A constitutional coup d'etat underway in The Gambia

Sidi Sanneh 

Yaya Jammeh, The Gambian dictator, facing the most serious challenge to his 22-year iron-fisted rule from a Coalition of 7 opposition parties and an independent presidential candidate, has decided to carry out his threat to cut off electricity supply and shut down the internet, a day ahead of the presidential elections.

Plunging the entire country into total darkness by cutting off electricity supply nationwide and isolating the Gambian citizenry from the rest of the world is further evidence that Jammeh has rigged the elections.

According to the Independent Electoral Commission's (I.E.C.) own figures, the total number of registered voters 886,578 exceeds eligible voting population 18 year and over listed at 853,429 or a difference of 33,149.  It is a discrepancy that has not been addressed by the I.E.C.

The actions by the regime of Yaya Jammeh go beyond being acts of desperation by a candidate who is clearly nervous and certain to lose to Hon. Adama Barrow who is backed by seven opposition parties and an Independent presidential candidate.

We consider Jammeh's decision to cut off electricity supply across the country and shutting down the internet which allows him to manipulate the votes and subvert the Constitution in the process.  In short, there is a coup d'etat in process led by Yaya Jammeh and assisted by the Chief of Defense Staff General Ousman Badgie,  We therefore draw the attention of the world community.      

Dear Mr. Yaya Jammeh, please leave peacefully

Sidi Sanneh 

It has been 22 long and difficult years for Gambians who have seen their hopes dashed because of your failure to fulfill any of your numerous promises to them when you seized power illegally in 1994.

You promised accountability, transparency and probity.  You failed on all counts, You seized power ostensibly to eradicate the surge.  Corruption is more rampant today than when you seized power.  And you,Yaya, are mote corrupt than anyone in or outside government.  When you seized power, the Gambian economy was one of the fastest growing in the sub-region and its per capita GDP was ranked third behind Cote d'Ivoire and Cabo Verde in the 16-Member ECOWAS regional grouping. Today, under your watch, Gambia is ranked 16th - at the bottom of the table. Gambia's human rights record was exemplary under Sir Dawda Kairaba Jawara and the African Union's Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights headquartered in Banjul is living testimony to the country's past glory.

This year alone 10,000 Gambian youths have migrated to Europe using the Back Way across the treacherous Mediterranean route at a great loss of life because of your incompetent regime's handling of the economy that has been contracting as a result of inappropriate and irresponsible economic policies.  Youth unemployment is at an all time high, rendering a youthful population restless and leaving them feeling abandoned by a regime that they supported initially because you promised them jobs and education.  You failed in creating jobs but managed to provide them poor and inferior quality education that leaves them at a disadvantage and makes them noncompetitive both at home and abroad.  

You have failed in such monumental proportions that it will take a generation or two to put the train back on the tracks.  When you lose to Hon. Adama Barrow, as widely expected, at tomorrow's elections, we advise you to concede defeat and seek a negotiated passage out of the Gambia or retreat to Kanilai.

We are sending this note to you because we know you are plotting a constitutional coup d'etat with your Chief of Defense Staff, Gen. Ousman Badgie, who has been busy plotting with you with the intent of subverting the will of the Gambian people. A source has even gone to the extent of suggesting that "Jammeh is staging a constitutional coup in 24 hours before the elections."  

What we do know as a fact is that the army is in disarray with divided loyalties.  Most of the old guards have indicated that they will not carry out illegal orders and they will support whoever wins the elections.  It is for this reason that General Badgie has focused his attention on training a new intake of military personnel (see photos of these young men on Independence Drive this morning) specifically for election duties to carry out illegal orders to disrupt the elections by intimidating opposition supporters.

Many government employees have read the writing on the wall and have started to pack their office belongings amid the expectation of an unprecedented sweep at the polls by Adama Barrow.

We suggest to do likewise by peacefully vacating State House and allow a peaceful transition to genuine civilian rule under the new leadership headed by the Coalition Leader.  The country has suffered enough under your leadership and cannot afford to risk descending on chaos and mayhem should you try to impose yourself on a population that is showing its preference for a civilian leader in Adama Barrow.

Yours truly

Sidi Sanneh,

3-day blackout and lock-down starting Election Day?

United Democratic Party protest demonstrations 

Reports from reliable sources suggest that Yaya Jammeh is prepared to go to extra-ordinary lengths to quell any protest that may occur on Election Day and beyond.

