BY PA NDERRY M'BAI

  Elhajj Mustapha Fye, is a prominent  veteran Gambian musician, cum businessman. Mr.Fye,  who is based in Sweden, is one of those Gambians who suffered persecution and untold sufferings under President Yahya Jammeh's rule. His trouble  with Jammeh's government, started in the early days of the coup, as police arrested him  on charges of idle and disorderly conduct, amidst a confrontation he Fye had with judicial staff.  Fye,  who is happily married,  is blessed with some children.  Currently working as a Prison officer, with the Swedish State Prison, Fye narrated how he "corrupted Gambian immigration officials" just to escape from persecution in The Gambia. Mr.Fye whose passport was impounded by The Gambian police succeeded in travelling to Sweden in 1994, without a   travel document. In an exclusive interview with this paper, Fye recalled when he gave ride to Gambia's President Yahya Jammeh, who according to Fye, was poverty stricken soldie. He added that Jammeh lacked means of
 transportation prior to the July 22ND coup. Fye, says he was not surprised by Jammeh's riches, addiing that The Gambian leader was eager to amass wealth to the deteriment of the nation.  He also commented about his confisicated assets by the Jammeh government, his Libidorr band,  the return of his son to Banjul Major Omar Fye and a host of other topical issues.  Please read on.......

  AG:What can you tell us about your past experiences with the Jammeh administration?

  Elhajj Mustapha Fye:I was  in The Gambia, when the coup occured in 1994. I was on holidays in The Gambia, from Sweden. I was a  well known business man,  engaged in the sale of car spare parts, tyres and sewing machines.  I attended weekly "lumos" in The Gambia and Senegal.  I used to live in Barra. I had  a Nigerian magistrate friend Christopher Onyia, who used to buy things from me.  Before the coup he wanted to buy one my cars, the MASDA 626 Sports. He Onyia made a part payment of D12,000. After the coup, Jammeh declared that all government officials were supposed to return their GG cars to the government. Onyia returned the government car he was using and came to me and asked me to give him the car on credit. I disagreed with him on that, because I told him to comply with the agreement we had or else we cancel the sale.  He did not agree with me and attempted to  take the car from me by force. There we had a conflict and he used his position as a magistrate to get the car from
 me. He contacted the court house and the Nigerian ambassador who urged the government to take the car from me.

  AG:Were  you arrested following your confrontation with Magistrate Onyia?

  Fye:After we had that conflict, I returned to Sweden and he filed a suit in the courts behind me. I was not in town and was never served to appear in court. A  judgement was delivered in my absence, while I was in Sweden to ship another container to The Gambia. I was informed while in Sweden,  that the court had passed a  judgement and Onyia was granted a writ of fifa. The said writ of fifa was forwarded to the  Sheriff's bailiff office under the leadership of Pa Ali  Ceesay. There was an execution done in my absence. They went to my compound in Barra and took two  of my cars and belongings in the house, while my family were watching TV. They emptied the house and left. They said they were ordered by the court to sell my properties. All my house belongings were sold at the Barra ferry terminal. They claimed to have recorded a sale of D4,000 dalasis, when the said items worth over 40 to D50,000 dalasis.  The cars were taken to the court house.  I was given a  deadline of one month
 to pay Onyia the sum  of D12,000 dalasis. The said car cost D35,000 dalasis.

  AG:What happened to the other cars? Did you succeed in getting them back?

  Fye:Upon my returned from Sweden, I went to the baliff's office and met with one Ali Bah, Mr.Jammeh, Sarr and their boss Pa Ali Ceesay. I asked them why they failed to take the car which brought the problem and refrained  from taking my household belongings. Pa Ali and these boys reacted angrily on me when I accused them of cheating and stealing my belongings.  They later reported me to the police and the police impounded my passport at that time. They asked me when I was supposed to return to Sweden and I told them in three weeks time. They impounded my Gambian passport and arrested me. They charged me for idle  and disorderly conduct. I was later granted bail.

  AG:How do you managed to find yourself in Sweden,  after all these controversies and accusations levelled against you by the state?

