More letters of condolence continue to drop at the State House for the First Family, following the demise of Madam Rhimou El Hassady Soumah, mother of the First Lady of the Republic of The Gambia, Her Excellency Madam Zineb Yahya Jammeh.

The messages read:
May Allah enhance thy recompense and be generous in thy calamity and forgive thy deceased and induce thee patience and multiply for us and for thee recompense through patience – amen.

Ismaila Sambou
The Gambia’s High 
Commissioner in Dakar
……………
I have received with sadness, the news of the death of the late Madam Rhimou El Hassady Soumah, mother of Her Excellency Aja Madam Zineb Yahya Jammeh, First Lady of the Republic of The Gambia. On behalf of all members of my staff and on my behalf please accept our most sincere condolence for the loss of the late and extend the same to Her Excellency Aja Madam Zineb Yahya Jammeh, First Lady of the Republic of The Gambia.

I pray to Allah the Almighty to grant the soul of the deceased eternal peace and give Your Excellency and Her Excellency, the First Lady fortitude to bear the loss, and to bless your family with good health, longevity and prosperity. Please accept, Your Excellency the assurances of my highest consideration and esteem.

Respectfully yours;
Omar Gibril Sallah
Ambassador, Kingdom of 
Saudi Arabia

……………
On behalf of myself and family, the embassy staff and their families, I write to express our sincere condolences to you, Her Excellency, the First Lady and the entire members of the First Family on the demise of Your Mother-in-Law, Madam Rhimou El Hassady Soumah.


We fervently pray to the Almighty Allah, the Merciful, to pardon and reward her with Paradise. May Allah rest her soul in perfect peace and give the family the fortitude to bear this great loss patiently. Please accept the assurances of my highest consideration and esteem.
Alieu Momodou Ngum
Ambassador, USA

…………..
I have learnt with a deep sense of sadness and sorrow the demise of Madam Rhimou El Hassady Soumah, Your Excellency’s mother-in-law.
On this sad occasion, I wish to humbly write to express on behalf of my colleagues, our respective families and every Gambian in Taiwan, deepest sympathy to Your Excellency, First Lady Aja Madam Zineb Yahya Jammeh and the entire Jammeh, Soumah and El Hassady families.

I pray to Allah the Almighty to grant the soul of the deceased eternal peace in Jannatul – Firdaus and to the bereaved families in The Gambia and abroad, the strength and courage to bear the loss. Your Excellency Mr. President, please permit me to conclude by availing you the assurances of my highest consideration and esteem during this trying time and beyond.

Alhagie Ebrima N.H. Jarju
Ambassador, Taiwan

………….
It is with great stock and sadness that we learnt of the untimely death of Madam Rhimou El Hassady Soumah, mother of the First Lady Madam Aja Zineb Yahya Jammeh, which sad event took place on Tuesday November 1st 2011 in Rabat, Kingdom of Morocco.

On behalf of myself and my family, the staff and families of the Embassy and the entire Gambian community in the Islamic Republic of Mauritania, kindly accept our heartfelt condolence on this sad and great loss not only to the First Family but indeed to our beloved country and people. We join you and share the grief, pain and sorrowfully sympathize with the First Family in this sad moment. It is our prayers that Allah (SWT) gives the fortitude to bear this irreparable loss.

Once again, accept the deep sympathies of the entire staff of The Gambia Embassy and Community in Mauritania. And we pray that the soul of the late Madam Rhimou El Hassady Soumah rests in perfect and eternal peace in Allah’s rewarding Jannah – Amen.

Momodou Badjie
Ambassador, Mauritania
………..
Please extend to H.E. the President, H.E. the First Lady and all family members, on behalf of this Mission, our heartfelt condolences on the passing away of our dear mother, Madam Rhimou El Hassady Soumah in Rabat, Kingdom of Morocco on Tuesday 1st November 2011 and dated 3rd November 2011. May her soul rest in pace!