The Thursday presidential elections will be the most competitive ever for Jammeh who is facing a formidable 7-party coalition which he never expected to come to fruition and to have held up to the point of posing a real threat to the survival of the dictatorship. The steady erosion of Jammeh's support is the cumulative effect of 22 years of failed economic policies and a horrific human rights record that earned Gambia the North Korea of Africa.

United Democratic Party Leadership protesting 

The Coalition campaign has steadily built momentum and its message of a balanced economic growth and development policy and the promise by the leader of the Coalition, Adama Barrow, of restoring the fundamental freedoms of speech and association that have been denied them under the dictatorship have resonated well with the voters.

Jammeh's threat against the Mandinka ethnic group with deportation to Mali because he consider them "foreigners" and "enemies" of the state drew a public rebuke by the United Nation's Special Adviser on Genocide who categorized the threat as "incitement" that could lead to genocide.  This moment is considered by many to have been the turning point in the political fortune of one of Africa's most brutal dictator.   He is now looking for ways to extricate himself from the political hole he's dug for himself.

Gambian women demanding their rights 

According to reliable sources, Jammeh is considering putting The Gambia on a 3-day lock-down mode from Thursday, 1st December - Sunday 4th December that will see electricity supply cut, leaving the country in total darkness and the rest of the world in limbo for the duration of the lock-down.

The likelihood of plunging the entire country in total darkness is an unimaginable nightmare that Jammeh is willing to subject an entire population that, he hopes, can afford him the chance of winning an election than many believe he will lose to Hon. Adama Barrow, the leader of the Coalition of opposition parties.

The potential development should serve as a red alert to the Coalition.

                         VOTE COALITION  -  VOTE ADAMA BARROW

Gambian army split down the middle on eve of voting as Jammeh threatens to reverse on-the-spot counting

Chief of Defense Staff Badgie 

As Gambians prepare to go to the polls in less than 48 hours, the senior army command is split down the middle with a group of officers led by the Chief of Defense Staff leaning towards tilting the elections in favor of the incumbent and another by the elite presidential guard led by General Saul Badgie who is reportedly ready to defend the Constitution by supporting whoever wins next Thursday.

It is reported that Inspector General of Police, Yankuba Sonko, is siding with CDS Badgie, siding with Yaya Jammeh.

Jammeh finds himself fighting the fight of his life after underestimating the ability of the opposition to coalesce around a single candidate which the seven opposition parties and an independent presidential candidate were accomplished.  It was a feat Jammeh never thought possible.  He's tried to break it up without success.

Presidential Guard Commander, Gen. Saul Badjie 

The other challenge that Jammeh faces this presidential elections is the decision he took to allow on-the-spot counting of the votes once the polls close.   Previously, the vote rigging took place during the transporting of the ballots from the various polling stations to regional centers when opposition ballots are reportedly emptied or Jammeh's ballots stuffed with marbles supplied by the Jammeh camp.  The current method would significantly reduce the likelihood of ballot stuffing when polling agents agents from all parties are present.

It is for these reasons that Jammeh is considering announcing on Thursday before the polls close that the votes will be counted as central locations in each of the administrative areas.  The rationale is that a delayed announcement will preempt a possible mass protest by the Gambian people in opposition to the move.

Inspector General of Police - Sonko

The tide has turned against the Jammeh dictatorship.  The Gambian leader is aware of it and so is a section of the military.  According to a source close to the Gambian dictator, Jammeh is worried that he could lose the elections to the Coalition if the playing field is level and the electoral process is  more credible this time around than in previous elections.  So, he will try to see how he can manipulate the elections in his favor using the Independent Electoral Commission.

The fact that none of the credible international organizations and bilateral partners of the regime will be sending monitors to observe the elections only adds to the uncertainty of the outcome the elections. As at today, only the African Union and the OIC have been confirmed to be sending representatives to monitor the elections, a further reminder of the pariah status of the country..  The United Nations, we've learned will be sending a team that will be under the supervision of the UNDP Resident Representative.      

Ousman Sonko speaks: Jammeh took part in the execution of Tabara Samb and others, their mutilated bodies fed to crocodiles

Tabara Samb 

According to Jammeh's former Interior Minister, Ousman Sonko, the Gambian dictator directed and took part in the executions of nine Mile II death row prisoners that included a Senegalese woman named Tabara Samb who was sentenced to death for killing her Swedish-Gambian husband.

