Folks,
It seems that the Jammeh government has now taken to essentially terminating
the birthright of citizenship of some Gambians abroad by seizing their
passports when they go to renew them at Gambian embassies abroad.
l have first hand evidence, not based on heresay or rumour, but received
direct from the individuals that this has happened to. The said individual is
a close friend from childhood, and is currently in the employ of a major
international organization here in the U.S..A year or two ago, this
individual's passport, along with that of his wife and children. expired. He
sent the passports, along with a check to cover the costs of renewal, to the
Gambian embassy in Washington D.C. After an unusually long time had elapsed,
and the passports were not returned to them, he placed a call to the embassy
to make enquiries from then ambassador Krispin Grey Johnson, who he went to
high school with, and whom he also ran track with at St Augustine's high
school, and considered a friend.He was told that the ambassador was not
available to speak with him, nor was he available after several other calls.
He was finally told that the ambassador had seized the passports and mailed
them back to Gambia because he was on Jammeh's list. This included not only
his own passport, but that of his wife and children, right down to the then
5 year old child. Sometime after receiving this news, his check was mailed
back to him, and he said that ambassador Johnson continued to avoid his
phone calls until the day he left the country. This family now has to use
travel documents issued to them by the international organization they work
for in order to travel.l have been told of at least two other individuals
who have had their passports seized when they have gone to the embassy to
renew them. The Gambian embassy in D.C who are subscribers to this list
(albeit ghost subscribers) know very well that the case in point l am
referring to is 100% true.
This information is even more startling if you consider the fact that this
individual resigned from his position almost 10 years before the Jawara
regime ended, due to the fact that he felt his professional judgements were
not being respected, and he did not want to compromise his professional
credibility.He then started a consultancy firm of his own, and infact was
refused contracts by Jawara's government for years as punishment for his
having resigned. He depended on outside sources for years. He hasn't a clue
why he is on anyone's list or why.
Jabou Joh
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