To: Yahya A.J.J Jammeh
APRC Leader,
State House,
Banjul,
The Gambia
Dear Mr Yahya A.J.J Jammeh!
I am writing this open letter to you as a concerned Gambian, who has
followed your actions since the very day you seized power on July 22nd 1994.
I have tracked you, initially as a Journalist working with The Gambia’s
Daily Observer and as the BBC Correspondent for The Gambia, and subsequently
as a student of International Politics, specialising in African politics.
My academic studies as well as my personal knowledge of you as a man and as
a self-imposed "leader", bring me to the conclusion that you are indeed one
of the worst leaders in the African continent that has ever been seen in
recent years. You are carving yourself a name in history which is already
synonymous with corruption, malpractice, cowardice and criminality.
To begin with, Mr Jammeh – remember these age-old adages: that whatever has
a beginning, must come to an end: that whatever you sow, so shall you reap:
that your past will follow you as a shadow into the future.
Today you are enjoying the sweetness of political power: you perceive
yourself to be invincible and free to do as you please. You feel free to
insult people, to sack them from their jobs, to imprison them without
charge, to murder them. You believe in your own immortality as a leader of
The Gambia.
I am here to remind you that history tells all: that history is replete
with examples of despotic leaders like yourself, who have enjoyed enormous
powers which they have used to abuse both their countries and their peoples.
Let me remind you of the fates of Bokassa, of Samuel Doe, of Mobutu, of
Isaac Nguema ! Let memories of their fates haunt your very dreams and every
one of your waking moments.
Each of these despotic tyrants, all of whom (like you) believed in their
invincibility, has been defeated, humiliated, pilloried and brought to
account. They have been brought to world notice as butchers, tyrants and
abusers of office.
Mr. Yahya A. J. J Jammeh! Take YOUR lesson from the fate of these erstwhile
"leaders". Be sure that the mightiest oppressor on earth will be defeated:
that what is here today will be gone tomorrow. Your future in The Gambia
is on borrowed time. Check the time on your watch, Jammeh ! It is fast
running out.
The verdict of history is inviolable: be certain that you will be defeated,
that you will be held to public account, that you will answer for all your
crimes against The Gambia and its people. There will be NO hiding place for
you, Mr. Jammeh ! The people whom you have so freely violated, will search
you out and demand recompense, restitution and punishment.
Yahya A.J.J Jammeh: I do not envy you. You may spend all your money buying
arms, creating an NIA to terrorise the people into submission, fortifying
your home against attack. However, you cannot protect yourself from your
nightmares: even now your dreams are haunted by those whom you have abused
so cruelly. You cannot protect yourself from those who call themselves
your "friends": not one of them will stand firm and united with you when
you are deposed: they will all betray you. You cannot protect yourself
from the truth.
When your time is up, there will be no protection on earth or under heaven
for you. You will be answerable to the Gambian people, and in the final
analysis, you will be answerable to Almighty God.
Yahya Jammeh!
In this open letter to you, I accuse you directly of crimes against The
Gambia and against Gambians. I am well aware that you follow the postings
on Gambia-List and on Gambia-Post: I know that you will read these words,
and I pray to God that you will feel the full impact of them on your soul.
I hereby accuse you of:
1. MURDER
The student massacres of April 10th/11th 2000 may be laid directly at your
feet and as a result of your own actions and interventions. Thus far, you
and the perpetrators of your atrocities have escaped prosecution. Be in no
two minds however, that this bestial act remains both unforgotten and
unforgiven.
The victims of the alleged coup attempt of November 11th 1994, amongst them
Lt. Gibril Saye, Lt. Basirou Barrow, Lt. Abdoulie Ndot Faal, will not rest
easily until there is a full government enquiry into the manner of their
deaths.
The murder in June 1995 of Ousman Koro Ceesay, former Finance Minister in
your regime. Both you and the AFPRC are implicated in this, and his death
remains uninvestigated.