The other eight death row prisoners, some of whom did not exhaust the legal remedies guaranteed by law and one who was declared mentally unfit, were: Dawda Bojang, Malang Sonko, ex-Lt Lamin Jarju, Ex-Sgt. Alieu Bah, ex-Sgt Lamin F. Jammeh, Buba Yarboe, Lamin B.S. Darboe and Giby Ba.

The executions were the first in The Gambia since 1985;  Jammeh reinsituted them in 1995 after he seized power illegally in the previous year.  When the extra-judicial executions took place, the initial reaction of the regime was to deny that they had occured. An official statement was issued that "all persons on death row....have exhausted all their legal rights of appeal as provided by law" which turned out to be untrue since there were some prisoners who committed their crimes when capital punishment was abolished or had been declared mentally unfit to be executed.  Jammeh decided to go ahead with the executions nonetheless.  International reaction was loud and swift.

We are now learning from Ousman Sonko's account to the Spanish authorities that Jammeh was intimately involved in the extra-judicial executions that included two Senegalese citizens.  We can also say that Jammeh, as a matter of rule, has always been personally involved in all cases involving killing of any kind.

After she was executed, Tabara Samb's body was dismembered, certain body parts taken away for ritual purposes and the rest thrown to Jammeh's crocodiles in his home village of Kanilai.  The rest of Jammeh's victims bodies received similar treatment with body parts removed before being thrown into the pond.  According to Ousman Sonko, Jammeh was is control of the entire operation throughout the hideous operation.

Warnings to Electoral Commission Members, Inspector General of Police and the military

IEC Chairman - Alieu Mamar Njie 

A meeting was convened today by the Chairman of the Independent Electoral Commission at the Paradise Hotel in which the international press representatives were invited to assure them of the preparatory works to ensure a free, fair and credible elections are in place.

The meeting proceeded with the easy part of displaying the voting barrels for the three presidential candidate, the color and photo of each that even the less educationally endowed can distinguish the ballots of each of the presidential candidates.

In fielding questions from the press pool, the real issues underlying this years highly contentious and contested presidential elections that Yaya Jammeh stands to lose, the more difficult issues began to be highlighted by journalists present.  A reporter asked why official government vehicles are seen plying across the country unhindered, apparently engaged in partisan politics in direct contravention of the Electoral Laws of the country.  In response, a member of the Electoral Commission ( not the Chairman) in an attempt to explain away a real problem of having a huge government resource being employed by the ruling party to its advantage and to the detriment of the opposition.

IGP Yankuba Sonko 

The Chairman of the IEC, Alieu Mamar Njie chimed in by spuriously claiming that no complaints have been received from the opposition parties pertaining to the elections.  This cannot be correct because complaints have been received by the IEC regarding numerous issues relating to the elections that concerns the electoral list, distribution and establishment of polling stations.

We are drawing the attention of the Chairman of the IEC that even the legality of the Electoral (Amendment) Act of 2015 is currently before the ECOWAS Court - deposition by Interim Leader of the PPP and Dr. Amadou Scattred Janneh  on behalf of the opposition and the Gambian people.  To say that no complaints have been received is patently false.

The Deputy Chairman of the IEC, Mr. Malleh Sallah, issued some condescendingly self-serving statements by suggesting that the IEC is in a unique position because the Gambia is the only country to use marbles instead of ballot paper etc. etc. rather than addressing real and substantive matters of concern to the opposition.  The Inspector General of Police, Yankuba Sonko, on the other hand cited mundane infractions by the opposition such as the burning of APRC flags and T-shirts.

What all these officials charged with the responsibility of protecting the integrity of the elections by being non-partisan and even-handed is their insatiable thirst for spewing the ruling party's talking points.  They have all been programmed to come on the side of a regime that have succeeded in co-opting and corrupting the entire machinery of government.  In fact, because the European Union and other key donors have not funded the elections, the IEC sees this as one more reason why the regime should be commended because their salaries, operating expenses that included personal favors to members of the IEC and the security forces is being financed by Yaya Jammeh.

NIA - Director

Let it be known, this year, the mood is different.  As one diplomat resident in Senegal told me "there appears to be a wind of change blowing over Gambia", and any one standing in the way risk being blown away to oblivion.  All of those listed here and elsewhere, most of whom are in the military and security services, are being warned as well and to say that the world is watching.

The IEC, the military, NIA, Police Force, Immigration and all other security services are being reminded of their role as neutral parties in these elections and should, therefore, refrain from tipping the scale in Jammeh's favor.  The entire country and many around the world who follow Gambian politics know, if the elections are conducted freely and fairly, there is no way Jammeh can win.  He will be trounced handsomely by Adama Barrow of the Coalition.

