The United States government has issued a press statement banning former Gambian Dictator Yahya Jammeh, his wife Zainab and family from entering the United States. The US State Department statement published below designate Jammeh and his family as persons involved in corruption, money laundering, human rights violations and abuse of office. Such persons and their immediate family once designated cannot enter the United States. The State Department through the Secretary of State indicated that it has credible evidence that Jammeh and his wife were involved in such illegal looting of Gambia’s resources.
Gambians all over welcome the statement and called it long overdue. The statement came almost a decade late but is highly welcomed in many corners.Gambians in the United States and the Diaspora has for almost a decade consistently informed the US government of Jammeh’s direct involvement in killing citizens, massive corruption and possible money laundering and human trafficking. He owned a muliti million Dollar mansion in the outskirts of Washington DC – in Potomac Maryland. This is only one evidence of Jammeh’s involvement in money laundering and corruption… As the saying goes “the evil that men do lives after them” The days of reckoning for Yahya Jammeh are slowly getting here. It would be interesting to see how the current Barrow government reacts to this indictment as some former officials of the Jammeh regime who currently works for President Barrow may bear some signatures on those possible money laundering. The current Finance Minister Mamburay Njai and Foreign minister Tangara were errand boys of Jammeh and Njie admitted signing off to illegal accounts that were opened by the President. How the US will handle the situation should they be found culpable would be interesting. Below is the US State Department…
Public Designation of The Gambia’s Yahya Jammeh
The Department is publicly designating former president of The Gambia, Yahya Jammeh, under the terms of Section 7031(c) of the Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Appropriations Act of 2018, due to his involvement in significant corruption. Section 7031(c) provides that, in cases where the Secretary of State has credible information that foreign government officials have been involved in significant corruption or a gross violation of human rights, those individuals and their immediate family members are ineligible for entry into the United States.
The law requires the Secretary of State to publicly or privately designate such officials and their immediate family members. In addition to the designation of Yahya Jammeh, the Department is also publicly designating Jammeh’s spouse, Zineb Yahya Jammeh, his daughter, Mariam Jammeh, and his son, Muhammad Yahya Jammeh.
The United States is committed to combating corruption, increasing respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms, and promoting good governance globally. The United States stands with the government of The Gambia, its people, and civil society in support of The Gambia’s transition towards greater transparency, accountability, and democratic governance, for the benefit of all Gambians.
For more information, please contact [email protected].