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The Gambia awaits new era of democracy under Adama Barrow The Gambia awaits new era of democracy under Adama Barrow
(about 7 hours later)
The Gambia awaits the arrival of its new leader and an era of democracy, hours after the authoritarian ruler of 22 years flew into exile. West African troops entered the Gambia’s capital, Banjul, on Sunday, to cheers from the city’s residents, a Reuters witness said, as part of efforts to allow the new president, Adama Barrow, to take office after the country’s former ruler fled overnight.
Adama Barrow has remained in neighbouring Senegal as a whirlwind political crisis sparked by his December election win came to a close on Saturday after former leader Yahya Jammeh was guaranteed the right to come home. Yahya Jammeh, who led the Gambia for 22 years but refused to accept defeat in a December election, flew out of Banjul late on Saturday en route to Equatorial Guinea as the regional force was poised to remove him. A convoy of around 15 vehicles, including armoured personnel carriers mounted with heavy machine guns and pick-up trucks full of soldiers, rolled down one Banjul street in the late afternoon, according to a Reuters journalist who saw them.
A joint declaration by the United Nations, African Union and West African regional bloc Ecowas, issued shortly after Jammeh’s departure, said the bodies would work with Barrow’s government to make sure Jammeh, his family and his close associates were not the target of punishment. City residents lined the road, applauding and shouting “thank you” as the soldiers smiled and waved back. Troops were later seen entering the presidential compound, State House.
The unpredictable Jammeh, known for startling declarations such as his claim that bananas and herbal rubs could cure Aids, departed late on Saturday with a wave. He was last seen flying toward Equatorial Guinea, which is not a state party to the international criminal court. The regional operation began late on Thursday after Barrow was sworn in as president at the Gambia’s embassy in neighbouring Senegal, but it was halted hours later to give Jammeh one last chance to leave peacefully. His departure followed two days of negotiations led by Guinea’s president, Alpha Condé, and Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz of Mauritania, prompting speculation over what, if any, terms were agreed to convince him to step down.
Jammeh’s dramatic about-face on his election loss to Barrow, at first conceding and then challenging the vote, appeared to be the final straw for the international community, which had been alarmed by his moves in recent years to declare an Islamic republic, leave the Commonwealth and leave the ICC. Speaking on a Senegalese radio station, RFM, Barrow denied that Jammeh had been offered immunity from prosecution in exchange for leaving the country. “He wanted to stay in the Gambia. We said we couldn’t guarantee his security and said that he should leave,” Barrow said.
With global backing, Barrow was sworn in on Thursday at the Gambia’s embassy in Senegal for his safety, hours after Jammeh’s mandate expired at midnight. Meanwhile, Jammeh was abandoned by his defence chief and many cabinet members. Earlier in the day, the African Union and United Nations published a document on behalf of these two organisations and the regional organisation, the Economic Community of West African States (Ecowas). In it, they pledged, among other things, to protect Jammeh’s rights “as a citizen, a party leader and a former head of state” to prevent the seizure of property belonging to him and his allies, and to ensure he can eventually return to the Gambia.
A regional military force that had been poised to oust Jammeh if last-minute diplomatic efforts failed entered the Gambia shortly after his departure and was securing the country and its capital, Banjul, ahead of Barrow’s arrival. Barrow, speaking on RFM, said the document did not constitute a binding agreement and said that upon initial inspection it appeared Jammeh had looted state resources. “According to information we received, there is no money in the coffers. It’s what we have been told, but the day we actually take office we will clarify all of it.”
“President Barrow would like to leave [Senegal] as soon as possible. One can’t leave the country open,” Marcel Alain de Souza, chairman of the regional bloc, told reporters. But part of the Gambia’s security forces needed to be “immobilised”, he said, and he confirmed that Jammeh had mercenaries by his side during the standoff. Jammeh’s loss in the 1 December poll and his initial acceptance of the result were celebrated across the tiny nation by Gambians who had grown weary of his increasingly authoritarian rule. But he reversed his position a week later, creating a standoff with regional neighbours who demanded he step down.
De Souza also revealed details of the negotiations before Jammeh’s departure. In response to his insistence on “a sort of amnesty” for him and his entourage, the West African regional body attempted to have the Gambia’s national assembly vote on an amnesty law. “Sadly, we couldn’t reach a quorum. The deputies had fled,” De Souza said. “Most were in their villages. The others were in Dakar [Senegal’s capital].” West African troops from Senegal, Nigeria, Ghana and Mali were deploying throughout the Gambia on Sunday. Barrow did not say when he would return to the Gambia but said it would be soon. At a press conference in Banjul, his spokesman, Halifa Sallah, said a military aide would be sent on Monday to determine if security conditions permit the president’s return.
Jammeh wanted to stay in his home village in the Gambia, but regional heads of state preferred that “for the moment” he left the country, De Souza said. Two Senegalese military officers said the multi-national force had met no resistance from the Gambian army as they advanced on Sunday. Rights groups accuse Jammeh of jailing, torturing and killing his political opponents while acquiring a vast fortune – including luxury cars and an estate in the United States – as most of his people remained impoverished.
With Jammeh gone, a country that had waited in silence during the standoff sprang back to life. Shops and restaurants opened, music played and people danced in the streets. The repression has forced thousands of Gambians to seek asylum abroad over the years. An additional 45,000 people fled to Senegal amid growing fears of unrest in the wake of last month’s election, according to the UN. Hundreds of Gambians carrying sacks, suitcases and cooking pots began returning by ferry from Senegal’s Casamance region on Sunday.
Some of the 45,000 people who had fled the tiny country during the crisis began to return. The nation of 1.9 million, which promotes itself to overseas tourists as “the smiling coast of Africa”, has been a major source of refugees heading north towards Europe. Hawa Jagne, 22, a cloth trader, hugged her sister Fama as she stepped off the boat. “I’m so relieved to see her,” Jagne said. “Everyone is free. You can do whatever you want, because this is a democratic country. You can express yourself. No one can kill you.”