                                 VOTE COALITION  -  VOTE ADAMA BARROW        

Lang Tombong Tamba is the architect of Jammeh's anti-Mandinka campaign says Ousman Sonko

Lang Tombong Tamba

Driven by personal ambition, Lang Tombong Tamba succeeded in convincing Jammeh that it was an absolute must to purge the Mandinka officers  from the military and security services, whom they perceive to pose an imminent and existential threat to a regime whose primary objective is to entrench the dictatorship.

It was because of this ethnocentric belief based more on the career ambition of one man - Gen Lang Tombong Tamba - that led Jammeh to the systematic purging - which, unfortunately included physical elimination - of Mandikas from the military and intelligence services.

Edward Singhatey, VP -ECOWAS

The March 2006 Ndure Cham's coup attempt provided the first opportunity for the policy to be put to the test but not before one of the regime's most feared - Daba Marenah - was framed and implicated in the coup attempt together with Lt Ebou Lowe, Lt. Alieu Ceesay, Warrant Officer Alpha Bah and Staff Sgt. Manlafi Corr.

Immediately following their arrest in March 2006, a meeting was convened at State House chaired by Yaya Jammeh.  Interior Minister Ousman Sonko, Gen. Lang Tombong Tamba. Captain Tumbul Tamba and Major Musa Jammeh were in attendance.  General Lang Tombong Tamba drew up a "kill list" of the accused that included former NIA Director General Abdoulie Kujabi and recommended that they be killed to send a strong message to Gambians.  However Abdoulie Kujabi's life was spared thanks to Ousman Sonko who, by his own account to the Spanish authorities, pleaded to Jammeh not to kill Mr. Kujabi.

The former Interior Minister of Yaya Jammeh has confirmed to the Spanish authorities that Daba Marena and his four colleagues were killed by Captain Tumbul Tamba and Major Musa Jammeh who returned to State House to report to Jammeh that the "mission was accomplished" and they bragged about it by describing the manner they were butchered.

We now know from Sonko's account of events that Jammeh actually took part in concocting the spurious official statement explaining to the world that the detainees were being transported to Janjangburay prisons about 250 km away when they escaped after the vehicle they were traveling in was involved in an accident, the plausibility of which was immediately questioned.

In Jammeh's Gambia, prisoners are handcuffed and shackled with leg-irons - reminiscent of slavery era -  and guarded by AK-47 totting prison guards.  The fact that they were never captured or sighted anywhere since further heightened the skepticism of he official line.  the circumstances leading to the disappearances of Daba Marena and his colleagues.

The late Daba Narena 

By Sonko's account, Lang Tombong Tamba was also able to convince Jammeh to purge the Singhatey brothers, first Peter and then Edward from his regime. Peter was exiled to the United Kingdom and Edward was relieved of his functions as a state Minister before being  banished to the University of the Gambia Law School.

After being appointed magistrate in a judiciary that is controlled by the Gambian dictator, his candidature for the Vice Presidency of ECOWAS was sponsored by the regime. He's now based in Abuja.  Both Edward and Peter Singhatey were part of the original coup makers and partners in arms with Jammeh who seized power from a legally constituted government of Sir Dawda Jawara.

Of those who participated in the decision to kill Daba Marena, Lt. Ebou Lowe, Lt. Alieu Ceesay, Warrant Officer Alpha Bah and Staff Sgt. Manlafi Corr, only Yaya Jammeh, Ousman Sonko and Gen. Tamba are alive.

Lang Tombong Tamba was ultimately implicated in a coup and sentenced to death only to be "pardoned" by Jammeh a year ago and reportedly living in obscurity in his native village of Sintet. Captain Tumbul Tamba and Major Musa Jammeh both died under mysterious circumstances and as far as we can ascertain Abdoulie Kujabi is living a painful existence from wounds inflicted from severe and sustained torture at the hands of his former subordinates at the NIA he once headed.

VOTE ADAMA BARROW - VOTE COALITION

Let us rid the Gambia of the cancer that is Yaya Jammeh.
VOTE COALITION - VOTE ADAMA BARROW

The army cannot stop us from our march to freedom

Coalition leader's campaign  caravan 

There is panic in the Jammeh camp because the Gambian dictator is poised to lose his 5th reelection bid to the opposition Coalition candidate.   The presidential elections scheduled for Thursday the 1st December promises to provide the opposition with its best opportunity to uproot a despotic regime that has entrenched itself since its leader seize power illegally 22 years ago.