  Fye:Well, I gambled at the time. I will call it gamble, because I went to the airport and took the risk of submitting my air ticket to get a  boarding pass. I also corrupted the immigration  police officers, who were on duty at that time and then went into the transit room. I was very lucky that they were taking boarding passes to go into the plane at the time. I just joined the public without a passport and luckily boarded the Spies Flight bound for Sweden.

  AG:Mr.Fye, you are making very interesting revelations against the immigration police officers at the airport.  How much money did you induced them to find your way in  Sweden?

  Fye:I think it was roughly about D2000 dalasis and  was given to different officers. They were very nice to me. They all know me personally.  I was the managing proprietor of  the Libidorr band in The Gambia and as such they give me respect and allowed me get into the transit room. Most of them were teasing me by asking me when I was going to reunite the Libidorr band in The Gambia.

  AG:What happened at the Sweden airport? Where you allowed passage by the Swedish immigration without a passport?

  Fye:Well, actually I was allowed, because I was able to furnish them with my ID numbers and the circumstances that compelled my presence there. I told them that my passport was impounded in The Gambia and as such I didn't have travelling documents. They later confirmed my information in their system-that everything was correct.  I was later allowed to get in Sweden. I later borrowed an amount of money equivalent to the sum of  D20,000, which I sent to the court to pay the magistrate. They even threatened to sell my compound at the time. They later returned the cars to my wife and family in Barra, when I paid the said D20,000 to them. In making a conclusion to all this, I found this regime to be very, very unfair, full of hatrate and grudge towards their fellow Gambians. The reason why,  I came to such conclusion is that all these boys know me personally. Yankuba Touray was playing football together with two of my younger brothers,  Ibra  Jeng and Tamsir Jeng for the NPE football
 club. I also remembered giving Yahya Jammeh a  ride from The Gambia High School area to Baku Depot. During my first encounter with him and he  told me that it was rare for people to give ride to others and he appreciated my gesture. I remember him thanking me and he appeared "discipline  and nice to me."  He waved at me when he alighted from my car. He was begging for lift,  as  many of the people he waived refused to give him ride. At the time, he was in uniform. To my surprise and utter dismay, the person I gave ride Yahya Jammeh,  is today misbehaving towards Gambians.  Yankuba was always in our compound and each time he came to the house, he will greet me.

  AG:You said prior to the July 22ND coup, you gave ride to President Jammeh. Now the same Jammeh's is today being ranked as one of the richest leaders on the African continent. Were you surprised about the so called wealth amassed by Jammeh,  in a span of eleven years? Is this the "poor " Yahya Jammeh you used to know?

  Fye:Oh yes, this is the same Yahya Jammeh I knew. This was the same Yahya Jammeh,  I gave ride. He was very "polite"  at the time and he knew my family. He was telling me that Mr.fye, "people are very bad in this country", quoting my own past experiences as libidorr band owner.  He told me "I hope next time, you will expose your eyes and know who these crooks are" He harboured a  lot of grudges against the former government. At the time, he was leaving behind the compounds at the  ST.Augustine's High School. He was really a poor guy, when I was giving him ride. I'm not surprised by his wealth. This was a person who was in a hurry to be wealthy and today Gambians are living witnesses to his so called wealth. It is a shame for him to declare that he is giving gifts to Gambians, when we all know  that the said funds are  coming to him in the name of The Gambian people. He decided to personalise such funds.


  AG:Not long ago, we heard that your son major Omar Fye, had  visited Banjul, amidst reports that he had reconciled with Jammeh. Do you feel disappointed about major Fye's action?

  Fye:I'm not disappointed in the sense that, Omar is a full grown up person and had the right to take his own decisions, as I could have accepted the same from my own family. But I will quick to add that this Omar Fye, we know is a man, who is widely respected within our family. He is a man of peace within the family. If Omar should join this regime, the message we can give  him is that,  he should be very, very careful not to allow Jammeh to use him to create enemies for him in The Gambia. We are from a compound, where our parents had done a great job in The Gambia, whether acknowledged by Gambians or  not.  Our parents have never shirked their responsibility of telling the country's leaders the truth. This includes Sheik Omar Fye, a grand father  to Omar and Tijan Fye, the father of Omar Fye.  It was Tijan who used to openly tell President Jawara the truth. All Gambians can attest to this fact. Anything beside peace, he should not allow Jammeh to use him for his own selfish gains.


