Former President Yahya Jammeh of the Gambia has vehemently rejected rape allegations against him by a former beauty queen, with a statement from his party saying the accusations are part of a smear campaign “aimed at tarnishing the good reputation of Gambia’s legendary and visionary leader.”
According to The New York Times, Mr Jammeh who led a brutal regime in Gambia for 22 years, was accused by Fatou Jallow, whom he crowned as beauty queen, of raping her five years ago after she turned down his marriage proposal. She was 18 at the time.
But his party, the Alliance for Patriotic Reorientation and Construction (APRC), said in a statement emailed to The New York Times that, “The APRC, as a Party, and the Gambian people are tired of the steady stream of unfounded allegations that have been reported against our ex-President.”
The statement from the president’s party, by the deputy party leader, Ousman Rambo Jatta, came in response to an article in The New York Times last week in which Ms. Jallow came forward publicly for the first time to accuse the president of rape.
The statement said that Ms. Jallow’s account contained “no iota of truth,” and claimed that the accusations were orchestrated by Western corporations. It noted that Mr. Jammeh is still the party’s leader. world,” and noted that he had enacted laws to abolish the practice of female genital mutilation.
Fatou “Toufah” Jallow’s testimony is part of a Human Rights Watch and Trial International report that details another alleged rape and sexual assault by Mr Jammeh, 54.
Ms Jallow said she was 18 when she met Mr Jammeh after winning a beauty pageant in 2014 in the capital, Banjul.
In the months following her coronation, she said the former president acted as a father figure when they met, offering her advice, gifts and money, and also organising for running water to be installed in her family home.
Then at a dinner organised by an aide to the president, she says he asked her to marry him. She refused and rebuffed other enticements from the aide to agree to the offer.
Ms Jallow said the aide then insisted she attend a religious ceremony at State House in her role as beauty queen in June 2015. But when she arrived, she was taken to the president’s private residence.
“It was clear what this was going to be,” she said, describing Mr Jammeh’s anger at her for rejecting him.
Ms Jallow says he slapped her and injected her in her arm with a needle.
“He rubbed his genitals in my face, pushed me down to my knees, pulled my dress up and sodomised me.”
Ms Jallow told journalists that she wanted to meet Mr Jammeh in court so he could face justice.
“I’ve really tried to hide the story and erase it and make sure it’s not part of me. Realistically I couldn’t so I decided to speak now because it is time to tell the story and to make sure that Yayha Jammeh hears what he has done.”
She said she also wanted to testify before The Gambia’s Truth, Reconciliation and Reparations Commission (TRRC), which has been set up by President Adama Barrow, who won elections in December 2016.
The TTRC is investigating human rights violations alleged to have been committed during Mr Jammeh’s 22-year rule, including reports of extrajudicial killings, torture and arbitrary detention.
He was forced from office in January 2017 after regional powers sent in troops when he refused to give up power.
If someone accuses me of RAPE, I will boldly and confidently call a press conference and DENY such serious allegations in person. I am not going to send a guy by the name RAMBO to defend me.
Jammeh is a LIAR.
He raped Ms Jallow and most Gambians know it.
A visitor to The Gambia for the whole of Jammehs reign the rumours and stories abounded getting more gory each year! Everyone knew what was going on but people were paralysed to say/do anything ! Fear held them in a state of whisper even in their own homes and compounds ! Walls have ears! And informers( for money) were everywhere! It was a well known thing that Jammeh was a lover of young girls and dark things ! He did a lot for the country in many ways ! But considering he started with a modest salary he left with a fortune! He was in the moment with his whims and wants and I for one believe the minute by second recall of the young girl in question ! An actress could not have relived and recalled the way that she did in her testamony ! From the heart!
Deny, deny, deny Jammeh, but you will have to pay for your crimes someday, sooner or later.
Ms Jallow maybe a LIAR to sqeeze money from her sponsors or to acquire Canadian citizenship. We haven’t heard any bonafide evidence from third parties to attest her accusation.