During this period, the despotic Jammeh allowed corruption and ineptitude to run rampant, resulting in a dramatic decline in the living standards of Gambians.  On the diplomatic front, the country became isolated to the point of being treated as a pariah state. We have become the laughing stock of the international community.  Thanks to Yaya Jammeh.

The Gambian people, always taken for granted by Jammeh, finally came to terms with these hard realities and demanded change by challenging the numerous opposition parties to coalesce around a single candidate.  Seven of the political parties plus an independent presidential candidate responded to the call as a result.  To add to Jammeh's political woes, his supporters, including those belonging to the single largest ethnic group that Jammeh threatened to exterminate, began abandoning him in droves to join the ranks of the Coalition.

The size of the crowds that greet Adama Barrow, the Coalition leader, at every locality across the country has shaken the confidence of the ruling party to its core, and the energy and the enthusiasm on display promise to propel the opposition to victory next week.  By contrast, the ruling APRC lacks the crowd size and enthusiasm, a possible reason why Jammeh did not attend his political rallies at Sinchu and Tanji.  The official line is that Jammeh is mourning the death of his old friend Fidel which occured today.  Jammeh's health has been on the decline for a couple of years and was seen coughing persistently throughout his campaign tour of the country.

With or without the death of Fidel Castro and fearing that people will be out in the streets on election night, our sources say Jammeh is contemplating deploying the army around strategic points as deterrent to any possible peace assembly of opposition supporters as they monitor the election returns.  " No amount of intimidation by the army is going to stop us from our march to freedom" from tyranny. "  Another highly placed Coalition official among the crowd of supporters of the opposition said in the vernacular "we have already taken over the country", referring to the 7-party Coalition.

The Gambian people will demand a free and fair elections.  Anything short of that will not be tolerated.  In serving notice to the military to stay away from suppressing the will of the people, we are also demanding that the Independent Electoral Commission, particularly its Chairman, Alieu Momar Njie.  Shenanigans from  the IEC will not be tolerated.  We have already identified several anomalies in the number of registered voters which is greater than the number of eligible population 18 years and older which the IEC will have to explain to the Gambian people.

Intense Mandinka backlash, the ensuing panic and a warning to security personnel

Amadou Samba and Yaya Jammeh 

When the Gambian dictator threatened an entire ethnic group that formed the bedrock of his political support throughout his 22-year dictatorship, little did he believe that the Mandinkas will switch allegiance from Jammeh's ruling APRC to the opposition Coalition led by Adama Barrow.

The threat to kill and bury them nine feet deep and the accusation that they are "foreigners" and "enemies" of the State who deserve to be exterminated is seen by many as an existential threat to a segment of the Gambian population. The United Nations considered the speech by Jammeh as incitement and a hate speech that could lead to genocide.

The resultant effect has resulted in a seismic shift in Mandinka support away from Yaya Jammeh to the Coalition which has caused alarm in the APRC ranks.  The Jammeh camp is in panic mode as a result, and the Gambian dictator has mobilized a group of so-called Muslim elders who are armed with bundles of cash to bribe Mandinka community leaders in an attempt to stem the tide.

Lamin Kaba Bajo

Jammeh is also using Mandinka politicians and hangers-on like Lamin Kaba Bajo, Rambo Jatta, and Information Minister Sheriff Bojang to entice Mandika communities in Bakau, Kartong, Tani, Yundum, Farato, Sanyang, Brikama, Brukamaba, Jimara, Basse and in the Jarras as well as the Nuimis with cash in a failed attempt to get them to return to the APRC fold.

When everything else fails, Jammeh has also resorted to the military and security forces to exert pressure on a defenseless and highly vulnerable population.   We are once more warning security chiefs to be neutral in the execution of their respective duties throughout the election period.  Your allegiance is to the State and not to an individual.  The world is watching and so is the international community.

Yankuba Bajie

Reports are that Yankuba Badjie, the Director General of the notorious National Intelligence Agency who presided over the brutal torture which led to the death of Ebrima Solo Sandeng, the opposition youth leader, is intimidating opposition supporters to instill fear among those who oppose the dictatorship.  The NIA Director General is also known to work in tandem with Malamin Gassama, the Director General of the National Drug Enforcement Agency to arrest decent and law abiding citizens because they are opposed to the regime of Yaya Jammeh.  

