(JollofNews) – Liberia’s president Ellen Johnson Sirleaf has expressed anger and disappointment at President Yahya Jammeh of the Gambia for recording and broadcasting their private phone conversation.
Mrs Sirleaf accused Mr Jammeh of playing games.
“At the time he called me, I was thinking that he was going to find a way out of this and he was going to be able to work with the [mediation] team but clearly, clearly it was just a game. It was just a ruse on his part,” she told the BBC Focus On Africa Programme.
On Sunday, Mr Jammeh telephoned Mrs Sirleaf, chairperson of the regional bloc Ecowas, and appealed to her to help provide Supreme Court judges to preside over his election petition.
In the phone conversation which was broadcast on state television, Mr Jammeh said he want to resolve the election dispute peacefully through the court in line with the provisions of the Gambian constitution.
He also told Mrs Sirleaf that he had filed an injunction at the supreme court, which the Chief Justice today declined to hear.
But Sirleaf said it is unfortunate that Mr Jammeh had recorded the conversation without advising her of his intention.
“Unfortunately, being the person that he is, he recorded and televised the conversation without advising me of his intent to do so,” she said.
“Let me make it very, very clear. There is no change in Ecowas’s position. The constitution of the Gambia must be respected. My only duty was to take his appeal and pass it on to the mediating team.”
Jammeh is no longer a night criminal, now a day criminal and soon we will handcurf him.
He dont deserve to even live in The Gambia for what he has done and i’m really not sure what other sane country would accept him to live in their country. Take him out and whoever wants to join him because The Gambia is for peace and he needs to leave for peace to start.
He is crazy and greedy. The man is hiding a lot and dont wznt to step down because of charges made against him. The Gambia be a better country without him as he hasn’t done anything for the country and the people of The Gambia, people have been suffering due to he’s greediness and he only pleases himself. Not only that but we need to give other people chances and develope The Gambia to be a place where none if the citizens are suffering and can be free and safe at the same time. Please take this joker out and let the country become a Beautiful country not just for the tourists but for the Gambians too they deserve it so much as there has not been any freedom since he became president in the first place and the Gambians dont want to be afraid no more of him thats why he got voted out. The Gambia needs a change asap and when he is gone its going to be the best change in the Gambia for the greatest. I wish The Gambia all the luck in the world and enjoy the beginning of a brighter future for the children.
The day the monkey is destined to die, all trees get slippery. Its a known fact the world over that the Gambia is not a banana republic. It is governed by law and Jammeh’s attempt to armtwist the constitution only ended up exposing his true character. Pathetic to say the least!
Our Father who art in Heaven, Hallowed be Thy name Thy Kingdom come.
Father have mercy upon us, Your children here in our beloved country, The Gambia.
We have decided, irrespective of our religious background, to stand together as One Gambia, One People, One Power, under the leadership of our choice President, Mr. Adama Barrow. You stood for us and gave us the courage to make the decision. The result turned out successfully in our favour. We thank You for answering our prayers. Father, we pray for a peaceful transition of power. Bless both Yaya Jammeh and Adama Barrow according to your will. Let there be peace in our land. Oh God, save us in Jesus Name, Ameen.
(CNN) — Around 1,000 people accused of being witches in Gambia have been locked up in secret detention centers and forced to drink a dangerous hallucinogenic potion, according to human rights organization Amnesty International.
Amnesty claims Gambian President Yahya Jammeh, pictured in 2006, invited “witch doctors” to the West African nation.
Amnesty claims Gambian President Yahya Jammeh, pictured in 2006, invited “witch doctors” to the West African nation.
At least two people have died after drinking the liquid while many more have suffered serious kidney problems. Others suffered injuries as a result of being severely beaten, Amnesty said Wednesday as it called on authorities to “put an immediate stop to the witch-hunting campaign.”
Amnesty claimed Gambian President Yahya Jammeh had invited “witch doctors” — believed to be from neighboring Guinea — to the West African nation following the death of his aunt.
Jammeh, a former soldier who has ruled Gambia since leading a military coup in 1994, is reported to believe that witchcraft was involved in her death, according to Amnesty.
CNN contacted State House, the presidential residence in the Gambian capital, Banjul, but no-one was available to comment. “I have no information,” a woman told CNN.