The unexplained demise of Captain Sadibou Hydara in prison remains
uninvestigated.
The death of Lt. Almamo Manneh in Old Jeshwang remains uninvestigated.
I allege that you are personally implicated in all these murders, and in
many others.
May Almighty God have mercy on you !
I accuse you of:
2. ILLEGAL IMPRISONMENT
The names of Dumo Saho, Lt Omar Barrow, Lt. Lalo Jaitteh, Ebrima Yarbo,
Momodou Marenah and others, have entered African history as men whom you
have illegally detained in prison.
African history will not forget what you personally have done to these men.
Similarly, Captain Sana Sabally, once your Number 2 in power, who has
already served his sentence and should have been released in 2001, still
languishes in prison at your command.
Pray now, Yahya Jammeh, that when you are imprisoned for your crimes, that
those in power will treat you more mercifully than you have treated those
whom you have illegally imprisoned.
May God have mercy on you !
I accuse you of:
3. SETTING UP AN ORGANISATION OF PUBLIC TERROR
In 1995, you quite deliberately created a National Intelligence Agency and
gave members of this NIA sweeping powers to terrorise Gambian citizens. You
gave carte blanche to this awful organisation to tap telephone calls and
faxes, to search people and premises without warrant, to detain people
incommunicado and without trial , to use physical force against people. You
did this in order to protect your own self.
The NIA is answerable to thousands of Gambians and non-Gambians who have
suffered at its hands. As its perpetrator, it is YOU who bears the
responsibility for the crimes committed by the organisation in your name.
May God have mercy on you !
I accuse you of:
4. ILLEGAL TAMPERING WITH THE JUDICIARY
Throughout your time in power Mr Jammeh, you have blatantly interfered with
the working of the country’s Judiciary. You have sacked Magistrates and
Judges at will whenever they have shown the slightest opposition to or
divergence from your desires. You have changed Attorney Generals on a
personal whim.
There is evidence that you have used blackmail and physical coercion against
members of the Gambian Judiciary.
There is evidence of the bullying and threatening tactics used by government
prosecutors acting in your name, even within the courts themselves.
You have brought the Gambian Judiciary into international disrepute. You
have made members of the Judiciary sing your own tune.
May God have mercy on you !
I accuse you of:
5. RIGGING OF NATIONAL ELECTIONS
There is clear evidence of the many ways in which you used your power and
influence to rig the Presidential elections in both 1996 and 2001.
In 1996, international observers declared the presidential election results
to be extremely suspect.
In 2001, there is evidence that you illegally enfranchised thousands of
non-Gambian supporters in a move to secure your own re-election.
In both presidential elections, you used your incumbent presidential
advantages to press your case, and to stifle and gag the voices of those
opposing you. In 2001, you did all in your power to divide the opposition
parties in order to minimise their national impact in the election.
You have proved yourself to be a man without a conscience, and a man who
will do anything to hold onto the reins of power. You have given clear
proof of your megolomaniacal tendencies
May God have mercy on you !
I accuse you of:
6. THEFT
There is ample evidence of your theft of public funds. Using public funds,
you have been able to purchase properties in Morocco, in Egypt and in the
United Arab Emirates. You have lavishly developed your own properties in
The Gambia.
You have purchased a private airplane. You have funded trips for your
cronies to Mecca and other destinations.
You continually add to your private bank deposit account in Abu Dhabi.
You have filled your own personal pockets with public wealth.
You have enabled your cronies to fill their own pockets with public wealth.
You are personally responsible for the loss of national revenue in scandals
such as the Alimenta affair. You are indirectly implicated in the loss of
many millions of dollars from the public purse because of your ineptitude
as a leader.
Your personal greed is your public and personal guide.
You claim to fund all your purchases with your salary. Who can be fooled by
your claims ?
You are a thief on a grand scale. You steal from your fellow citizens. You
impoverish Gambians with your wholesale thieving from the public purse.
