Opinion:No light at the end of the tunnel of fear in the Gambia

Extrajudicial executions betray its commitment to human rights

Alagi Yorro Jallow

NEW YORK — In the Gambia, there seems to be no light at the end of the tunnel of fear. Recent extrajudicial executions, nocturnal killings and beatings have reinforced the powerlessness of the population to fight and expose corruption and other heinous acts.

In this tiny country, democracy takes one step forward, one step back. What can we do? And what can the international community do to rescue the Gambia from chaos?Last April and May, the Gambia was host to the African Commission on Human and People’s Rights where the country’s position as an advocate for human rights was on display. Soon afterward, the government brazenly contradicted its position through extrajudicial executions in a tragic betrayal of the Gambia’s international obligations.

The Gambia is the custodian of the African Commission not only because the African Charter had been adopted in Banjul and is now headquartered there but because the Gambia’s adherence to international political and human rights norms was seen, at the time, as exemplary. It was thought that this would ensure the Gambia as a good place to serve as headquarters to both the charter and commission.

In accepting the invitation to host the African Commission, the Gambian government agreed to guarantee the conditions and sustain an environment that would enable the norms and values of human rights and democracy to flourish.

Unfortunately, Gambia is not a place where democracy and human rights are upheld. Over the years, President Yahya Jammeh has become ever more dictatorial—some might even say, crazy. DeWayne Wickham, a columnist for USA Today, rightly pointed out that “Yahya Jammeh could well be Africa’s biggest psychopath.” Jammeh’s regime currently has 47 people on death row, and dozens serving life sentences. Officials confirmed the execution of nine inmates on August 24, the first in the Gambia since 1985. Although Gambia reinstated the death penalty in 1995, shortly after Jammeh took power in a military coup, no prisoners are believed to have been executed until recently.

The nine prisoners were reportedly dragged from their prison cells without warning. They were not allowed to say good-bye or given the opportunity to have their last meals and prayers. They were lined up and shot by a firing squad; and now the remaining 38 are at risk of the same fate.

Family members claim they were not aware of the executions until they heard the news broadcasts. They do not know when the killings took place, how they were killed, where they are buried and whether they were buried according to Islamic rites.

Speaking in a televised broadcast to mark the Muslim festival of EID, Jammeh said, “All those guilty of serious crimes and who are condemned will face the full force of the law. All punishments prescribed by law will be maintained in the country to ensure that criminals get what they deserve; that is, those who killed are killed—by the middle of next month, all the death sentences will have been carried out to the letter.” Jammeh vowed to execute them, and swore that, if they were not executed, he would “drink alcohol and eat pork,” in violation of Islamic law.

In the days that followed 18 were killed in a second round of brutal executions. President Jammeh had announced during August that all prisoners on death row would be executed by mid-September to tackle a rising crime rate and to dissuade people from committing “heinous crimes.”

Before Jammeh’s takeover, the Gambia was viewed as an “exception” on a continent where authoritarianism and military regimes have been the norm since the colonies gained independence. Apart from an aborted coup in 1981, the Gambia had enjoyed relative peace and stability since it attained independence in 1965. Unfortunately, all of that changed in July 1994, after the coup led by Jammeh. Most Gambians genuinely fear the 45-year-old autocrat, and there is little opposition to him.

Jammeh’s government has tortured and killed journalists and forced into exile those who dared criticize him. He has cowed the rest into self-censorship. The Gambia’s prisons are filled with political prisoners, and rivals to the regime often disappear or turn up mysteriously dead in the night.

With the recent executions, we find ourselves asking anew: Is it possible to act courageously as a citizen in the Gambia today? Perhaps, although it is surely true that our experiences have taught us that there are limits to what Gambians are able to endure, especially when we are not able to truly speak out against the madness and anarchy that prevail. As years of intimidation build, stress finds less and less relief as every possible effort to push on, report and publish is exhausted. And when, time and time again, those efforts are foiled by government intervention, when personal safety is threatened, perhaps only the courage to seek another way, from another place, can become the force of change. Until that time there is little hope; no light at the end of the tunnel of fear.

Alagi Yorro Jallow is the founding managing editor of the banned newspaper, Independent, in the Gambia. He was a Nieman Fellow at Harvard University and holds a masters degree from Harvard’s Kennedy

Gambia: Yahya Jammeh admits to 9 executions, but is the real number 18 or 26 massacred

By Mathew K Jallow

The oldest inmate, Lamin Darboe, had his death sentence commuted to a life in prison years ago by former President Dawda K Jawara. The youngest, Buba Yarboe of Busumbala village, suffered severe mental illness and was totally incapable of making rational decisions, much less have the capacity to understand his surroundings. And beautiful Tabara Samba, the female in the group, with little children at home, tried and sentenced for murder in an apparent manslaughter case, was gang raped by her captors. This is not a preamble of the opening chapter of an Agatha Christie crime novel, it is real, and it happened in The Gambia. What all three individuals shared in common was their cruel, mind-numbing execution at Mile Two Prisons, an act of brutality so unimaginable, it left an entire nation numbed by grief, disgust and utter disbelief. On that fateful August night last week when nine inmates were led out of their concrete-walled and steel door cells and executed in cold blood with such willful disregard for human life, the Gambia descended further into new depths of mindless barbarity.

Yahya Jammeh has finally dug his own grave. This time around, his fate will not be determined by the primitive superstitions and customary devil worship that have dictated the way he ruled Gambia with bewildering ignorance; instead his life now rests in the hands of the Gambian people.  For the first time in seventeen years, Gambians both at home and abroad cry out in deadly rage with a united voice and a determination never before seen in all these years of tyranny and political madness. For seventeen years, Yahya Jammeh has ruled The Gambia with an extraordinary cruelty and mean-spiritedness, in the process turning himself into an object of hate and scorn, but it is his extremely vexing detachment from reality that has locked him into a perpetual state of delusion and illusionary grandiosity. The relationship between Yahya Jammeh and the Gambian people is a marriage that has never worked well, not even for a single day, and the time for it to end came and went with each extraordinary abuse of power that has included the deaths of fellow citizens. But the recent execution of as much as twenty-six helpless prisoners is the straw that broke the camel’s back and sealed Yahya Jammeh’s fate.

The executions in Mile two Prisons of so many innocent Gambians is more than anyone can bear, and if Yahya Jammeh thinks this egregious act of violence will just go away like the massacre of the sixteen students or the execution of forty-four Ghanaians, he is clearly underestimating the resolve of the Gambian people.  But more baffling still, while the regime admitted to the execution of nine inmates, the real number could be as many as twenty-six people executed on the orders of Yahya jammeh and unless the regime can produce all the inmates to the public, Gambians and the international community will continue to assume that twenty-six were inmates executed. This case is similar to the Ghanaians massacre ten years ago when the regime admitted to eight murders instead of forty-four who were really executed. To make matters even worst, rumors of the use of the body parts of the executed in ritual sacrifice are rife. Given Yahya Jammeh’s extreme dependence on primitive African belief systems, these rumors are not all that far-fetched. But if the ritual sacrifice rumors are proven true, this will further aggravate Gambians and animate even more violent outrage among Gambians and the international community.