In as much as we condemn rapists, womanizers and harassers, we equally condemn liars and false accusers. Both are violators of our good standards and stand to lose any positioning.
Stop blind supports for matters you have no knowledge of.
According to UN statistics 1 in 3 women are victims of violence against women ( VAW ). In Gambia it is much higher, 4 in 5.
VAW and SGBV are well documented and generally accepted as norms in our society. We need to do better as a society to train our SONS to grow and become better MEN than their fathers. If I ask on this platform how many of the guys witnessed BEATINGS, INSULTS, NEGLECT in their homes as they grew up. Take a guess.
To those casting aspersions on Ms Jallow and mounting a campaign to destroy her good name and character.
Remember she is somebody’s CHILD.
There is a rumor that Yahya Jammeh is returning to Gambia. Very good. I pray he does, so that he can experience the full weight of the anger and disgust that Gambians have towards him.
For me, I only hope I see him on the street one day. I can’t wait to give him a vicious SLAP.
Simmer down.
This rumour is gathering pace. Apparently, Mr Barrow’s administration has been engaged in secret talks with President Obiang for the return of Mr Jammeh as a private citizen. What the motivations are for such a deal is anyone’s guess, but it would seem that President Barrow, in his determination to win any future elections and stay in office beyond 2021, is looking towards the APRC to defeat any serious challengers. Mr Jammeh, therefore, is an important card to play for President Barrow. Time will tell how this pans out for both President Barrow and Mr Jammeh, as well as the whole nation, if it is true.
Frankly, I’m shocked at the silence of Babu Soli at this info, even if just a rumour.
Adama is an insincere fellow. He would shed blood just to stay in power beyond December 2019. We won’t let him and his cronies hold us to ransom. Those sitting on the fence on this issue, and are not making their voices heard are directly contributing to the entrenchment of political dishonesty, the daylight plundering of our coffers, the bastardization of our democratic gains and chronic underdevelopment.
Cozying up to a killer, a thieve and a serial rapist is rubbing salt to the raw injuries of his victims and their families. That’s immorality of the highest order.
Trying to make political capital out of our national tragedy is nauseating and disgusting to say the least. Yaya Jammeh stepping his feet on Gambia without a judicial process will be the perfect recipe for mob justice. It will be anarchy the like of which Gambia has never seen before. The incident with Yankuba will pale in comparison to the siege that will be laid on Kanilai.
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You can take that to the bank, as the Anerikkkans would say.
Yes dictator jammeh will rubbish all the claims by his victims, but he need to do more to prove his innocent. Generally dictators abused power and silence people for their alleged misconduct, and they will go beyond their jurisdiction to scared and intimidation. We have a little room to believe yaya jammeh than his victims.
Bax,
I’m silent about President Jammeh’s return because as you said, they are rumours. It’s really difficult for me to make judgement, or give my candid opinion on rumours. Especially Gambian rumours. One thing is indeed certain about rumours emanating from administrative circles. Normally they become true. Take the case of Ousainou Darboe’s sacking. It was a rumour months before it materialized. So I am never in the mood of making judgement on rumours.
As for President Jammeh’s return, I have my opinion well before it was rumoured. That is he asked Ex-President Jawara to return and accorded him all the vested powers of a retired President. So Jammeh deserves the same rights, opportunities and privileges.
Ok Babu, your position on rumours is fair enough.
My view on Jammeh’s return is that it can happen, but needs to be managed properly and at the right time. I think it is too soon to even be talking about it, never mind agreeing to it.
The transition process MUST be completed and most, if not all transition programmes and/or recommendations fully implemented, before we can even consider Jammeh’s return to the country.
Indeed, Jammeh allowed Jawara back, but well after he had fully consolidated his rule and rendered Jawara and the PPP completely “toothless”, as a political force in the country.
Moreover Jammeh, unlike Jawara, has left a record that has divided society and has the potential to threaten our stability, if he comes back now. In short, the time is not right to allow Jammeh back and Mr Barrow will be making a fatal error, if he thinks he can use Jammeh to advance his political ambitions.
