team alongside Mr. John Mahama, the immediate past President of Ghana said the delay notwithstanding, the mandate of the ECOWAS would be accomplished.

    Jammeh who had hoped to use the country’s Supreme Court to upturn opponent Adama Barrow’s election found the road closed today after the court postponed the hearing of the case for months.

    Gambia’s Supreme Court said today that it cannot rule on Jammeh’s challenge against his electoral defeat on 1 December due to lack of judges.

    “We can only hear this matter when we have a full bench of the Supreme Court,” Emmanuel Fagbenle, the court’s chief justice said Tuesday.

    The Nigerian judge said the extra judges needed to hear the case were not available.

    The Gambia relies on foreign judges, notably from Nigeria, to staff its courts due to a lack of trained professionals in the tiny west African state.

    Jammeh’s political party lodged a legal case on his behalf last month aimed at annulling the December 1 election result and triggering new elections.

    “This is why alternative dispute resolution is important,” he said.

    “We are now only left with the ECOWAS mediation initiative and the inter-party committee set up by government to resolve the dispute,” he said.

     

  • Buhari, other West African leaders meet in Abuja over crisis in Gambia

    In furtherance of his mandate as mediator, the President of Nigeria, Muhammadu Buhari, will be hosting four other West African leaders to a meeting aimed at avoiding violence and preserving democracy in The Gambia.

    President Buhari and the immediate past President of Ghana, John Mahama, as Mediator and Co-Mediator respectively, have also been mandated by the Economic Community of West African States to ensure the safety of the President-elect, Adama Barrow, and a peaceful handover of power on January 19.

    The meeting in Abuja is following the one in Accra on the sidelines of the inauguration of that country’s President, which expressed the readiness of the leaders of the sub-region to continue the pursuit of dialogue with the leaders of The Gambia, especially President Yahya Jammeh.

    The Presidents of Liberia and Senegal, the Vice President of Sierra-Leone and ex-President Mahama are expected at the meeting.

  • Gambia’s Army Chief reiterates loyalty to embattled President Jammeh

    Gambia’s Army Chief reiterates loyalty to embattled President Jammeh

    Gambia’s Army Chief reaffirmed his loyalty to embattled President Yahya Jammeh on Wednesday in a possible regional military intervention to enforce the election result that dealt the long time leader a surprise defeat.

    Jammeh initially accepted his defeat in the Dec. 1 election, but a week later reversed his position, vowing to hang onto power in spite a wave of regional and international condemnation.

    West African regional bloc ECOWAS has placed standby forces on alert in case Jammeh attempts to stay in power after his mandate ends on Jan. 19.

    Jammeh has called the bloc’s stance “a declaration of war’’.

    “May I please seize this opportunity to renew to your Excellency the assurance of the unflinching loyalty and support of the Gambia Armed Forces,’’ General Ousman Badjie wrote in a letter to Jammeh published in a pro-government newspaper.

    Many Gambians, who have lived through 22 years of Jammeh’s increasingly authoritarian rule, were stunned when the elections commission declared opposition figure Adama Barrow winner of election that held in December.

    Jammeh’s initial acceptance of the result sparked nationwide celebrations.

    Badjie declared his allegiance to Barrow soon after the poll results were announced, according to a spokesperson for the president-elect.

    However, his position remained unclear following Jammeh’s dramatic about-face.

    In an illustration of the growing pressure on Gambian officials as the Jan. 19 deadline looms, Alieu Momarr Njai, Head of the elections commission, fled Gambia on Friday due to fears for his security, family members said.

    Gambian security forces had in December seized control of the commission’s headquarters, which holds the original poll records and told staff, including Njai, to leave.

    Over the weekend, Gambian security agents closed three private radio stations, making it harder for the incoming government to communicate with its supporters.

    “It is a sign of weakness for any side of the political spectrum to resort to media closures rather than engagement to put one’s position across,’’ Barrow’s office said on Wednesday in a statement that also called for the release of detainees.

    Leaders of ECOWAS member nations have dismissed Jammeh’s move to challenge his election defeat before Gambia’s Supreme Court on Jan. 10 and said they would attend Barrow’s swearing-in this month.