Today, ten days after Yahya Jammeh executed as much as twenty-six Gambians and Senegalese, lost in the conversation is the issue of burial of the dead. So far, families of the executed have not received the bodies of their loved ones in order to give them decent burials according to local customs and Islamic tradition. The relatives of the executed are urged to go to the Banjul mortuary and demand to be given the bodies of their executed family members for burial. In the same vein, the Gambian public is urged to support the quest by family members to retrieve the dead bodies of their relatives from Yahya Jammeh. The Senegalese community in The Gambia should also congregate at the Banjul mortuary to demand the surrender of the bodies of Tabara Samba and Gibbi Bah for repatriation to their villages in Senegal for burial. This effort should be supported by the Senegalese government, and besides, President Macky Sall must independently demand the return of the bodies of his citizens to accord them the proper burials they deserve in Senegal. Yahya Jammeh has no authority under any law to continue to detain the bodies of the executed. The family members of the dead have the rights to demand the return of their dead relatives and not let irrational fear of Yahya Jammeh force them to abandon their obligation to their deceased relatives.

This week, Gambians across the globe will express outrage with demonstrations, a move complemented by Senegalese demonstrations for the execution of their compatriots. In stark contrast, in The Gambia,  even the media appeared timid in their reporting, but it is the outrageously tepid “so-called” Group of 6 (six) letter that is so aggravating to the Gambians public.  And more puzzling still, the cowardly “so-called” group of six’s letter to Yahya Jammeh arguing the legal basis for the executions is completely misguided, out of line and irrelevant to the situation. The illegality of the executions is an established face, and besides Yahya Jammeh does not respond to legalities or simple common sense. Time and again, he has shown unwillingness to respect our Constitution and the laws of the land and scores of letter from politicians over the years have been ignored with reckless abandon. As it is, the time for the politicians to overcome their fears is now and what Gambians expect from Ousainou Darboe is to call the country out in a massive show force to demonstrate until Yahya Jammeh leaves. Today, hundreds, if not thousands of Diaspora Gambians are ready and willing to join nation-wide demonstrations seeking the forced removal of Yahya Jammeh. We can no longer afford to be held back by fear, and besides if such blatant acts of violence against fellow citizens do not embolden us with resolve, it will mean the acceptance of the devaluation of Gambian life,

With the massacre of as many as twenty-six Gambians and Senegalese a done deal, the broader debate has to shift focus to the removal of Yahya Jammeh by hook or by crook. After the latest act of unprovoked violence against innocent citizens, Yahya Jammeh has shown himself unqualified to continue breathing God’s air, and Gambians urge members of our military to show they care by mustering the courage to dispatch Yahya to a state of perpetual darkness. It is hoped that soon a united Diaspora front will seek to work hand in hand with the political establishment in order to force Yahya Jammeh’s removal from power. It is unconscionable and outrageous that our military and fellow citizens to continue to wallow in a senseless fear of a handful of MFDC Cassamance rebels who have no business whatsoever being in our country. The rebels who provide Security for Yahya Jammeh do not have a monopoly of mean-spiritedness or the determination to fight. Each one of us has that reptilian cruelty in us that can manifest in extraordinary violent acts. Besides, the more than half million young patriotic young Gambians under thirty years age who can be mobilized to take up arms to free their beloved country are no match for the mere hundred fifty Cassamance rebels. Today, Senegal and the broader international community are also ready for Yahya Jammeh’s departure from the face of the earth. For, apparently, Yahya Jammeh did not get the memo from Liberia’s Samuel Doe, Libya’s Mumar Khadaffi and many other tyrants of the past. Those who live by the gun will die by the gun.

Gambia:Today our nation is shocked, saddened and outraged

By Assan Martin, Human Rights Lawyer

Mr. President:

Since honest and sincere advice are lacking in your administration, I felt that I should give short advice to you with all sincerity and honesty on the recent executions of death row inmates.

Today our nation is shocked, saddened and outraged as to the recent executions of some 9 inmates in mile 2 Prison. As a staunched believer of rights and liberties especially the rights of accused persons, I have constantly spoken against the death penalty since October 19^th 2010. Reference of which is on the point newspaper edition October 19^th, 2010. I was basically advocating for the commutation of death sentences to life imprisonment to avoid the innocent lost of lives that can never be recovered.

As counsel who represented and supervised several murder cases since the inception of the special court established to extradite cases and on gratis for my state brief cases. I here remind you Mr. President that our judicial system (courts) is full of flaws and mainly not competent as claimed. Especially some foreign judges trying to impressed you at the expense of the Gambian people. Be informed that there is a lot of miscarriages of justices in our criminal justice system especially with procedures and proceedings in cases of felons in our courts.

Mr. President the ill advices you received from the so called professionals you relied upon are damaging to our nation.”Tackling crimes can only come by tackling the root causesof crimes”   and for people to be educated for a decent society. Death penalty sentences are not a solution to tackling crimes.

However, your former Justice Minister Mr. Edu GomeZ and co tried to defend capital punishment with no justifiable reasons but to solidify their positions in government.

Sadly most of our foreign JUDGES are incompetent and don’t understand the Gambian society and culture. One cannot imagine a judge sentenced to death an accused person in provocative murder cases. Also in a sad case of woman “sentence to death by hanging “for dumping a baby caused by post-antenatal syndromes or stresses leading to concealment of birth in a remote village.

More so the treason trial involving General Lang Tombong Tamba and 8 others on 10^thMay 2010, is a clear case of travesty of justice. I believe in don’t defending the guilt but again let me remind you sir that there existed no justifiable evidence for conviction in this case.  Where conviction is warranted legal experts will not comment against it.

Once more Mr. President halts all executions and repeals all death penalty provisions. As from today our nation will never be the same because the current situation is beyond remedy.  These executions have tarnished the image of our democracy, our Justice system and respect for human rights.

