Sign in. It’s quick, free and it’s up to you.
An account is an optional way to support the work we do. Find out more.
GAMBIA’S EXILED STRONGMAN Yahya Jammeh plundered millions of dollars in his final weeks in power leaving state coffers “empty”, an aide to the new President said.
An aide to President Adama Barrow made the statement as West African troops prepared to secure his arrival.
Jammeh flew out of The Gambia on Saturday, ending 22 years at the helm of the small west African nation, and headed for Equatorial Guinea where he is expected to settle with his family.
A West African military force entered The Gambia yesterday – greeted by cheers from relieved residents – to provide security and allow Barrow, who has been in neighbouring Senegal for more than a week, to return and take power.
But amid growing controversy over the assurances offered to Jammeh to guarantee his departure, Barrow aide Mai Fatty said the new administration had discovered that some $11 million (€10.25 million) had recently been stolen.
“The coffers are largely empty,” he told reporters in the Sengalese capital Dakar.
“Over two weeks, over 500 million dalasi (€10.25 million) were withdrawn” by Jammeh, he said.
As we take over, the government of The Gambia is in financial distress.
Following Barrow’s win in the 1 December election, Jammeh refused to step down, triggering weeks of uncertainty that almost ended in a full military intervention.
Jammeh slunk off in the early hours of yesterday on an unmarked plane. Barrow is eager to return “as soon as possible”, Mai Fatty said, warning however, that “the state of security in The Gambia is still fragile”.
Yesterday “additional forces crossed into The Gambia to beef up the numbers already on the ground,” Barrow said, according to a statement read out by Mai Fatty.
The new administration wants the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) forces to stay on. “We want their mandate to be extended,” Mai Fatty said, adding that Barrow was waiting for assurances of loyalty from the security forces, including the police and the army.
Jammeh personally controlled certain sections of the security forces, and his long tenure was marked by systematic rights abuses, including extrajudicial killings, torture, and arbitrary detention.
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
Dammit. Got an email from him last week saying he needed a “trusted friend” to help him extract millions from Gambian treasury and asking for my bank details.
@iBob101: He should come to Ireland and run for the Dail..He would fit in well
he would top the pole in Wexford or North tipp
IBob, you win
He could get his brother in with him in Kerry.
He should be brought back to his country to face trial and the banks should seize his assets and return them to the state of Gambia.
Standard Operational Procedures for corrupt dictators. Grab as much loot as you can if you are being ousted.
Sound all too familiar
What a pr1ck of the highest order.
Another saviour of an African state galloped off with the money none of them can be trusted.
People crying at his departure just goes to show some people cannot rule themselves!!!
Wonder how much he stole in his other 25 years of riegn aswell then.
How much international aid is sent to them every year?
we had a fella who robbed millions and we gave him a state funeral
Or as I look at it.. The state was given the opportunity to make sure the сunt was dead…
Que well know charities looking for urgent financial aid for this country.
Quick Send them foreign aid
Gambia would be much better if it had stayed under British colonial rule….Independence has only brought total corruption
Really? An African head of state plundered government funds for his own use? Never!!
As barrow has 3 years experience of working as a security guard in an Argos store in London he is probably very well qualified to look after the security of the country’s assets
That’s nothing new doesn’t most of the Africans rob there countries blind when there in power. They certainly don’t look after there own people. With the amount of charity given to Africa over years they should be give us a hand these days. You live you learn.
Unfortunately a change of regime will probably make zero difference to the lives of the people there. Same situation, just different public face, much like politics around the world, but in many African states it’s just a little more overt and obvious, with those in power caring little about public opinion, elections or any democratic process and only relinquishing power when forced to usually at gun point.
Chicken or egg then. Which came first, us or them to define the model.
There’s a reason why colonial rule worked on Africa. He’s an example of it.
@ Kevin Slater because of colonial rule we have a corrupt Africa being releived of all its natural resources a practise which continues up to this day commited by the same crowd who helped these corrupt leader into power in order to keep the practise alive, what ever amount of aid goes into Africa each year upto 5 times more comes out.
And this is another country that will look to the west for help
No way, who would of thought!
50 years from now the west will still be giving aid to this tinpot failed continent
Servernce pay for 22yrs
Not much compare to European countries who still steal from their past colonies….
Be able to afford plenty of Daz then
have your say