Mwalimu,
Let’s start from the roots of the matter. I hardly listen to the TRRC deliberations though my family is very much interested in them. I have friends, families and belong to three social Forums that give me much information on the deliberations. I learn a lot from these parties.
Mwalimu, I despise the TRRC and don’t recognize it. It is a money-wasting establishment, a point-for-digression from real issues; the growing economic and social hardships and a neocolonialist and witch-huntiing corrupt formation.
I’ve never heard of a TRRC whose commissioners dish out land and money to witnesses for saying what they want to hear from them. I’ve never heard of a TRRC that would deny the appearance of bonafide witnesses while according othesr two rounds of appearances. That is the whole conundrum of corruption, biasness, incompetence, nepotism, injustice and tribalism.
I don’t take the testimonies to be serious.
Babu, you are entitled to deny the obvious. In other words, no one can stop you from calling the sun a moon. The fact however, remains that, Yaya Jammeh has visited untold suffering unto hundreds or even thousands of Gambians by way of repression and deprivation. He has raped, tortured, killed and mutilated corpses. Of course he did this with the participation of our fellow Gambian brothers and sisters. On the economic front, he has robbed the country of billions to live a a lavish life style and “philanthropy”. Both him and his circle of criminal operatives should face justice.
You might have a problem or a dislike of the institution of TRRC. As a responsible person, you should pick up these issues with this national body. That’s fully within your prerogative as a tax paying citizen. You could petition the MoJ to reprimand or even dismiss those allegedly involved in any kind of misconduct as an employee of The Gambia government.
The same rights and privileges are but equally accorded to Yayas’ victims and their loved ones. They have a right to justice and they have a right to be heard.
Am disappointed that the love you claim for the down trodden of our country is not extended to those who were wrongfully incarcerated by Yaya for years. Those young lives prematurely taken. Those deprived of their properties. Those vulnerable ones taken advantage of. Those who still can’t find their voice. The women and men who has to endure days and nights of terror, not knowing what next.
Can’t you feel their pain?
TRRC is not a court proceeding place, it is summoned by the head of the state on the mission of finding the truths and reconciliation and find ways to prevent it from happening again. Yes UN support it also TRRC can supenoe anyone they believe fail to comply to the summon, again they can fine individuals who defines the summon. Any one who chooses to challenge TRRC should know that the matters will be handle by the court, this is my little legal advice.
One can always know what kind of a person a writer is, from the total sum of their writings and the motivation underneath. In total I personally doubt that Babu believe most of the things he writes about Yahya Jammeh. In part his writings are designed to provoke response and dialogue.
Babu knows who Jammeh is as we all do.
A murderer
A thief and
A rapist
As per the nuisance value, we need this dialogue . Can you imagine how monotonous and boring a platform such as this will be without a cantankerous Babu Soli – (stage name) obvious the real Babu surfaces once in a while when we discuss Gambia suffering.
I totally disagree with Babu views concerning Yahya Jammeh.
Babu needs to stop using BAD language and INSULTS so much.
But I like and love the old man.
Mwalimu,
Why are you so defiant in calling a spade a spade. Why are you so defiantly blind in saying the good that President Jammeh did in 22 years in contrast to the evil/the bad the Jawara administration did in 33 years; the worst the present HOPELESS Adama Barrow has done in 3 years.
Please make a pradigmatic comparison of the year by year achievements of the four administrations: the British colonial misrule, the Jawara PPP blunder, the President Jammeh achievements and the horrendous Barrow gang of block-headed administrators. Then you’ll stop your incessant criticisms of President Jammeh who is still loved back home.
Denying my people’s economic and social progress for 33 years plus 3 years tantamounts to abusing their rights as human beings; their human rights. These denials are more letal than the lack of any form of freedom.
We were denied everything under Jawara and continue to be denied under this bad administration.
Dr Isatou Sarr,
Please advise unruly contributors to stop provoking Old Pa Babu Soli with foul language and insults. Because Babu will definitely respond. No doubt about that.