The Gambia: The Balangbaa Uprising

(By Mathew K Jallow)

Their persistent denials rang hollow. Yahya Jammeh’s spokes-people Njogu Bah and Mahamadou Tangara towed the line prescribed by Yahya Jammeh, and in the process managed to create only doubt, yet their guilt-ridden diplomatic offensive did nothing to dissuade Gambians familiar with the regime’s pattern of lies, deceit and denials. The ugly and unimaginable slaughter of innocent and defenseless Gambians was already spreading around the world like wildfire, and Gambians both at home and abroad were left utterly dumbfounded by these egregious acts of violence. What happened on the night of Thursday August 23, 2012, is beyond description and spells the beginning of the end for Yahya Jammeh and his Neanderthal regime.  Like the students’ massacre on April 10, 2000, the mindless slaughter of nine Mile 2 Prison inmates on August 23, 2012, will forever remain etched in the collective memory of the Gambian nation. At exactly 9.30 pm on August 23, 2012, the frightening sound of heavy metal doors broke the stillness of the night. One by one, nine selected inmates were led from their dark, dingy concrete-walled cells and out under the dark open sky above Mile 2 Central Prisons. It was the last time anyone of them would see the mosquito infested cells or smell the overpowering stench of rot, death and human feaces of the dungeon each had called home for so many years. It was the last time they would lay eyes on the four fellow citizens who loitered around aimlessly and who out of despair and despondence had developed severe psychological problems and become mad inside the hellhole of Mile Two Prisons.

Today, it is almost one week since nine Mile 2 Central Prison death-row inmates faced the firing squad that cut their lives short with a hail of bullets. The nine were among forty seven Gambians and non-Gambians sitting on death row who were removed to a central holding cell after Yahya Jammeh threatened to execute them. And as they were being led away to their deaths, one of them, Lamin Darboe shouted out for all the prisoners to know they were being taken away and perhaps never to come back. And he was so right. Since Yahya Jammeh made good his threats and ordered the execution of nine inmates, international pressure and outright condemnation has severely undermined his efforts to rationalize his crime against humanity as an application of the letter of the law. The extremely un-Gambian enforcement of the death penalty and the use of the firing squad as an instrument of death for convicted prisoners and terror against the living dead, by a corrupt judicial system that had long ago lost its credibility, have put the Yahya Jammeh regime on notice. Understandably, the mass murders committed on the orders of Yahya Jammeh last Thursday August 23, overshadowed the brutal execution in Foni, of two sibling elders from the village of Kanunorr, Wuyeh Colly and Enor Colly. Their executions were carried out with a mind-bugling casualness and nonchalance that defy imagination. And today, nearly one week after the executions of nine prisoners that traumatized a nation, another inmate, Musa Badjie, collapsed and died inside Mile 2 Prisons, a testament to the brutal and harsh prison conditions.

For seventeen long years, Yahya Jammeh has tested the will of Gambians with periodic adventures into the Machiavellian world of Stalinist brutality. Since 1994, more than two hundred Gambians and non-Gambians have been murdered on orders of Yahya Jammeh, as many as thirty Gambian men and women have disappeared from the face of the earth after their arrest by regime agents, some as long as twelve years. But the executions of nine innocent prisoners last week brings to mind the brutal execution of forty-four Ghanaians nearly ten years ago, in addition to the vehicular murders of twenty children, run down by Yahya Jammeh’s speeding motorcades. And besides the witch-hunting that killed ten elderly men and women, an average of ten murders are committed each year on the orders of Yahya Jammeh. But there is still a lot we don’t know about the brutality inflicted on Gambians by Yahya Jammeh and his agents of death. Last week alone, two innocent Jola elders from the village of Kanunorr in the Fonis were abducted and murdered on Yahya Jammeh’s orders. Since then, it has come to light that Foni Jolas are under siege with frequent abduction and disappearances and of the known twenty Gambian forced disappearances over the past decade, most are Foni Jolas and include several murders in Kanilai village. Fellow Gambians, of recent, we have all been united by a deadly hatred of Yahya Jammeh, and the time to make him taste his own medicine has come. The time has come for the Gambian Diaspora, civil society organizations, the political establishment, and Gambian’s military and security services, to come together and reclaim our country. As we strategize on how to rid The Gambia of Yahya Jammeh in the coming weeks and months, we implore the military to help us make Yahya Jammeh history. The Balangbaa Uprising is coming, and must happen to free our people from bondage. The time is NOW.

Gambia: It makes no sense, Jammeh at it again

By Abdoulaye Saine
Against a backdrop of mounting international ostracism and suspension of much needed financial assistance from the EU - the consequence of a poor human rights record, Jammeh’s threat to execute forty-seven inmates by September was designed to attract attention from Western media and human rights organizations. He has consistently courted media attention with outrageous comments and acts when things are not going well at home. This, to deflect attention from failed policies, which are too many to recount here. Did he not claim to have “discovered” the cure for HIV/AIDS, hypertension, infertility and diabetes, to name a few? Did Jammeh not orchestrate a so-called “witch-hunt” to supposedly purge the country of witches?

Yahya Jammeh’s threat to carry out death sentences of “death-row” inmates is simply outrageous! It makes no sense at all! But Jammeh’s rule and decisions have hardly made sense to most right-thinking individuals. Did he not defy religious and cultural sensibilities when he announced his threat to a group of religious elders on Islam’s most sacred Holiday- Eid-ul-Fitr? Who in their right mind would issue such a threat on a day of forgiveness and goodwill other than to attract attention?  This time, it is not a threat against gays but “criminals.” Perhaps, a more interesting question is, why the threat(s)?

Jammeh’s most recent threat may well be another attempt to cover his failings- both personal and national. This odious threat to hang “death-row” inmates is/ was intended to douse dissent in a population already fatigued by mounting economic hardship and subdued by extra-judicial killings. Whether Jammeh carries/ carried out his threat or not (I pray he did not) is now immaterial, as he has already achieved his intended goals- deflecting attention from a country and people gripped by famine and soaring food prices, and perhaps more importantly, attracting media coverage, including worldwide attention and condemnation. Each time Jammeh makes a threat, or announces a  medical “discovery,” Western media houses and rights organizations fall for it, which they should, as he has killed enough already. Yet in the same vein he manipulates them for self-serving purposes.

Jammeh’s so-called medical “discoveries,” “witch-hunts” and threat to execute forty-seven inmates are/ were simply outrageous and sure to get his name in the news. Yet Jammeh thrives on the outrageous, as he has accomplished little of distinction in his personal life, or eighteen-year rule. Did he not want to be crowned king or emperor of Gambia?  Does he not insist on being called professor, Dr., Sheikh- all unearned titles and awards?

While I am not a psychiatrist, I suspect Jammeh suffers from a mental disorder called “Histrionic personality disorder” (HPD), which according to the American Psychiatric Association “is defined as a personality disorder characterized by a pattern of excessive emotionality and attention seeking, including an excessive need for approval and inappropriately seductive behavior, usually beginning in early adulthood. These individuals are lively, dramatic, vivacious, enthusiastic, and flirtatious http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Histrionic_personality_disorder ,August, 24, 2012).

