President Jammeh's Citizenship Questioned The Independent (Banjul) August 31, 2001 Posted to the web August 31, 2001 Omar Bah Banjul, the Gambia Doubts have been raised over the credibility of President Jammeh's claim as a true Gambian citizen. Mr. Darboe who is the opposition coalition leader called to question Jammeh eligibility as a Gambian since there are indications that he was born in Casamance. Darboe whose eligibility to run for the presidency is being questioned by the government accused President Jammeh of introducing a dual citizenship clause in the constitution in order to legitimize his own citizenship and that of Yankuba Touray, which he said were questionable. Mr. Darboe was speaking Sunday in a rally held by the coalition in Serrekunda. He told his audience that the citizenship of both President Jammeh and Yankuba Touray was questionable, as President Jammeh was believed to have hailed from the Casamance region of Southern Senegal while Yankuba Touray was of Malian origin. He added that Yankuba Touray only naturalized as a Gambian citizen after the 1994 military take over. Mr. Darboe also claimed that he saved Baba Jobe from going to prison when he was arrested in the days of the first republic. It was Alieu Kama Badjie he said who pleaded with him to defend Baba Jobe. "Had I known that he was going to be a poison for this country, I would have left him to rot in prison," he said. Mr. Darboe went further to reiterate his party's stand against the APRC, which he blamed for the economic collapse of the country, the mismanagement of public funds and being anti-West, which he said was responsible for the decline in the tourism industry. He gave as example the alleged purchase of an ordinary pencil for D60 by the Kanifing Municipal Council as being part of the mismanagement of the economy. While he said they have continued to collect huge sums of money as compound rates and various other taxes, he said they have brought no development to the people of the municipality. He further accused President Jammeh of using KMC money to buy votes maintain himself in power. He said the APRC slogan of youth and women's empowerment was just an empowerment to President Jammeh and Baba Jobe. He added that President Jammeh was the only head of state in the sub-region who had a zoo at his home and that he was importing different types of animals from Mauritania and as far away as India, and other countries. "He is also rearing over 1000 head of cattle at his village of Kanilai," he said. He remarked that while the rest of the country was undergoing serious economic and social difficulties, President Jammeh, his family and "cronies" are living in luxury. In his turn, the spokesman of the newly registered Peoples Progressive Party (PPP) Omar Jallow (OJ) reiterated the achievements of the PPP regime, which he said included various successful public and private sector projects that the APRC regime were bragging over. "They are just lying but they have not done anything in this country," he charged. He told the crowd that before he is qualified to contest the elections, President Jammeh should be questioned about the sources of the wealth that he was lavishing. "He should also be questioned over the source of the money he used to build a road to Tuti Faal's mother's compound in Kembuje, "because when he was taking over power, he did not even have D150 in his pocket". He also called on the opposition parties to insist on counting the votes on the spot. The UDP organizing secretary Lamin Waa Juwara said President Jammeh's assumption of power was an accident of history. He said Jammeh was not a politician but a soldier who believed only in power. He said Jammeh and his colleagues who led the coup fooled the soldiers by telling them that they had come to rescue Gambians from 30 years of mal-administration and corruption by the PPP. "But today, after only seven years under Jammeh, the people are now fed up," he remarked. Ebrima Dibba a student, told the rally that students instead of demonstrating against President Jammeh, and give him another opportunity to shoot them, students would use their voters cards to get rid of him, "like he got rid of our colleagues in April 2000". Other speakers at the rally included Alhaji Mass Jobe, Shyngle Nyassi, and Alkali James Gaye. _________________________________________________________________ Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com/intl.asp ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L Web interface at: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/gambia-l.html You may also send subscription requests to [log in to unmask] if you have problems accessing the web interface and remember to write your full name and e-mail address. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------