Jammeh DEKABEH MA KO MOM (Translation – I own the country”)
Gambian President Yahya Jammeh has claimed personal ownership of the small West African Nation of the Gambia. He made these claims in a televised address to religious leaders of the country on the eve of Eid Al-Fitr (celebration of end of Ramadan). He was visibly angry that Muslims in the Gambia decided to fast on different days of Ramadan and as a result were bound to also celebrate the end of Ramadan on different days. He gathered religious leaders and issued threats that “I will not allow anybody to divide Muslims in the country” Jammeh openly threatened to arrest and jail any Imams, village heads (alkalolu) and other religious leaders who attempts to defy his orders and pray on Tuesday. He ordered the commissioners and police to arrest any Imams who fail to comply.
The disagreement of when to start or conclude fasting has historically been controversial from time immemorial. This is largely attributed to the simple fact that Muslims around the world rely on the sightings of the moon before commencing their fast and or concluding it. So Muslims all around the world has started fasting and perform Eid prayers on different days. Many Muslims have resorted to following Saudi Arabia where there is little or no controversy in sighing the moon. So depending on what part of the world people live they follow Saudi Arabia’s pronouncements in sighting the moon. This is also because weather conditions can affect the sightings of the moon especially when it is cloudy. Islamic teachings dictates that people can follow their local Imams and or neighbors who reports the sightings of the month. This has been the case across the world for as long as Islam has been around.
However, since taking over power through force in 1994, Yahya Jammeh has politicized the Islamic religion to control as much power as possible. He has used the nation’s coffers to finance Islamic events and totally dominate the Supreme Islamic Council – the highest religious body that controls and runs the Islamic affairs in the country. This body has been reduced to politics by leaders who patronize council leaders thus using them against other religious leaders who disagree with how the affairs of the religion is run in Gambia. Through the politicization of this Islamic group, the President has gone after his critics who refuses to follow his dictates. Readers may recalled that it was under this pretense that Imam Baba Leigh, BaKawsu Fofana, late Imam Karamo Touray and many others have been subjected to arrest, harassment and jailing. Some of these people were tortured and are forced into exile while others allegedly died as a result of the tortures they suffered while in custody.
The Gambian President Yesterday Monday ordered that whoever refuses to pray or command his followers to perform the Eid on Monday will be arrested and sent to mile II. He openly claimed in the video that he owns the Gambia and whoever refuses to pray will face the brunt of his power. He allegedly ordered police and paramilitary troops to guard Mosques and prayer grounds to prevent any praying.
For the longest time President Jammeh has always treated the Gambia as his own personal property. These are evidence in his disregard to the constitution; hiring and firing of citizens; arrest and prosecution of citizens and how he handles state affairs. Many Gambians did not believe that Jammeh was capable of turning the country into his personal property but evidence are increasingly surfacing that his mental frame of mind is that the Gambia belongs to him. He has now come out openly and claimed ownership of the country. You can hear the President’s own words through this video link. Gambians have now seen the level to which Jammeh is willing to go to control the affairs of the country. There are unconfirmed reports that people in the rural areas have defied this order and have gone ahead and perform their prayers as commanded by Islam. Whether Jammeh will order police and the NIA to arrest Imams as he threatened remained to be seen.