Jammeh must come to his senses and stop toying with the lives of so-called death-row inmates like Dr. Amadou Janneh, whose only “crime” is saying “No” to his madness- a disorder that must be taken seriously.

 Gambians the world-over join the AU, EU, the US and all right-thinking individuals and condemn Yahya Jammeh’s threat to execute of so-called “death-row” inmates. It would be wrong, unjust and cruel.

Abdoulaye Saine

Oxford, OH

Gambia: On Gambia Election Day, President Displays Contempt for Press Freedom

IPI Clarifies that Media Freedom is Not Just for Journalists
By: Naomi Hunt, Press Freedom Adviser for Africa

VIENNA, 28 Nov. 2011 – As Gambians went to the polls last week to vote, incumbent President Yahya Jammeh rejected international criticism over the country’s press freedom record, which, since Jammeh took power in a 1994 coup, has been characterised by the intimidation, jailing and torture of journalists, and control of the media.

"When they talk about rights, freedom of the press and [saying] this country is a hell for journalists … There are freedoms and responsibilities," the BBC quoted Jammeh as saying. "The journalists are less than 1% of the population and if anybody expects me to allow less than 1% of the population to destroy 99% of the population, you are in the wrong place."

The International Press Institute (IPI), a global press freedom organisation comprised of publishers, editors and leading journalists, criticised Jammeh’s reported remarks.  

“The reason that journalists must be permitted to work without interference, detention or torture, and the reason the media should not be compelled to report only the current government’s version of events has nothing to do with protecting a small segment of the workforce, as President Jammeh suggests,” said IPI Executive Director Alison Bethel McKenzie. “Responsible journalism upholds democracy by holding government accountable; a free media provides space for a robust and critical public discourse.” 

The election was monitored by observers from the African Union (AU) and the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC), but the West African regional organization, Ecowas, said the vote was not legitimate and that their investigations had revealed “"an opposition and electorate cowed by repression and intimidation,” the BBC reported.  

In cases brought by the Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA), the Ecowas Community Court found the Gambia responsible for the 2006 torture of journalist Musa Saidykhan and ordered the country to pay him reparations. The Gambia has failed to comply with the order. In 2008, the court also ordered The Gambia to release missing reporter Chief Ebrimah Manneh and pay him reparations. Again, The Gambia has failed to comply, denying instead that he is in their custody. In October this year Justice Minister Edu Gomez told the Daily News that Manneh was alive but not in government hands, although he refused to provide more information.

Source:http://www.freemedia.at

Gambia: Main opposition UDP Ambushed in Foni Kanfenda

(Dailynews)Main opposition United Democratic Party campaign caravan yesterday came under attack at the village of Kanfenda in Foni Kansala, West Coast region.
Unidentified men suspected to be militants of ruling Alliance for Patriotic Re-Orientation and Construction fired stones over the UDP convoy that was heading for its final destination in Serrekunda to wrap up the campaigns in the crucial November 24 presidential race. 
This paper is yet to have full details of the incident, but our correspondent in the caravan quoted Babanding Daffeh, a UDP parliamentarian as saying: “These people are throwing stones over us.”
Thanks to the intervention of the military personnel at military check point at the junction that links to president Jammeh’s home village of Kanilai, the tension was defused, but some UDP militants have sustained injury. 
The military personnel then escorted the opposition entourage till Bullock village where paramilitary took over the escort to the commercial town of Serrekunda. 
Meanwhile, the incident came two days after IEC warned that it will discipline any party found wanton of breaching the electoral rules.

ECOWAS Statement On the 24 November 2011 Presidential Election in the Gambia

Abuja - Nigeria — The ECOWAS Commission has informed the President of the Gambia about its decision not to dispatch an ECOWAS Observer Mission to the Presidential Election scheduled to take place in the country on 24 November 2011, because the preparations and political environment for the said election are adjudged by the Commission not to be conducive for the conduct of free, fair and transparent polls.

In keeping with the pertinent provisions of the ECOWAS Supplementary Protocol on Democracy and Good Governance, the President of the Commission dispatched a fact-finding mission to the Gambia, during which the mission interacted with a wide range of stakeholders to assess the state of preparedness of the country for the election. The Commission has also been conducting a regular monitoring of the political situation and preparations in the lead-up to the election through the ECOWAS Early Warning System. Unfortunately, the reports of the fact-finding mission and the Early Warning System paint a picture of intimidation, an unacceptable level of control of the electronic media by the party in power, the lack of neutrality of state and para-statal institutions, and an opposition and electorate cowed by repression and intimidation.

In the circumstance, the ECOWAS Commission is of the view that the conditions prevailing in the country do not meet the minimum standards set under the Protocol on Democracy and Good Governance for the conduct of elections and has, therefore, decided to exercise the discretionary powers conferred on the Commission's President under the Protocol to stand down the ECOWAS Observer Mission. While regretting the decision forced upon it by the circumstances, the ECOWAS Commission will remain seized with the situation in the Gambia, and expresses its readiness to engage the Government and other stakeholders in the Gambian polity, with a view to accompanying them in their endeavour to create a level playing field for future elections.

 His Excellency James Victo Gbeho President of the Commission

Gambia - Balangbaa: The perils of voting for Yahya Jammeh

By Mathew K Jallow

Fellow Gambians, as you go to the polls, it is worth reminding you of the murderous cruelty of the Yahya Jammeh regime. This year alone one Gambian military and seven civilians; five of them children have been killed by Yahya Jammeh and his henchmen. In addition, five military officers arrested since July this year have gone missing and the authorities deny holding them. These are Warrant Officer (W02) Bai Lowe, Staff Sergeant Abdoulie Jallow, Lance Corporal Anthony Mendy, Lance Corporal Sang Mendy and ex-Lance Corporal Abdoulie Sarr. Additionally, listed below are Gambians many of who were summarily executed, while nearly hundred were murdered in one manner or the other, but the majority languishes in prison, while hundreds have fled the country. Beyond that, the Kangaroo trials of innocent citizens continue to dominate the activities of this regime. Fellow Gambians, this lunacy will never end until we get rid of this monster. In the last three elections, barely a third of all eligible voters bothered to cast their votes because they did not want to vote for Yahya Jammeh. This year again Yahya Jammeh has given us enough reasons not to vote for him. Ousainou Darboe on the other hand has given every Gambian a reason to vote for him. Fellow Gambians, this year we cannot sit this election out. Go out and vote massively to get rid of this monster. Don’t listen to Yahya Jammeh and his liars, because they are the ones that are plundering and raping our economy for themselves and their families leaving the rest of the population in dire poverty. VOTE FOR OUSAINOU DARBOE. VOTE FOR CHANGE. Balangbaa calls on the youth to copy this list and distribute to the far corners of the country; from dusty trails of Wuli and Sandou to the howling shore of Kombos and from the serenity of Kantora to the heart of the of Serere kingdoms of Niumi.