Yankuba Sonko, the Inspector General of Police known to be a vicious element who prefers to operate behind the scenes is reported to pose a potential threat to supporters of the opposition parties. Beran Mbye and Nfamara Jallow of the Police Intervention Unit who brutally suppressed the peaceful protest demonstrations in April this year are being served notice again to refrain from intimidating voters and especially supporters of the opposition parties.

   

Gambia's former Interior Minister Ousman Sonko speaks to Spanish authorities

Ousman Sonko in Parliament 

Until last September when he decided to flee The Gambia to seek asylum, first in Sweden and then in Spain, Ousman Sonko was Yaya Jammeh's longest-serving Interior Minister and one of the most trusted of the dictator's collaborators.

He survived 10 years in a highly sensitive position partly because of his quiet and secretive demeanor that suits his role in one of the world's most violent regimes.  Now, he's talking.

The Gambia is known for its idiosyncratic leader who claimed to have discovered the cure for HIV/AIDS, cordoned off an entire village and force-fed dozens of its inhabitants with a liquid hallucinogen that led to some deaths and suggested that United Nations Secretary General should go to hell are a few of the Gambian dictator's quackery and insolent behavior.  Jammeh is also notorious for killing, torturing, maiming and exiling his political opponents, a violent culture that is well documented by international human rights organizations as well as bilateral partners.

Gambian dictator Yaya Jammeh 

Either in his role as Commander of the Presidential Guard or as Interior Minister, Ousman Sonko oversaw the assassination of journalist Deyda Hydara, the assassination attempt on the life of a senior and respected lawyer, Ousman Sillah, the disappearance of another journalist Chief Ebrima Manneh, National Intelligence Agency Director General, Daba Marenah, Alpha Bah, Ebou Lowe and several their military colleagues. other colleagues.

Our source also tell us that the former Interior Minister is explaining, in detail, his role and that of his former boss, in these and numerous other cases involving murder, assassination, disappearances.

Ousman Sonko is, according to our source, talking also to American authorities about the disappearances of Alhagie Mamut Ceesay and Ebou Jobe, two American-Gambians who were said to have been abducted by men believed to be state security agents in 2013 while on a visit to the country of their birth.

These are just a few of the stories that the former Interior Minister have addressed with authorities in Spain and perhaps as well as intelligence authorities in Senegal and Sweden after he fled The Gambia last September.  In his bid to secure asylum, we can report that Ousman Sonko, is now cooperating fully with the Spanish authorities.

The fact that Ousman Sonko whom we described in previous blogs as Jammeh's one man killing machine has decided to cooperate with Spanish authorities is going to make a lot of members of the regime uneasy.  We have come to learn how General Lang Tombong Tamba convinced Jammeh to put in place his anti-Mandinka policy in place by purging the senior level officers in the military and security establishment that resulted in the murder, imprisonment and dismissals of many Mandinka army officers.

In our subsequent blogs, we will look at specific cases, in detail, to help shed new light in one of Africa's most brutal, dark and sinister dictatorships, ever.
   

Military camps and police barracks to be designated as polling stations during the presidential elections

Jammeh in uniform 

Army camps and police barracks have been used in the past by Jammeh as cesspool of political malfeasance where foreigners are registered,and issued with national ID and voters cards.

It is a common sight to see immigration and police officers processing these illegal voters, including under-aged school children and maids from Casamance whose statuses are being regularized illegally.

In the scheduled December 1st presidential elections, the Jammeh regime has decided to designate all of the military camps, police barracks and other security-related installation across the Gambia as polling stations where, by their very nature, is hostile territory for civilians much less opposition polling agents.   Venturing into such areas is risky if not downright dangerous.

It is in these civilian 'no-go' areas that Jammeh intend to direct foreigners who have been aided and abetted by Jammeh's political operatives to participate in his re-election campaign which has proven to be his toughest and which he is more than likely to lose to Adama Barrow, the leader of a seven-party Coalition.  Foreigners will be issued with military and police uniforms and then transported into these camps to vote.

Generals Ousman Badgie and Bora Colley have been put in charge of the operations while their colleague, Yankuba Badjie, of the notorious National Intelligence Agency (NIA) is in charge of harassing and intimidating the opposition and their supporters in an effort to suppress the opposition vote.

In the absence of international monitors, Jammeh is counting on the free rein he appears to have to rig the vote in his favor.  But as we have been emphasizing all along, the opposition is being urged to be determined and vigilant enough to challenge the regime every step of the way.  
  