Victims and their relatives tell Amnesty that “witch doctors” accompanied by police, soldiers and security forces have been visiting villages and seizing people accused of being witches by force and at gunpoint.
Members of Jammeh’s personal guard, known as “green boys,” are also alleged to have taken part in the campaign.
In the most recent incident on March 9, 300 people from the village of Sintet were forced to go to a farm owned by Jammehk, Amnesty said.
One of those seized said he had been held for five days and forced to drink “dirty water” containing poisonous herbs which caused instant diarrhoea and vomiting.
“I experienced and witnessed such abuse and humiliation. I cannot believe that this type of treatment is taking place in Gambia. It is from the dark ages,” the victim told Amnesty.
Hundreds of Gambians have also fled to neighboring Senegal following attacks on their villages, according to Amnesty.
It also said it was concerned that a prominent opposition lawmaker, Halifa Sallah, who was arrested earlier this month after investigating the witchcraft claims for a newspaper, could be at risk of being tortured while in custody.
Halifa, a former presidential candidate, heads the People’s Democratic Organization of Independence and Socialism and is minority leader in Gambia’s national assembly. E-mail to a friend E-mail to a friend | Mixx it
JAMMEH SHOULD REPENT
Please! Please! dear supporters of Yahya Jammeh withdraw your support for the sake of mankind,for the sake of country and for the sake of freedom and justice for our people. Yes, Yahya may have brought some development for some in the country but it came with a higher price to our freedoms and liberties. The freedom of speech,freedom of assembly, freedom from fear all came to mind as we all know these freedoms were never accorded to us all Gambians as stipulated in our constitution. How many of you the supporters had been detained,imprisoned,fired,demoted,character assassinated on flimsy charges or even on flimsy suspicions. Sam Sarr and M A Bah came to mind. What is stopping you two gentlemen from abandoning Jammeh. Is it status, wealth or fear that is stopping you from doing the right and honourable thing and abandon Yahya Jammeh. What erased the memories of all the injustices you two faced in the hand of Yahya Jammeh? Are you two who were disgraced,imprisoned then pardoned and recycled back to become his pet dogs? or are you men of courage,men of vision and men who as ex – soldiers will remain forever loyal to the country whom you once swore to defend even with your lives. How can you defend the indefensible? How dare you go against the will of the Gambian people and the will of God? How do you support the continuation of the status quo? more arrest without charge, more disappearances without trace, more widows and widowers, more killings of opponents, critics and perceived enemies, more rapes, tortures and all kind of inhumane treatment.
Please gentlemen, do us all a favor and stop backing this evil adventure of Jammeh. With your support to Jammeh can lead to a countless loss of life of innocent Gambians and non Gambians and a considerable destruction of property
For the sake of country please i implore all Jammeh’s supporters to see sense. War only destroy but never fix anything and its fury is blind, can’t distinguish who will die or who will live.
It is never too late to do the right thing.
Long Live The Gambia and its people!
MR. JAMMEH, REMEMBER, IF YOU BYPASS YOUR RESPECT, YOU WILL SURELY MEET YOUR DISGRACE AHEAD. THE LIBERIAN PEOPLE HAVE A SAYING, THE BAMBOO THAT IS READY TO DIE WILL NOT LISTEN TO THE SOUND OF A WHISTLE. ONLY FOOLS CAN QUICKLY FORGET, WHEN PRESIDENT SAMUEL DOE WAS ADVISED TO LEAVE THE COUNTRY HE REFUSED AND YOU KNOW ABOUT IT, BECAUSE YOU SERVED AS ECOMOG ON THE GAMBIAN CONTINGENT IN LIBERIA. YOU KNOW HOW DOE STORY ENDED, YOURS IS ABOUT TO END THE SAME WAY. LISTEN TO THIS PARABLE, IT RAINED THE WHOLE NIGHT AND THE DRUM DIDN’T GET FILL WITH WATER, WILL YOUR TEARS FILL IT DOING THE DAY? STOP FOOLING YOURSELF AND RELINQUISH POWER TO THE PEOPLE.
It is about time that african heads of state respect the will of the country. Gambia is more important than any single individual. The people have decided