Regime’s witching-hunting Kangaroo Trials

GAMCOTRAP’s Dr. Isatou Touray and Co. trials

GNOC’s Beatrice Allen and Co. trials

Suruwa Wawa B. Jaiteh and Dr. Loum’s trials

Dr. Amadou Jallow and Co. trials

Dr. Alasan Bah and Co’s trials

Recent arrest, detention and charged with treason

Amadou Scattred Janneh, former minister of Information

Ndey Tapha Sosseh, former president of the Gambia Press Union

Mathew K. Jallow

Famara Demba

Modou Keita

Ebrima Jallow

Michael C. Uche Thomas

Torture and Yahya Jammeh’s convoy related deaths

Demba Sibey of Numuyel village

A third grader from Saaba Primary School

A young girl killed Yahya Jammeh’s motorcade/Gunjur prayer fest

Paul Bass NIA operative killed by Jammeh’s convoy

Arab businessman dead in collided with Jammeh’s convoy

A soldier from Sintet village killed escorting Jammeh’s convoy

A little girl killed by convoy during Mauritanian President’s visit

A child killed by stampede for Jammeh’s biscuits at Sere Kunda market

In total since 1994nearly twenty people; children and adults have died as a direct result of Yahya Jammeh’s speeding convoys and biscuit throwing to crowds.

Recent Arrests of journalists

Sports Editor Nanama Keita, facing witch-hunting/Kangaroo Trial

Ahmed Alota, arrested, detained, released

Executed and Murdered Civilians

Ousman Koro Ceesay
Deyda Hydara
Sidia Sanyang
Ebrima Chief Manneh
Omar Barrow
Lamin Sanneh
Ousman Ceesay
Sarjo Kunjang
Ebrima Barry
Ousman Ceesay
Saja Kujabi
Haruna Jammeh
Yaya Jammeh
Daba Marena
Staff Sergeant Manlafi Corr
Sergeant Major Alpha Bah
Lieut. Ebou Lowe
Lieut. Alieu Ceesay
Sgt. Fafa Nyang
Lieut. Basiru Barrow
Cpt. Sadibou Hydara
Lieut. Almamo Manneh
Lieut. Abdoulie Dot Faal
Lieut. Bakary Manneh
Lieut. Buba Jammeh
Lieut. Momodou Lamin Darboe
Cadet Officer Sillah
Lieut. Basiru Camara
Corpl. Mendy
Lieut. Gibril Saye
Sergeant Dumbuya
Momodou Sowe

Gambians detained, released in Jail or murdered 1994-2009

RSM Alpha Bah
Major Ebrima Bah
Lt Momodou Alieu Ba
Corporal Samba Bah
Tijan Bahoum: Power Supply Director NAWEC
Kemo Balajo: ex-National Intelligence Agency
Foday Barry: ex-NIA; director of Intelligence
Ourani Barry: ex-Senior Civil Servant
Lamin Bojang: Medical Research Council
Ebrima Camara: ex-police officer
Omar Barru Camara: ex-MP APRC
Captain Wassa Camara
2nd Lt Alieu Ceesay
Lamin Ceesay: Politician
Madi Ceesay: President, Gambia Press Union
Awa Darboe Cham: wife of alleged coup leader Ndure Cham
Lamin Cham: ex-Daily Observer, BBC correspondent
Lamin Cham: Politician
Momat Cham: former minister
Momodou Cadi Cham: former politician
Superintendent Abdoulie Colley: ex-police officer
Retired Colonel Abdoulie Conteh: former KMC Mayor
Staff Sergeant Manlafi Corr
Captain Bunja Darboe
Lamin R. Darboe: Politician
Lamin Saiba Darboe
Captain Yaya Darboe
Adama Deen: former Managing Director Gambia Ports Authority
Demba Dem: ex-MP APRC
Momodou Demba: Politician
Mariam Denton: Human Rights Lawyer
Raif Diab: Businessman
Ramzia Diab: former nominated MP, APRC
Musa Dibba: ex-NIA Director of Finance
Sheriff Mustapha Dibba: ex-Assembly Speaker
Baba Drammeh: ex-Independent Electoral
Commission (IEC) officer
Omar Faal: Marabout
Ansumana Fadera: ex-Senior Civil Servant
Jerreh Fatty: Politician
Lamin Fatty: journalist, The Independent newspaper
Mariama Fatty: Politician
Kebba Faye: ex-Senior Civil Servant
Tamba Fofana: Head Master
Abdou Gafar: journalist, Daily Express newspaper
Lamin Gassama: Security Manager, Banjul International Airport
Antouman Gaye: Lawyer
Pa Njie Guirigara: General Manager, VM
Sarane Hydara: ex-Senior Civil Servant
Captain Abdoukarim Jah
Karamo Jaiteh: former Managing Director, Gambia Roads Authority
Suruwa Wawa B Jaiteh: former Permanent Secretary
Staff Sergeant Buba Jammeh
Haruna Jammeh. Villager
Kebbaringo Jammeh: Councilor
Marcel Jammeh. Villager
Lance Corporal Babou Janha
Amie Jarju. Villager
Cherno Ndure Jarju: Politician
Lamin Jarsey: Politician
Tamsir Jassey: ex-Deputy Inspector General Police, Director of Immigration
Dudu Kassa Jatta: Politician
Ousman Rambo Jatta: Councilor
Colonel Vincent Jatta: ex-Chief of Defense Staff (deceased)
Momodou Jaw: ex-IEC officer
Abdoulie Kanaji Jawla: MP, APRC
Baboucarr Jobarteh: ex-Protocol Officer
Maimuna Jobarteh: Politician
Abdou Jobe: Managing Director, NAWEC
Alieu Jobe: ex-Accountant General
Duta Kamaso: ex-MP, APRC
Kanyiba Kanyi: Politician
Lamin Keita: ex-Senior Civil Servant
Nato Keita: Politician
Abdoulie Kujabi: ex-Director General, NIA
Jasaji Kujabi
Dr. Badara Loum: ex-Permanent Secretary
Lt Ebou Lowe
Mustapha Lowe: College student
Bamba Manneh: ex-NIA operative
Chief Ebrima B. Manneh: journalist, Daily Observer newspaper
Fatou Jaw Manneh: journalist
Kebba Yorro Manneh: Politician
Daba Marena: ex-Director General, NIA
Malick M’boob: ex-Daily Observer, RV
Sulayman Sait M’boob: ex-Minister, IEC Commissioner
Sergeant Buba Mendy
Captain Pierre Mendy
Omar Ndow: former Managing Director of Gamtel/Gamcel
Ndondi S.Z. Njie: former Chairman of IEC
Alhagie Nyabally: ex-President, Gambia Student Union
Alassan Nyassi
Balla Nyassi