May God have mercy on you !
I accuse you of:
7. NEPOTISM AND FAVOURITISM
You have used your power to appoint sycophants into public office. You have
put "square pegs into round holes" with disastrous consequences. You
appoint incompetent people such as Fatoumata Jahumpa Ceesay and Essa Bokarr
Sey to positions of national importance.
You have favoured people of your own ethnic origin for key positions,
regardless of their lack of qualifications or suitability. People such as
Abdulai Kujabi, John P Bojang, Babucarr Jatta and Lang Tombong Tamba have
been favoured by you and given key responsibilities, despite their poor
calibre.
May God have mercy on you !
I accuse you of:
8. HARASSMENT OF THE INDEPENDENT MEDIA
Decree 70, dating back to 1996, is still in place and affects those who wish
to set up new newspapers. There are harsh pre-conditions which are
virtually impossible to meet.
Decree 71, also dating back to 1996, is still in place. This decree imposes
harsh conditions for existing newspaper proprietors.
Both Decree 70 and 71 are unconstitutional, and yet are still in existence
and make it extremely difficult for an independent press to operate in The
Gambia.
The Media Commission Bill of 2002 is draconian in its stranglehold on the
independent media services in The Gambia.
Journalists are constantly harassed and oppressed by your agents: many are
arrested and subjected to physical abuse or illegal detention. From 1994 to
now, more than 20 Gambian Journalists have been forced to flee the country
in fear of their lives. These cases are attested to by international
organisations such as Amnesty International.
You have brought about the closure of Citizen FM in order to gag any
oppositional viewpoint being expressed on air.
May God have mercy on you !
I accuse you of:
9. SACKING OF COMPETENT CIVIL SERVANTS
Throughout your rule, you have denuded the Gambian Civil Service of more
than 500 well qualified, hardworking and high-calibre civil servants. You
have arbitrarily sacked them, and wrongfully dismissed them from post.
Permanent Secretaries, Judges, Magistrates, Teachers, Ambassadors, Diplomats
and the like have been sacked on your whim.
Since 1994, you have appointed and then sacked in excess of 60 members of
your cabinet. The saying in The Gambia now goes, "appointed today, sacked
tomorrow. sacked today, reappointed tomorrow".
Our ministries and departments now struggle to keep pace with the workload,
and are grinding to a halt because of incompetent leadership.
May God have mercy on you !
I accuse you of:
10. GROSS FALSEHOODS
You took the presidential oath on two occasions, pledging solemnly to govern
without fear or favour and to tell the truth.
Throughout your eight years in power, your leadership has been characterised
by lies and subterfuge. In the transition period, you went on record as
having absolutely no intention of standing for the office of president !!
Your actions put lie to your words.
Do you remember the Taiwanese tractors ? You purported to be giving a
personal gift from yourself to the farmers of The Gambia of 50 tractors !
Only when Tamsir Jallow inadvertently blew the gaffe on you by thanking a
Taiwanese Delegation for their gift of these tractors was the truth known.
Shame on you !
You preach to Gambians about the iniquity of skin bleaching, and about the
iniquity of many of our young men –"bumsters" to use your words – marrying
European women. Yet you yourself ditched your first Gambian wife, in order
to marry a light-skinned Moroccan.
You spoke in public of your intention to introduce Shariah Law to The
Gambia, when you spoke to a delegation of Muslim leaders at State House.
You then claimed to have been falsely misquoted when your words were
reported on television, and you went so far as to sack the talented Gambian
broadcaster Peter Gomez from his job of News Editor at Radio Gambia.
In your Declaration of Personal Assets prior to the presidential elections
of 1996, you announced publicly that you were a farmer, with some head of
cattle. In the next moment, you are boasting in public of how you and your
grandchildren will never be poor !
You claim that scholarships through your Jammeh Foundation are your
personal gifts, and time again it transpires that these are scholarships
from other agencies or from the public purse.