  AG:It is alleged that  Imam Alhagie Muntaha Fye,  facilitated Omar's reconciliation with Jammeh, even though, he Muntaha had vehemently denied such reports. What is your stake on this?

  Fye:Actually, I for one, will not accuse him,  because Omar is a full grown person who can decide for himself. But on the other hand, people have their human rights to speculate what has transpired, because Omar is a younger brother to Muntaha and I'm a father to both of them. Muntaha,  as an Imam must also try to accept criticism because the prophet was criticised by his own people. The fact that the people said that he facilitated Omar's reconciliation with Jammeh should not make him angry, if he had not participated on it.

  AG:Being a prominent Gambian musician, what can you tell us about The Gambian music industry. What are the challenges and the shortcomings?

  Fye:I'm the managing proprietor of the Libidorr band of  The Gambia. This band was formed in November of 1984 and the band had played in so many places in The Gambia and Senegal. At one point, I got some financial difficulties to manage the band, but I kept my contacts with my musicians. They often visited me at my compound, until the time I came to sudden. When I newly started playing music, my relatives advised me to stopped, citing religious and cultural fanaticism. At the time, I was able to play few chords on the keyboard. I suspended operating the band.  When I came to Sweden, I took up the interest again,  to study more musical chords and to know the guitar. Today, I play both keyboard and the guitar.  I found it very, very interesting that both the keyboard and the guitar are the same. If one can learn the chromatics to separate the naturals and the non naturals, then there is a possibility to know the chords, within the guitar and the keyboard.  It is also imperative for
 one to know the major chords and the minor chords.  And also to know the root note or  (scale) of every music you want to play.

  AG:What are you doing to revive the Libidorr band?

  Fye:I'm working very hard on that. It was unfortunate that their are people speculating that I'm not a musician. I invite such people to Libidorr future performance either in Europe or the United States to come and see me in   action. I'm planning to back Musa  Ngum in the future. I have discussed this with Musa and I'm working very hard to get  him over here,  so that my band can back him.


  AG:Being a state prison officer in Sweden, how are The Gambian community perceiving you out there?  Do they feel comfortable mingling with you?


  Fye:Perhaps,  their are some people, who do not have heart feeling for me, but may be  their are  some people who could harbour some grudges for me, but then who cares. Most people always say,  if you work as a law enforcement officer, you should not be trusted. I for one, could say that who cares. I worked  hard to feed my family. If you are honest, why should you be afraid of law enforcement officers?  Let me tell you Pa Nderry, The Gambian community abroad are not united and we are throwing dirt against one another. In such a situation, it is very easy for others to frame their fellow country men. I don't have much time to go into people's business.  I  look  after  my business and my family. Period.

  AG:On a final note, what message do you have for Jammeh?

  Fye: My message to Jammeh is to tell him that let him humble himself and reconcile with Gambians, because he had wronged  and hurt many Gambians over the years. He should avoid sawing seeds of discords in the country, which could lead to crisis in The Gambia. I hope the people surrounding him will try to give him more advise to bring peace into the country.

  AG:Thanks you very much Mr.Fye for granting us this interview.

  Fye:Well Pa Nderry,  I have to thank you very much for taking your time to interview me. I wish you good luck with all your endeavours in the field of journalism. I  have no doubt in your professionalism in reporting about our country. I think all Gambians will give you full support with this progressive job you are doing.  May ALLAH  (SWT) bless you and your family.


  The author is the former Secretary General of The Gambia press Union and also a former Voice of America radio Banjul Correspondent. Mr. M'Bai who now resides in the US State of North Carolina Raleigh was a leading political and crime reporter with the Point and Daily Observer newspapers respectively. He can be reached by email at the following addresses: [log in to unmask], [log in to unmask] or [log in to unmask]














---------------------------------
 Yahoo! Model Search  - Could you be the next catwalk superstar? Check out the competition now

¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤
To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L Web interface
at: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/gambia-l.html

To Search in the Gambia-L archives, go to: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/CGI/wa.exe?S1=gambia-l
To contact the List Management, please send an e-mail to:
[log in to unmask]
¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