Dr. Badara Loum: Former Permanent Secretary, Agriculture
Private Alagie Nying: Gambia National Army
Sam Obi: Daily Express, RFI correspondent
Baba Saho: ex-NIA director, External Security
Musa Saidykhan: former Editor-In-Chief, The Independent newspaper
Betrand Sambou
Dodou Sanneh: former journalist, GRTS
Ebrima Sillah Sanneh: ex-IEC officer
Lamin Sanneh: former Permanent Secretary
Sergeant Abdoulie Sanyang
2nd Lt Pharing Sanyang: Gambia National Army
Commander MB Sarr: Gambia National Army
Lt M. Savage: Gambia National Army
Ebou Secka: ex-Senior Civil Servant
Nourou Secka: ex-NIA operative
Momodou Senghore: ex-Senior Civil Servant
Ousman Sey: Marabout
Musa Sheriff: journalist, Gambia News & Report magazine
Amie Sillah: journalist, women activist
Alieu Singhateh: ex-NIA operative
Kebba Singhateh: Politician
Modou Sonko: journalist, Daily Observer newspaper
Private Ebrima Sonko
Juldeh Sowe: journalist, The Independent newspaper
Issac Success: journalist, Daily Express newspaper
Azziz Tamba: Politician
Ebou Waggeh

Arrest and Detention of Journalists

October 2005: Abdoulie Sey
2005: Musa Saidykhan
March 2006: Musa Saidykhan
March 2006: Madi Ceesay
April 2006: Lamin Fatty

Journalists on Exile in Senegal, Europe and the US

Pa Ousman Darboe
Alieu Badara Sowe
Pa Ousman Darboe
Musa Saidykhan
Sulayman Makalo
Omar Bah
Alhagie Mbye
Ebrima Sillah
Augustus Mendy
Bankole Thompson
Papa Colley
Sulayman Darboe
Fatou Jaw Manneh
Pa Omar Jatta
Momodou Thomas
Musa Saidykhan
Ansumana Badjie
Pa Samba Jaw
Sarjo Bayang
Pa Nderry Mbai
Cherno Baba Jallow
Ebrima Ceesay
Baba Galleh Jallow
Ebrima G. Sankareh
Yankuba Jambang
Mathew K. Jallow
Military/Security mysterious deaths

Captain Tumbul Tamba
Captain Musa Jammeh
Colonel Vincent Jatta
Lieut. Solomon Jammeh
Pa M. Jallow
Manlafi Sanyang
Boye Bah
Momodou Bah
Illo Jallow

Military/Security/Civilian recently detained

Lang Tombong Tamba
Bore Badjie
Omar Bun Mbye
Demba Njie
Lamin Fatty
Yankuba Drammeh
Malamin Jarju
Kawsu (Bombardier) Camara
Ngorr Secka, NIA
Ensa Badjie
Bun Sanneh
Sarjo Fofana

Military/Security/Civilians: detained, released, fled

Captain Bunja Darboe
Capt Yahya Darboe
Capt. Wassa Camara
2nd Lt Pharing Sanyang
Alieu Jobe
Tamsir Jasseh
Omar Faal
Demba Dem,
Col. Ndure Cham
Abdoulie Kujabi
Kemo Balajo
Alieu Singhateh
Foday Barry
Landing Sanneh

Executed Military and Security officers 2006Daba Marenah
Alieu Ceesay
Alpha Bah
Manlafi Corr
Ebou Lowe

Students Massacred April 11th. 2000

Reginald Carrol
Karamo Barrow
Lamin A. Bojang
Ousman Sabally
Sainey Nyabally
Ousman Sembene
Bakary Njie
Claesco Pierra
Momodou Lamin Njie
Ebrima Barry
Wuyea Foday Mansareh
Bamba Jobarteh
Momodou Lamin Chune
Abdoulie Sanyang
Omar Barrow
Burama Badjie

Gambians Missing and Disappeared Since 2005

Ebrima (Chief) Manneh: arrested July 2006
Kanyiba Kanyi arrested September 2006
Haruna Jammeh arrested in 2005
Marcie Jammeh arrested in 2005
Alfusainey Jammeh arrested in 2005
Momodou Lamin Nyassi arrested in 2005
Ndongo M’boob arrested in 2006
Buba Sanyang arrested in 2006
Alieu Lowe arrested in March 2006,
Sgt. Sam Kambai arrested in 2006
Bakary Gassama arrested in 2007
Kebba Secka arrested in 2007
Ebrima Dibba arrested in May 2008,
Ebrima Kunchi Jammeh arrested in May 2008

Cases of Regime ordered Arsons against media personals.

August 8th. 2001, Radio Station 1 FM, was set ablaze around 2 a.m. in the morning, after proprietor George Christensen and his watchman were doused with hazardous chemicals in the hope of incinerating them. The two victims survived the ordeal, but the station was a total loss.

August 10th. 2001, the home of Alieu Bah, Radio I FM journalist, who moderated debates and discussions between prominent personalities, was set ablaze around 3 a.m. while he, his wife and children were asleep. The family narrowly escaped death, but the house was gutted to the ground.

October 17th. 2003, The Independent Newspaper premises were set on fire around 3 a.m in the morning when three unidentified masked men stormed the building, assaulted the night watchman and then sprayed him with fire hazard chemical in the hope he would burn to death. But he luckily survived the assault. The premises were destroyed beyond recognition.

April 13th. 2004, the Kanifing printing facilities of the Independent Newspaper was set on fire around 2 a.m. by six individuals dressed in military fatigue. The printing machinery and other hardware equipment were completely destroyed.

August 15th. 2004, the home of B.B.C reporter, Ebrima Sillah was set on fire as he slept. He narrowly escaped.

Arrests and Detentions of Journalists

September 19th. 2003, around 6 p.m. Abdoulie Sey, the Editor-in-Chief, The Independent Newspaper was arrested from his office by intelligence agents and held incommunicado. He was released four days later.

September 2005, Musa Saidykhan, Editor-in-Chief, The Independent Newspaper, was detained for interrogation for a brief period of time shortly after returning from a South African journalist conference.

March 27th. 2006, Musa Saidykhan, Editor-in-Chief, The Independent Newspaper, was arrested again by security agents a few days after publishing an article critical of Yahya Jammeh’s reactions in the wake of an alleged coup attempt on March 21, 2007. He was released after three weeks in detention.