May God have mercy on you !
I accuse you of:
11. CORRUPTION
There is ample evidence of your involvement, with Baba Jobe, in the blood
diamond trade through Sierra Leone. There is ample evidence of your
involvement in arms dealings with rebels in the Casamance area.
There is evidence that you used Gambian public funds to send your second
wife to deliver her child in the USA. Your wife continues to travel
extensively at public expense, visiting the USA and the Arab world with a
huge entourage.
You have corrupt men like Amadou Samba, Baba Jobe, Lang Conteh, Tariq Musa
covering your personal involvement in a wide range of business ventures in
The Gambia. Even Baba Jobe is now named as a co-proprietor of the Gambia
Daily Observer along with Amadou Samba !!
You, Baba Jobe and Lang Conteh are running the Central Bank of The Gambia as
if it is your own property. You are all involved in illegal foreign
currency deals.
You have taken out massive loans and grants, many from Taiwan, the African
Development Bank and the European Union. It is known that you are
personally siphoning money from these loans and grants. You are lining your
own pockets, and those of your cronies, with spin-offs from these loans.
May God have mercy on you !
I accuse you of:
12. LACK OF PROBITY IN YOUR PERSONAL LIFE
Your domestic life is the talk of our nation. You are accused of
extra-marital affairs with at least two civil servants, one of whom works
for GRTS. These are married women with husbands and children.
You travel unannounced and unnecessarily with a massive entourage. On
recent travels, you have been accompanied by in the region of 30 Security
personnel. In 1994, you accused former President Jawara of unnecessary
travel, and yet your own example since 1994 demonstrates your own travel
excesses at unprecedented levels.
You are guilty of religious subterfuge. You pretend pious religious beliefs
and adherence to the Pillars of Islam, but this is a sham. Your personal
life demonstrates that you are anything but a devout Muslim. You attempt to
de-secularise our secular Gambian state by building a Mosque in State House
grounds. Who are you fooling?
You live a blatantly ostentatious lifestyle: you have built your own palace
at Kanilai and have spent millions from the public purse on transforming
State House in Banjul. You own properties in Morocco and Egypt. You have
spent millions on creating and maintaining a personal zoo and a game park.
You personally own countless vehicles, all purchased for your personal use
with public funds.
You cover your tracks and have recently announced to GRTS that you do not
want coverage from any journalists other than Neneh McDoll and Ebou Waggeh.
You are afraid that other journalists might inadvertently disclose your
domestic secrets.
You have illegally seized the properties of countless Gambians and handed
these over to your sycophants.
An official at the Ministry of Finance told me just the other day that
fiscal discipline in The Gambia is totally out of control.
He maintained that if the government were to put an embargo on buying new
vehicles for the Office of the President alone in 2003, then there would be
an immediate saving of 18 million Dalasis !! (this figure does not include
the fuel which these vehicles will consume).
Nowadays, no-one is sure what is a government vehicle or a private one,
since government officials no longer use GG plates on their vehicles.
May God have mercy on you !
I accuse you of:
13. DESTRUCTION OF OUR COUNTRY’S INFRASTRUCTURE
As a direct result of your incompetence and mismanagement as our country’s
leader, you have brought the whole of our nation’s infrastructure to the
point of collapse. In The Gambia, ordinary citizens struggle to have
employment; they struggle to house, feed, clothe and educate their
families; they struggle to keep their families in good health.
The latest news, conveyed to me personally by British friends returning from
a holiday in The Gambia in late December 2002, is that aviation fuel is now
being rationed at Yundum airport, and outbound flights have to touch down in
other countries to fill their tanks. No doubt however, that the
presidential jet will have no such difficulties !!
May God have mercy on you !
Mr Jammeh: I publicly challenge you to reply personally and in full to my
accusations. I, and Gambians everywhere, will look forward to reading your
response.
Yours sincerely,
Ebrima Ceesay,
Birmingham, UK
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