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Subject:
From:
"Movement for restoration of democracy in Gambia [NY]" <[log in to unmask]>
Reply To:
The Gambia and related-issues mailing list <[log in to unmask]>
Date:
Tue, 24 Jul 2001 20:45:24 EDT
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This was culled from the Independent:
 
About 60 ministers in seven years President Jammeh's hiring and firing 
syndrome 
Since the country's political status quo changed in July 1994, fifty nine 
ministers have been changed - either fired re-deployed to other ministries or 
died while in state service. The pattern of hiring and firing by President 
Jammeh had ensured that an average of one minister is fired every six months. 
Of the ministries whose name has since changed to departments following the 
transition to democracy in 1996, the Attorney General's Chambers has been the 
most embattled by the hiring and firing syndrome, with seven individuals 
serving from July 1994 to date. Following Amie Bensouda's short-lived stint 
as acing Attorney General before she was re-deployed Fafa Mbai was appointed.
He was to be sacked later for alleged tax evasion and dubious monetary 
transfer involving huge sums into his personal accounts. He made way for 
Mustapha Marong who was also re-deployed. Musa Bittaye who was a July 22nd 
executive member took over the department for just a little over three months 
before Hawa Sisay-Sabally was appointed. Fatou Bom Bensouda served before she 
was replaced by Pap Cheyassin Secka whose stint was one of the most 
controversial in the wake of last year's student unrest and the flurry of 
constitutional amendments that continued after his sacking. The departments 
of Finance and Trade are the second most affected by the spate of cabinet 
reshuffles with each registering six ministers in as many years. 
The two most eventful stints at the Finance ministry has been the appointment 
of Bakary Bunja Babo then regarded as a political survivor of the putsche, 
which saw the old order written off and Ousman Koro Ceesay who died in the 
most mysterious of circumstances just days before he was supposed to read the 
1995 budget. Bakary Dabo was sacked and subsequently detained for an alleged 
part in the November 11 1994 coup which was bloodily put down by Jammeh 
loyalists in the army. He absconded under pretext of going to Dumbutu his 
home village for a gamo. For Koro Ceesay he was found burnt in his official 
car hours after he and other state officials saw off the president who was 
attending an OAU summit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. 
Another eventful department had been the Interior under Sadibou Hydara who 
was arrested with Sana Sabally for their alleged attempt to usurp power in 
January 1995. Hydara was detained and allegedly tortured. Although the 
government citing hypertension or high-blood pressure as the cause of his 
death some believed he died as a result of torture. Meanwhile Lamin Kaba Bajo 
had replaced him as Interior minister before he was re-deployed to the Local 
Government department. Major Momodou Bojang replaced him for one of the most 
unforgettable incidents. Bojang would perhaps be remembered more with hjis 
war of words with BBC stringer Ebrima Sillah whom he threatened to lock up 
over the Ahmadiyya controversy. 
In 1999 Satang Jaw who since 1994 had kept her position as one of the few 
women ministers resigned from the education portfolio, advancing some concern 
for her health. She was replaced by Ann Therese Ndong-Jatta. Bemba Tambedou 
was removed as Works and Communication minister while he was on a 
familiarisation tour of institutions under him. He was accused of being 
"inactive". Ebrima Ceesay replaced him and served for the rest of the 
transition. He was a casualty of Jammeh mass firing which saw the likes of 
Dominic Mendy taking a forced exit. The Health department's first minister 
Fatoumatta Tambajang was given the sack in connection with the January 27 
1995 attempted palace coup and replaced by Kumba Ceesay-Marenah. She was also 
sacked when she was allegedly found in the house of Abou Denton former 
Accountant General in the ousted PPP regime.
She was accused of "insincerity". Nyimasata Sanneh Bojang replaced her 
briefly but was handed her marching orders for alleged financial 
mis-management, nepotism and favoritism. She was replaced by Isatou 
Njie-Saidy. Lamin Kaba Bajo was sacked last year for an alleged official 
misconduct involving the controversial Sinchu Yahi land deal. He denied any 
wrongdoing. The office of the vice chairmanship (vice president) has not been 
left out of the rash of cabinet reshuffles. Sana Sabally the maverick vice 
chairman of the then AFPRC fell from grace in January 1994 after an alleged 
palace coup he reportedly masterminded to unseat Jammeh. His sacking and 
subsequent arrest followed reports that he was cursed by Gambisara elders 
whose wrath he incurred in the heat of a mosque crisis there. The crisis was 
said to have sparked a so-called AFPRC power dynamics with opposing camps of 
the same council pitted against each other. 
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