March 2006, Madi Ceesay, The Independent General Manager, arrested by the regime’s agents, was released after three weeks of detention.

April 10th. 2006, Independent reporter, Lamin Fatty was arrested from his home by NIA agents and released after two months in detention and charged with false publication.

April 25th. 2006, Independent receptionist, Juldeh Sowe, was arrested and released after several hours.

July 7th. 2006, Daily Observer journalist, Ebrima Chief Manneh, was arrested by NIA officials from the Observer premises, was seen in public once after two years detention, at the Royal Victoria Hospital, sick and emaciated. Six powerful U.S Senators; Edward Kennedy, Richard (Dick) Durbin, Russell (Russ) Feingold and Joe Lieberman among others wrote to Yahya Jammeh asking him to release Journalist Manneh after being held for nearly three years. Manneh has since been confirmed murdered by Jammeh’s agents.

May 24th. 2006, following the hacking of the online, Freedom Newspaper, five Gambian journalists whose names appeared on the paper’s readers list were arrested and detained for different lengths of time. After several months they were released. They are:

Musa Sheriff
Pa Modou Faal
Lamin Cham
Sam Obi
Malick M’boob

Other arbitrary arrests against journalist

September 2006, a Gambia Radio and Television Services reporter, Dodou Sanneh, was arrested and detained, and later fired, rehired and fired again from his job government job.

March 28th. 2007, Fatou Jaw Manneh, a U.S. based Gambian journalist, was arrested at the airport, her traveling documents seized and charged with sedition. Her Kangaroo trial lasted more than a year. Her heavy fine was paid with donations from family and friends from all around the world.

December 16th. 2005, police ruffed Ramatoulie Charreh up after the participants in a conference she attended, attempted to visit the spot where journalist Deyda Hydara was gunned down.

2006, Njaimeh Bah, Point Newspaper reporter, attacked by unknown assailants, was severely beaten.

December 12. 2006, Baron Eloagou, reporter for the Daily Express, was severely beaten by unknown assailants.

December 2006, Abdougafar Olademinji, reporter for the Daily Express, was attacked by unknown assailants and beaten severely.

June 14th. 2009, seven journalists and members of the Gambia Press Union (GPU), were rounded up from various locations by heavily armed paramilitary agents and detained at NIA headquarters before being transferred to the notorious Mile 2 prison outside Banjul. The group listed below, were granted bail and charged with publishing seditious material and their case is ongoing despite protestations of regional and international organizations such as Media Foundation for West Africa, Amnesty International, Community to Protect Journalists.
Emil Touray, Secretary General Gambia Press Union
Sarata Jabbi Dibba, Vice President, Gambia Press Union
Pa Modou Faal, Treasurer, Gambia Press Union
Pap Saine, Managing Director, The Point Newspaper
Ebou Sawaneh, Editor, The Point Newspaper
Sam Sarr, Managing Editor, The Foroyaa Newspaper
Abubakr Saidy-Khan, journalist, Foroyaa newspaper.

June 16th. 2009, Abdulhamid Adiamoh, Publisher of Today Newspaper, was arrested for false publication and detained at National Intelligence headquarters. Forced to plead guilty or face deportation back to Nigeria, he was fine an extortive amount of money or face six months jail time.
June 22nd. 2009, Augustine Kanja, a reporter for The Point Newspaper, was arrested and detained by security agents. He was released June 25th, 2009.

Attempted Murders: Fled Gambia
Ousman Sillah: Attorney/Lawyer
Mai Fatty: Attorney (Attorney/Lawyer

Foreign nationals executed in Gambia
44 Ghanaians
2 Senegalese
1 Togolese
2 Nigerians

72 Ministers: Appointed and Fired

Mass Axi Gai
Angela Colley
Kanja Sanneh
Neneh Macdoual-Gaye
Therese Ndong-Jatta (resigned)
Maba Jobe (hired & fired before taking office)
Momodou Lamin Sedat Jobe (resigned)
Joseph Henry Joof (resigned)
Satang Jow (retired)
Yankuba Kassama
Margaret Keita
Ousman Badjie
Samba Bah
Lamin Kaba Bajo
Musa Bittaye
Amie Bensouda
Fatou Bom Bensouda
John P. Bojang
Momodou Bojang
Nyimasata Sanneh
Bojang Mamat Cham
Ebrima Ceesay
Momodou Nai Ceesay
Ousman Koro Ceesay (murdered)
Sulayman Massaneh Ceesay
Bakary Bunja Dabo
Fasainey Dumbuya
Samba Faal
Omar Faye
Sadibou Haidara (murdered)
Sheikh Tijan Hydara
Blaise Jagne
Balla Garba Jahumpa
Momodou Sarjo Jallow
Dr Amadou Scattred Janneh
Manlafi Jarju
Tamsir Mbowe
Dominic Mendy
Alieu Ngum
Bakary Njie
Omar Njie
Susan Waffa-Ogoo
Hawa Sisay Sabally
Sana B. Sabally
Abdoulie Sallah
Hassan Sallah
Momodou Sallah
Sidy Morro Sanneh
Kebba Sanyang
Samsudeen Sarr
Cheyassin Secka
Musa Sillah
Edward Singhatey
Raymond Sock
Amina Faal Sonko
Baboucarr Jatta
Famara Jatta
Kumba Ceesay-Marenah
Mustapha Marong
Fafa Mbai
Musa Mbenga
Sulayman Mboob
Bolong Sonko
Bai Mass Taal
Fatoumatta Tambajang
Bemba Tambedou
Yankuba Touray
Crispin Grey Johnson
Antouman Saho
Lamin Bojang
Marie Saine Firdaus

Gambia: Twenty-five reasons why Yahya Jammeh Must Go

By Mathew K Jallow

Fellow Gambians, after seventeen years of murders, executions, tortures, incarceration, intimidations, the looting and plunder of Gambia’s meager financial and natural resources and living in constant fear of arrest, going to jail and death, the time has come for Gambians to take back our country and regain our rights to be a free people. The time has come for us to stand up and exercise our rights as free citizens in our own country. The time has come for us to refuse to any longer be afraid of Yahya Jammeh and his military and security criminal henchmen. The time has come for us to exercise our God-given rights to engage in the political life of our country. The time has come to free ourselves from Yahya Jammeh’s bondage by saying enough is enough; NO MORE.

Fellow Gambians, We have seen how Yahya Jammeh has turned the Gambia Public Transport busses that were given to us into his personal property. We have seen how Jammeh took the yellow sand-mining truck given to us and turned them into his personal property. We have seen how Yahya Jammeh spent one billion dalasis to educate Foni girls where he and his Jola tribesmen come from but denied the same opportunities to other Gambian girls. We have seen how Yahya Jammeh confiscated the properties of countless Gambians and turned them into his personal property. We have seen how Yahya Jammeh bought a huge 100 million dalasis mansion in Washington, DC; for his family when far too many Gambians are suffering from hunger. We have seen Yahya Jammeh build an eight storey tower for his family in Guinea-Conakry when Gambian children are rummaging dumpsters for food to eat.