M Sajo Jallow
Ambassador, Ethiopia

I am truly sadden to hear of your recent loss and would like to express on behalf of the staff of The Gambia Embassy in Ankara, our sincere condolence to you and through you, to the First Lady on the recent demise of your mother-in-law, Madam Rhimou El Hassady Soumah. In this most trying and difficult moment, I fervently pray that the Almighty Allah will grant you and the First Lady the fortitude to bear this irreplaceable loss. May God bless her soul and complete all her wishes.

Our thought and prayers are with you, and we are sharing the burden of this grief. May Allah the Almighty God bless you.
Please accept, Your Excellency, the assurances of my highest consideration.

Gibril S. Joof
Ambassador, Turkey
…………….
On behalf of myself and my family, I send you our most dear, sincere and heartfelt condolences on the recent very untimely demise of Madam Rhimou El Hassady Soumah, your mother-in-law and mother of the First Lady.

We are extremely saddened to learn of your most unexpected and tragic loss, particularly occurring so prematurely in the prime of her life and indeed the feeling of this loss is to us the same as on the passing of a member of our own family.

We take this opportunity to send our deepest condolences on your bereavement and with the assurance that our thoughts and prayers are upon you and your family at this sad moment. Please accept our highest assurances.

Yusupha Bojang
Deputy Head of Mission
Gambia High Commission
United Kingdom
…………….
I have learnt, with deep sadness, the demise of Your Excellency’s mother-in-law and Her Excellency the First Lady’s mother, Madam Rhimou El Hassady Soumah. On behalf of the University Governing Council, Management, Faculty, Staff and Students of The University of The Gambia and in my own name as the Vice Chancellor (including my family), I wish to extend our heartfelt condolences and sympathies to Your Excellency and the First Lady, Her Excellency Aja Madam Zineb Yahya Jammeh. 

We pray for Allah to grant the departed ‘Al-Jannatoul Firdawsi.’ We also pray for Allah to gives solace to the First Family and the nation as we mourn this irreplaceable loss. I wish to avail myself of this opportunity to thank His Excellency, the President of the Republic of The Gambia and Chancellor of the University of The Gambia for his continuous support to the University and also wish to renew the assurances of my highest esteem and consideration.
Prof. Muhammadou MO Kah
Vice Chancellor, UTG

…………….
I have learnt with deep sorrow, the demise of Your Excellency’s mother-in-law and Her Excellency the First Lady’s mother, Madam Rhimou El Hassady Soumah. May her gentle soul rest in ‘Al-Jannatoul Firdawsi,’ Ameen.

On behalf of the Board, Management, Faculty and Staff of the Management Development Institute (MDI) and in my own name, I wish to extend deepest sympathies and condolences to Your Excellency and the First Lady, Her Excellency Aja Madam Zineb Yahya Jammeh. We pray that Allah gives the First Family and the nation the faith and courage to bear such an irreplaceable loss. Please accept, Your Excellency, the renewed assurances of my highest esteem and consideration.
Dr. Jainaba M.L. Kah
Director General, MDI
…………………

In another development, Dawda D Fadera, the permanent secretary at the Personnel Management Office (PMO) expressed gratitude to President Jammeh for being reinstated as permanent secretary at PMO.

The letter reads:
Following my reinstate as Permanent Secretary, Personnel Management Office, I write not only to express my profound gratitude to Your Excellency, but also to pay tribute to your strong sense of fair play and justice among all public officials irrespective of social status or background. 

Please Sir, allow me to point out that during those difficult times for me and my family, the only thing that kept us strong and calm beside Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta’ala, is the conviction that once the truth comes out Your Excellency will ensure the prevalence of justice. 

I therefore wish to thank you for the confidence reposed in me and to assure Your Excellency that with your usual support and guidance, I will continue to work closely with my team, Secretary General and Heads of Departments to make the Public Service more responsive to the contemporary challenges and realities of our time. As the status quo is not an option, we will continue to reach out to all stakeholders to keep the transformation process of the civil service reform programme on course. I wish to once again thank Your Excellency and pray that Allah grant you good, fortitude and strength to steer the affairs of this great nation for years to come.

Dawda D. Fadera
Permanent Secretary
Personnel Management Office