(JollofNews) – The leader of Gambia’s National Democratic Action Movement (NDAM), Lamin Waa Juwara, has used an interview with JollofNews to justify his decision to serve as commissioner and minister in the regime of former President Yahya Jammeh.
“If there is any justification for my acceptance of Jammeh’s appointment, it will be the road to survival,” he told our reporter at his residence in Brikama.
“I had two options at my disposal. I either leave the country or pretend to accept the offer when I actually did not.”
Mr. Juwara said those who never lived under dictatorship can never understand the cruelty of Jammeh’s rule.
He added: “If I had turned down Jammeh’s offer and flee the country, it would still remain the same because political critics would say I ran away and abandoned the struggle to bring down the Jammeh regime.
“To me, it made sense to pretend to join him [Jammeh] when in the actual reality, I hated him and his regime. My acceptance of his appointment was an undercover one in a different form and I would have been proud to terminate Jammeh’s regime after all the inhumane wrongs he had mated on the Gambian people.”
Mr. Juwara is one of the most charismatic politicians in the Gambia. He is the only Gambian to have served as commissioner in all the country’s seven administrative regions. He has also served as an independent member of the parliament during PPP government of Sir Dawda Jawara.
Following the overthrow of the Jawara regime in July 1994, he became a vocal critic of the Jammeh regime leading to his arrest, torture and detention.
“I begin to fight Jammeh undercover, which he came to realise and sacked me and threw me in prison and my survival to that very best depended on a few prison officers,” he said.
“Interestingly, the magistrate who sentenced me was different from the two magistrates who tried me. In fact, the magistrate admitted to me that Jammeh ordered him to sentence me to three years under very strict warning of what may happen to him if he fails to execute that order.
“The Jammeh leadership went to a point that people can no longer survive under his dictatorship and the only thing they could do was to conform to his appointments just to secure survival option.”
Mr friend, you were indeed a very brave and clever man. God Bless you and give you more strength.
I’m sorry, but that’s a very lame excuse, Honourable. You suffered at Jammeh’s hands, no doubt, but at the end of the day, you became a collaborator and that will remain with you forever.
Your decision to join Jammeh, and become a vociferous critic of the opposition, actually strengthened his hand and prolonged his rule, whilst further weakening the opposition.
And we remember how you launched your political career: winning as an independent opposition to PPP, but cross carpeting straightaway to enjoy the benefits of government.
So, please do us all a favour: relaunch your political, favour currying comeback, in any way, shape or form you may deem appropriate, but DO NOT insult our intelligence.
Joining Jammeh was neither strategic, nor for any undercover work, but purely selfish on your part, which, unfortunately, is the legacy of your political career.
You are committed to nothing but one thing alone: Waa Juwara. And that’s a tragedy, because you have been a public figure for many, many years and deserve a better legacy than many in that area.
Bax, what a wonderful eulogy you have written for Waa’s political career.
Juwara, just as I expected you showed yourself for who some of us know you are. That is some patronizing BS fit for those market women you have been playing with. You are unfit. Do us a favor. Resign!
God Bless The Gambia.
I’m sorry for mr waa juwara, with all the experience he went through jammehs regime, my best advised is now to retired and look after him self.
Tafel: At one stage Waa was near starvation and destitution. Waa is a very strong man and survived Mile 2, incessant torture and beatings,,and like so many, no one single person came to his assistance. Not even all the Foreign Ambassadors and High Commissioners of limited human conscience. Through it all they took tea in the afternoon after a round of Golf at Fadjara. I think most Gambians and opposition were looking the other way and went blind in one eye.
I like Waa,,,,I wish I had just 10% of his incredible courage.
In fact this Waa is a more deadly dictator than Yahya Jammeh. Waa needs to be reminded the cruelty and havoc he wrecked against innocent Gambians when he was serving as commissioner, especially in Lower River Division. Yahya Jammeh recognised his skills in robbing innocent Gambians of their landed properties through the old files, a trick he has been practicing on a daily basis when he was a commissioner. He got less than what he actually deserved.
Gambian; you are never short in coming forward. I think Gambia should build a concentration camp for all who stand accused of surviving the machinations of the tyrant. Some chose life when death was not even considered martyrdom.. A strange condition known only to self righteous Gambians. So I guess you still have a working pair of testicles and you don’t carry the bodily and mental scars of defiance.
Lucky brave you.
Mike! why are you talking like that? I’m surprised by your sudden flush of hot temper. Or do you actually mean; a working pair of spectacles?
I’m sorry for Waa knowing about all the horror you revealed he went through but he is not the only such victim. There were other brave ones like Shingle Nyassi and many more. Isn’t it? And what about innocent citizens who died from been forced to gulp on dangerous herbal drugs …. Eh. I don’t think anyone is claiming to be a “brave me” here, neither having a pair of glistening working spectacles …ok?
Mike, you and Waa have those pairs i beleive but it never stopped you from feeding on innocent Gambians flesh and blood whilst serving the dictator. So you are all better off shoting up you A***.
Nwaa Juwara has not said anything yet that could make us excuse his betrayal of the nation and the people. If he said he decided to join Jammeh because of the betrayal from some elements in the opposition camp and the immense anger that generated in him, then I Fabaks could at least understand that because that has been my suspicion about his action all alone. But the talk of survival tactic as the reason for him joining his own enemy and that of the people ? I cannot buy that from Nwaa. I think he’s been economical with the truth with the hope that he may be given a chance by the current regime to have another taste of the sweets of power which he is known to have been craving all his life. His life was not threatened in anyway at the time he decided to join the tyrant, Yahya Jammeh.
Survival tactics to the point of insulting your former colleagues in the the opposition and even justifying execution of prisoners by the tyrant ? He cannot say he was forced to do that. And what kind of tactic is that ? and how could that weaken the rule of the tyrant ?
Jack I need to change my glasses. I can’t say “I should have gone to specsavers” As I bin dare last time. I should just follow the rest and turn a blind eye.
Mike, you and Waa have those pairs i beleive but it never stopped you from feeding on innocent Gambians flesh and blood whilst serving the dictator. So you are all better off shoting up you A***.
In fact this notion of Yahya arresting or torturing people for rejecting his appointments is a ferse. There are a number of Gambians who were at one point or the other offered jobs by Yahya. They rejected it and noting happened to them. It is mostly the greedy ones, a la Scales, Juwara, who lobby for jobs and later want to make a U-turn who sent to the gallows fir economic crimes
Waa should not have joined Yaya`s government. That was his lowest point in the struggle against the tyrant ruler. More so, Waa`s praise singing Yaya`s name and his (Yaya) love for the Gambian people, was really disappointing to say the least. Waa could have rejected the ministerial post and leave the country and continued fighting the enemy from outside the Gambia (just like many more exiled Gambians did!).
Waa keep quite you have sold your dignity to serve the dictator,your claims are ridiculous.
The Lion sleeps tonight…Good health and long life my friend.
A friend is a friend is a friend.
Nobody should be suprised that he is calling himself a “wild animal”, the breed as Jammeh and co.
Roar !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Why does 20th Century Fox use the roaring Lion in its logo, when calling itself Fox ?
He should rather call himself RAWANDU than MBARODI.