Fellow Gambians, since coming to power Yahya Jammeh has brought as much harm and ruin to our country as Idi Amin Dada or Mobutu Sese Seku or his friend and mentor Moumar Khadaffi did to their countries. But today, we have an opportunity to regain our freedoms and never let Yahya Jammeh’s threats cow us into fear again. The whole world is looking to see what we will do with Yahya Jammeh. Will his threats make us recoil into our holes or will we stand up for our freedom and refuse to be victims of fear? Yahya Jammeh’s idea of governing is to make us afraid all the time so he can do whatever he wants. Let us tell Yahya Jammeh we have been afraid and intimidated for too long, but now that has to stop. Let us tell Yahya Jammeh that from now on, we refuse to be silent when fellow citizens are arrested, imprisoned or killed for nothing.

Fellow citizens, the last time we mobilized to support for Balangbaa, Gambians refused to go out to the Saturday Setsetals and the military boys and girls came out to clean the streets and stand heavily armed around town. Balangbaa scared Yahya Jammeh to the extend he talked about the movement at the National Assembly. Balangbaa is once again calling Gambians to free ourselves from slavery. By himself, Yahya Jammeh has no power. He depends on our sons and daughters, nephews and nieces, brothers and sisters, fathers and mothers, aunts and uncles, and friends and neighbors in the military for protection. This week Yahya Jammeh again threatening us by saying he will not tolerate violence when he is the only one who is guilty of bringing violence that has taken the lives of nearly hundred Gambians and fifty foreigners in our country. We Gambians have always been a peaceful people until Yahya Jammeh brought death, destruction and may-hem to our country that has ruined untold families.

Fellow Gambians, Balangbaa is asking all Gambians, especially the youth to go out on the streets by the tens of thousands to declare your own freedom by voting for Ousainou Darboe for president. Balangbaa is supporting Ousainou Darboe because he has the best chance of defeating the murderer Yahya Jammeh. Balangbaa asks the youth of Bakau, Serekunda, Sukuta, Lamin, Brikama, Brufut, Gunjur, Bwiam, Sibanor, Barra, Farafenni, Kerewan, Soma, Bansang, Kuntaur, Bansang, Basse, Fatoto and every town and village in between Koina and Kartong, and between Sutukoba and Barra to cast their votes for Ousainou Darboe. When you walk into the voting booth with your voting card, remember the twenty reasons listed below, why you MUST vote for Ousainou Darboe.

1. Since coming to power in 1994, Yahya Jammeh has murdered over one hundred Gambians and fifty foreign nationals.
2. Over twenty Gambians arrested by the NIA on the orders of Yahya Jammeh have disappeared from the face of the earth since 2005 and they are all feared murdered.
3. Yahya Jammeh ordered Deyda Hydara assassinated and to this day his family, friends and the media fraternity are mourning his tragic loss.
4. Former Finance Minister Koro Ceesay was brutally murdered on the orders of Yahya Jammeh and his body was burnt in his government issued vehicle.
5. Chief Ebrima was arrested at the Daily Observer in 2006 and never been seen again and is feared dead and Yahya Jammeh knows something about it.
6. Since January this year, Yahya Jammeh has murdered Sgt. Illo Jallow of Dungal village, Niamina; Baba Jobe of Jarra Karantaba; Dembo Sibi of Numuyel, Kantora and five children - two of them a brother and sister.
7. Since coming to power, Yahya Jammeh has exiled hundreds of Gambians to Europe, America and other West Africa countries; especially Senegal.
8. Yahya Jammeh has destroyed the civil service and all our government institutions are redundant; doing nothing because they lack guidance and resources.
9. Yahya Jammeh has employed barely educated people in most high positions in government, whose only qualifications are being of his Jola tribe.
10. Yahya Jammeh has confiscated dozens properties belonging to other Gambians and titled them to his name.
11. Yahya Jammeh bought a 100 million dalasis mansion in Washington DC for his family with money that belongs to The Gambian people.
12. Yahya Jammeh built a huge eight storey tower in Guinea-Conakry for his family with money stolen from the Gambian people.
13. Yahya Jammeh has built a palace and a supermarket in Morocco for his wife’s family with Gambia government funds.
14. There is a reign of fear in our country as everyone is scared to even mention the name of Yahya Jammeh’s in public for fear of being arrested.
15. Gambians are banned from expressing their political views vocally or through protests and demonstrations, which are our Constitutional rights.
16. Yahya Jammeh has reduced Gambia’s civil servants to slaves by coercing them to labor on his farms for free.
17. The Gambian military and security forces have become a source of cheap labor for Yahya Jammeh’s working as farmers rather than being soldiers.
18. The only jobs available to Gambian youth is in the military and security forces; which are there to protect Yahya Jammeh and keep him in power despite the fact Gambians are fed up with his regime and want change.
19. Yahya Jammeh has murdered many Gambians in the Foni area and fed their dead bodies to crocodiles in his Kanilai zoo.
20. Since 1994, over twenty Gambians arrested by the NIA have disappeared from the face of the earth and all are feared murdered.
21. In 2009 Yahya Jammeh let Guinean witch-hunters loose on innocent Gambians especially in the Kombos and Fonis and more than ten died after drinking witch-doctor medicines.
22. Since coming to power Yahya Jammeh’s speeding motorcade and biscuit throwing has killed about fifteen children and five adults.
23. Today, Gambians cannot afford three square meals a day now and hunger and starvation has become a reality for many Gambian families.
24. Everyday untold numbers of innocent Gambians are dragged into court tried and sent to prisons where many have died of diseases and hunger.
25. Yahya Jammeh runs The Gambia like his personal property owing businesses in: construction, public transportation, sand-mining, food processing, distribution of food to hotels and the open market, travel, butchery, sale of meat products, bakery, bread distribution, import & export, clearance of goods at Ports, retail stores, gas and petroleum product sales, property development, rental and sales and international investments among others. Yahya Jammeh has forced many businesses to close because they cannot compete with him.

Fellow Gambians we must make these elections mean something. If no one wins more than fifty percent of the votes, we must demand a revote for the two leading candidates. We can no longer tolerate a minority government as we have done the last three election cycles. AND REMEMBER THAT A VOTE FOR HAMAT BAH IS A VOTE FOR YAHYA JAMMEH.

Coming soon: Ten reasons why we MUST elect Ousainou Darboe President.