Casamance voters relocated close to Jammeh's residence in Kanilai following our earlier blog post

Chief of Defense Staff Badgie 

Senegalese nationals, mainly from the southern region of the Casamance, who were transported in by agents of Jammeh's ruling political party, the APRC, have been moved from the buildings of the Social Security Housing scheme to deeper inside the belly of the presidential compound of Kanilai following our reports.

The military moved in quickly, following our blog post on the subject to move the guests to "The Recevoir" by the Chief of Defense Staff in a building that serves as reception area (thus the French name), Now the Senegalese have been lodged next to the presidential palace to be closely guarded and protected from the preying eyes of the opposition who will be very vigilant, especially on election day and by polling agents, in ensuring that non-citizens are prevented from voting in the elections.  The international media is also being encouraged to be on the lookout for these category of voters.

The Director General of the notorious National Intelligence Agency (NIA) is also reported to have upped the ante as the elections draw close to December 1st, increasing the level of intimidation of supporters of the opposition by targeting specific and influential supporters.  Our sources indication all forms of intimidating tactic will increase in intensity as Jammeh continues to freak out as he sees his support continues to nosedive.  There is panic mode in Kanilai.

Yankuba Badgie

The NIA is also using the facilities of the state-controlled telecommunication companies to access personal phone numbers of prominent and influential supporters and suspected supporters of the opposition for the purposes of issuing threats.  Village community heads are being called by security operatives with threats of dismissals and jail time if their village vote the opposition way.  There is panic everywhere within the Jammeh camp because he is losing and the more this fact is apparent, the more the threats and intimidation will increase.

Public officials and civil servants have not been spared by Jammeh and his security agents.  They are being forced to campaign in their localities and are also being threatened with dismissal or worse should Jammeh lose the election in their respective administrative areas.            

Senegalese from Casamance region arrive in Gambia to vote in the December presidential elections

Jammeh with guards 

Massive numbers of Senegalese mainly from the southern region of Casamance are descending into the Gambia from various points of the country for the sole intent of voting in the December 1st presidential elections according to our sources close to the military establishment.

Some of these illegal voters have been lodged in the Social Security Corporation's housing scheme at Kanilai, the home village of the Gambian dictator that doubles as the administrative capital of the country.

Kanilai is an ideal location for Jammeh's guests because it is isolated and appropriately fortified with tight security measures to shield them from the preying eyes of the opposition.  The state-controlled television, in a preemptive move, has made it known that there are guests from the Casamance to help Jammeh harvest his rice farms and not for any nefarious reasons.

General Ousman Badgie the Chief of Defense Staff and General Bora Colley have been assigned to oversee the upkeep and daily activities of the Casamance voters leading up to election day when they will be driven to polling stations, preferable to those located in army camps, where they will be transported wearing army, police or other service uniforms to vote for Jammeh.  All of these category of voters are of the same ethnic group as Jammeh, who, according to sources, are being told that the Mandinkas are doing everything within their power to vote Jammeh out.

Jammeh's vitriolic assault against the Mandinka ethnic group this week after calling for peaceful campaigning is designed to play to the tribal sentiments of the Jola, especially those in the Casamance, some of whom might be reluctant to venture into the internal politics of a foreign country.

Despite his threats to kill Mandinkas, Jammeh is quietly sending messages to Mandinka communities through Lamin Kaba Bajo, a Mandinka, who served in Jammeh's cabinet and the current President of the Gambia Football Federation, to convince them that he meant not a word of his threats to exterminate the ethnic group.  Jammeh has been warned and admonish by the United Nations Special Adviser on Genocide about his continued incitement of a section of a population because of their ethnicity.

Jammeh's ruling party, the APRC, is losing support of both the Mandinka ethnic group as well as the Christian community.  Jammeh's unilateral decision to transform a Secular into an Islamic Republic is losing him support among Christians who fear that if Jammeh wins re-election he will move rapidly to start putting the infrastructure for an Islamic Sate in place.

The Coalition of the seven opposition parties is courting the Christian vote as well as all other Gambians resulting in a massive shift of popular support from the ruling APRC to the Coalition with many Jammeh supporters quietly switching their allegiance to Adama Barrow, leader of the Coalition.      
 

IEC is still the corrupt and compromised institution under Alieu Momar Njie as under Mustapha Carayol

Sidi Sanneh 

Joseph Henry Joof, a Gambian lawyer of long standing, who served as Jammeh's Attorney General, was denied outright the right to present his candidature for the presidency by the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC).

