We don’t think about The Gambia a lot. The small, snake-shaped West African nation is tucked literally inside of Senegal, with just a tiny coastline touching the Atlantic. This story is based on a radio interview with Jeffrey Smith of the RFK Center Its president, Yahya Jammeh, has ruled for 20 years with “an iron fist,” says Jeffrey Smith of the Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice and Human Rights. It’s no surprise then that a group of Gambian expatriates calling themselves the Gambian Freedom Fighters attempted to overthrow the government while Jammeh was out of the country on December 30 — the eighth such attempt during his…
Author: Gainako
It is indeed tragic that our search and aspiration for a developed, peaceful, prosperous and stable Gambia will not happen anytime soon. How any Government reacts when tested is a clear indication of its priority, what is important, and frankly its maturity. It was Tuesday night that Gambians all over the world were glued to online radios, Facebook and other social sites, holding their breath as the drama unfolded at the state house of the Gambia. When the dust settled, it was clear that Gambians coming from the Diaspora working with groups in the Gambia took up arms to…
Hon. Ban Ki-Moon Monday, January 5th, 2015 Secretary General, United Nations 760 United Nations Plaza New York, New York 10017 Dear Hon. Ban Ki-moon Please allow us the opportunity to elaborate on the genesis of The Gambia’s ongoing civil strife; a strife marked by devastating human right’s violations and the impossible task of changing our government through the normal democratic electoral process. May we first remind you, Sir, that education of the international community about the deteriorating Gambian situation began as early as a dozen years ago. Although Gambians recognized the steep hill they had to climb in putting…
Comrades – You all know what we saw in the Gambia on December 30th 2014 was a self-defense operation from our gallant freedom fighters. We say enough with Jammeh’s years of oppression. I was privileged to be in the U.S Federal Court this Afternoon to pay my tribute to Papa Faal who is helping the U.S authorities in the investigation on what happened. http://www.myfoxtwincities.com/story/27761908/minnesota-man-charged-in-failed-gambia-coup. Next, Papa will be appearing for a bail hearing on Thursday January 8th 2015. Since Papa, Cherno Njie, and all those that participated represented our fight for freedom, it is now in our courts to…
(CNN) Two Americans were charged Monday in what the U.S. is calling an attempted coup in Gambia, though the African nation’s President told local media it was a terrorist attack. Cherno Njie, 57, a U.S. businessman of Gambian descent living in Austin, Texas, and Papa Faal, 46, a dual U.S.-Gambian citizen from Brooklyn Center, Minnesota, were charged “for their role in a recent attempted coup” that happened on December 30, the Justice Department said in a statement. Njie, who the criminal complaint says was expected to become Gambia’s interim leader if the coup had prevailed, and Faal both traveled to the…
Two U.S. citizens are facing charges for their alleged role in last week’s coup attempt in the West African nation of Gambia. The U.S. Justice Department says Cherno Njie, 57, and Papa Faal, 46, are both in custody and will make their initial court appearances Monday – Njie in Baltimore, Maryland, and Faal in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Both men are charged with conspiracy to violate the U.S. Neutrality Act as well as a firearm charge. According to the Justice Department, Njie and Faal traveled to Gambia in December with the purpose of overthrowing the government. The criminal complaint says ahead…
Yaya Jammeh is an accidental president who was never expected to last this long. He has beaten all the odds to this point. Any attempt to push the envelop any further risks civil strife that may take on an ethic character. To avoid potential bloodshed, Jammeh must resign. He was never the leader of the coup d’etat of 1994 but ended up being selected Chairman of the Armed Forces Provisional Ruling Council (AFPRC) by virtue of the fact he was the oldest, at 29, among other putschists. As putschists everywhere, the rest of the AFPRC members were equally unqualified.…
By Baba Galleh Jallow In the last three months of 2014, Yahya Jammeh gave orders that the titles Nasiru Deen and Babili Mansa be immediately dropped from his lengthy appellation of His Excellency the President of the Republic Sheikh Alhaji Professor Dr. Yahya AJJJ Jammeh Nasiru Deen Babili Mansa. As usual, no explanation was given to the Gambian public for the strange but welcome titular excisions. Jammeh’s habit of never giving any explanations for his actions – whether it is sacking some high government official or cutting his titles – is part of a lengthy pattern and culture of…
By D. A. Jawo It is indeed hard for anyone to understand why the Gambia, being the smallest country on the African mainland and one of the poorest in the sub-region, should undoubtedly also hold the record of experiencing far more frequent coup attempts than any other country in the region. One would therefore wonder what is responsible for such a negative record; are Gambians such a bunch of ungovernable people or has it got anything to do with the style of governance of the Yahya Jammeh regime? Whatever the case however, the problem appears more to do with the…
As expected the Jammeh government in the West African State of the Gambia has begun unleashing the power and myth of his government on the civilian population in the Gambia. Reports reaching gainako within the last few days has it that Yahya Jammeh’s securities have started rounding up in large numbers families of the alleged coup plotters some of whom were killed and others escaped after an apparent alleged attempt to overthrow his government. The families of Captain Sanneh, Jagne and others have been rounded up including elderly parents who know nothing about their son’s involvement in an alleged…