Gambian Crisis

On December 1 2016, Gambian President Yahya Jammeh refused to concede power to the newly elected President Adama Barrow. Jammeh originally accepted defeat, but later decided he did not accept the election results and called for a new election. The US state department called Jammeh’s actions, “a reprehensible and unacceptable breach of faith with the people of the Gambia and an egregious attempt to undermine a credible election process and remain in power illegitimately.”

The authoritarian ruler of Gambia has been accused of imprisoning, torturing, and murdering his political opponents, over his 22 year reign. Over the past month, military, political, and human rights groups from around western Africa and other parts of the world have been negotiating and putting pressure on Jammeh to try and get him to step down.

 After a month of negotiations, Jammeh finally decided to give up his position and concede power to President Barrow. As part of the agreement reached, Jammeh was exiled from the country. He was flown out of Gambia on Saturday January 21 2017. He is now living in temporary exile in Equatorial Guinea. Many Gambian citizens were not satisfied with the agreement reached because they wanted to see him face prosecution for his actions, which include allegations of human rights violations. Under the current agreement Jammeh will not face any charges for crimes committed under his regime in Gambia and can enter back into the country at a time of his choosing. He will likely not be prosecuted on an international level because Equatorial Guinea is  not part of the International Criminal Court. However, newly elected President Barrow plans to create a commission to investigate the allegations against Jammeh.

Jammeh did not make the transition of power easy for his successor. He stole the equivalent of 11 million US dollars from the countries funds. He had various luxury items and vehicles that he purchased with the stolen money shipped out of the country on cargo planes. The items were shipped to Banjul Airport. When Barrow received confirmation of the stolen money and shipment of goods, he contacted officials at the Banjul Airport and demanded that all Jammeh’s shipments be seized. The country’s coffers are virtually empty leaving Gambia in a financially unstable state. New President Barrow will be faced with the challenge of rebuilding the country’s funds.

Concerns for his safety prevented Barrow from being in Gambia since the election.

After Barrow was rightfully elected, he was forced to wait at the Gambian Embassy in Senegal until Jammeh relinquished power and Barrow could assume his rightful position as President. Barrow plans to return to his home country and begin his role as president when the state of security in Gambia is more stable.

Yahya Jammeh

Although the situation is not desirable, Jammeh’s exile is being celebrated as a fall of authoritarianism and a victory for democracy by many African citizens. Authoritarian rule has been an increasing issue in Africa and this situation gave many hope for the future of democracy in Africa.

Links:

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2017/01/jammeh-arrives-banjul-airport-stepping-170121210246506.html

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-24383225

Works cited:

Burke, J. (2017, January 22). Exiled former president Yahya Jammeh 'stole $11.4m' from the Gambia. Retrieved January 23, 2017, from https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/jan/23/exiled-former-president-yahya-jammeh-stole-gambia

Jazeera, A. (2017, January 23). The Gambia: Ex-ruler Yahya Jammeh 'plundered coffers' Retrieved January 23, 2017, from http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2017/01/gambia-ruler-yahya-jammeh-plundered-coffers-170123033901430.htm