African leaders in showdown with Gambia’s Jammeh Banjul, Gambia | AFP | Four African heads of state landed in The Gambia on Tuesday with a mission to persuade President Yahya Jammeh to leave office, as the country’s election commission was locked down by police. Jammeh’s party has vowed to challenge the …
Read More »Gambia’s Jammeh says he will take his case to court
Banjul, Gambia | AFP | Veteran Gambian leader Yahya Jammeh announced a legal challenge to an election in which he had already conceded defeat, in a weekend of dramatic twists that sparked international furore and fear of a crackdown in the west African state. A week after conceding defeat to …
Read More »Gambian leader’s election defiance sparks global concern
Banjul, Gambia | AFP | Gambian President-elect Adama Barrow on Saturday called on longtime leader Yahya Jammeh to drop his challenge to last week’s election results following a dramatic political U-turn that has prompted fears for the West African country. A week after conceding defeat, Jammeh on Friday declared he …
Read More »Why did Gambia’s Yahya Jammeh concede defeat?
Banjul, Gambia | AFP | Gambian leader Yahya Jammeh has ruthlessly pursued opponents real and imaginary, and implied more than once that he would kill anyone who defied him. His magnanimous concession speech and promise of a swift handover to president-elect Adama Barrow after 22 years in power has therefore …
Read More »Yahya Jammeh: devout and erratic leader of The Gambia
Banjul, Gambia | AFP | Gambian President Yahya Jammeh, who was defeated in this week’s poll, seized power in a 1994 coup and clung to office for 22 years with a blend of severity, mysticism and iron-clad self-belief. “No matter what people say about me, I am not moved… I …
Read More »Opposition wins Gambia presidential poll with 45.54%
Gambian president Jammeh ‘concedes’ defeat in election Banjul, Gambia | AFP | Gambian President Yahya Jammeh has conceded defeat to the opposition, the chairman of the electoral commission said Friday, bringing a dramatic end to his 22 years in power. “It’s really unique that someone who has been ruling this …
Read More »Rule of ‘billion-year’ Gambia president under threat
Banjul, Gambia | AFP | Gambia’s president once said he would govern the country for a billion years if God willed it. But voters may deliver an upset Thursday after years of economic hardship that have pushed thousands of young people to attempt the perilous Mediterranean crossing to Europe. Yahya …
Read More »Gambia’s first female presidential candidate bows out
Banjul, Gambia | AFP | The Gambia’s first ever female presidential candidate has withdrawn from the race and will endorse the single opposition candidate challenging President Yahya Jammeh, she said Saturday. In a statement sent to AFP, Isatou Touray said she was dropping out of the contest “so as to …
Read More »Gambia bans music and dancing during Ramadan
Banjul, Gambia | AFP | The Gambia has banned music, dancing and drumming during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, on pain of being arrested — and people are complying, police said Monday. Ordinary citizens in the small west African country — whose president declared it an Islamic state in …
Read More »Senior Gambian opposition figure dies in custody
Banjul, Gambia | AFP | A senior figure in Gambia’s main opposition has died in custody after leading a protest for electoral reform and the resignation of strongman President Yahya Jammeh, his party and a rights group said Saturday. Solo Sandeng, who had recently been promoted to organising secretary of …
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