And according to Mr. Joof, the IEC acted under instructions of the Gambian dictator not to allow him to go through the nomination process. which resulted in being denied the papers necessary to fulfill the legal requirements to be an official presidential candidate.  He leveled these charges against the IEC and Yaya Jammeh at an online radio station recently.

According to Mr. Joof's own narrative, he was denied access to the process that he was entitled to as a citizen by staff of the IEC giving him the runaround at Jammeh's directives.

His agent who went to the IEC offices to collect nomination forms was arrested and jailed within the IEC premises suggesting that there are some within the Commission who are actually security agents posing as staffers of the Commission charged with the responsibility of overseeing the entire electoral system. When Mr. Joof's agent was released after spending the night in cells, he was released with the warning never to set foot in the IEC offices.

Jammeh has made no secret of the fact that his regime is financing the operations of the IEC.  He made it known when he was at the Commission to deposit his nomination forms.  He said that since the donors have refused to finance the elections, it was incumbent upon him to step up to use his personal funds.

The Chairman had publicly thanked Jammeh for providing them with vehicles, furniture etc. to facilitate the Commission's work and his subservience to the Gambian dictator was on full display as the state-controlled television cameras were trained on him receiving instructions on how to conduct the affairs of the Commission.  And when a son of the Chairman is already on record declaring Yaya Jammeh the winner before the election campaign is in full throttle raises further questions about the integrity of the voting process under the charge of the IEC,  A source said, the declaration was such a concern, given its source, Jammeh's office prepared a statement disassociating itself from it. Why the official statement of renunciation was not released remains unclear according to sources.  

With Jammeh's intimate involvement in and influence over the IEC, a favorable outcome of next month's presidential elections is inevitable unless, of course, the Coalition of the opposition parties and their supporters are extra vigilant in monitoring the process, especially the actual voting at the voting stations.  The training of polling agents by the Coalition thus becomes extremely important.

The European Union was one of the donors that decided to withhold funds to the regime of Yaya Jammeh as part of a broader sanction regime that came into effect when he refused to meet the 17-point EU demands relating to most human rights abuses.  The EU Parliament recently passed a resolution threatening targeted sanctions against the regime unless there is significant improvement in the human rights environment.

The cumulative effects of these actions may have resulted in Jammeh decision to refuse the EU access to observe the upcoming elections despite Jammeh's urging his Chairman of the Independent Electoral Commission to invite observers to come to Banjul and "observer the credibility of the elections" which is of primary concern of every Gambian and the international community is no exception.  Similar concern was expressed last week when the head of the UN regional office for West Africa visiting Banjul called for a credible, transparent and a "level playing field" for the vote.

It is unclear if other international election monitors will be allowed access or decline to send observers.  During the 2011 elections, the regional body ECOWAS refused to send observers because of the intimidation of opposition parties and their supporters.  

Show Yaya Jammeh The Red Card

Gambians are determined more than ever before to show Yaya Jammeh the red card after 22 miserable years of economic decline and a deplorable human rights record under his watch.

As Omar Jallow (OJ) is fond of saying, it is time to show Jammeh the red card. Some supporters of the Coalition of the Opposition have taken queue from the Gambian politician and have started brandishing a red car to signal the end of a brutal dictatorship.

Pick up and red card and start showing it to Jammeh and his APRC supporters to signal your intent to vote Jammeh out of office on December 1st.

                              VOTE COALITION  -  VOTE ADAMA BARROW

Independent Electoral Commission employs NIA agents and its premises serve as holding cells

Lawyer Joseph H. Joof

The Gambia under Yaya Jammeh has been transformed from one of Africa's most open societies into one of the world's most sinister countries in the same league North Korea without the nuclear power component.

This fact came to life and was substantiated in person by Attorney Joseph Joof, fer Attorney General under Jammeh narrated his experience with the Gambia's so-called Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) during an interview on Diasporium online radio.

In response to a question by a Gambian journalist as to why Mr. Joof was neither on the presidential ballot as an Independent candidate for the presidency nor as a member of the Coalition of seven opposition.parties and a former Independent candidate led by Hon. Adama Barrow.  A number of Gambians was wondering as well since Mr. Joof was among the first to declare his intent to contest the elections as an Independent candidate for the presidency.

Mr. Joof proceeded to respond to what can only be characterized as a horror story and it goes essentially like this : He asked his agent to collect a nomination form from the IEC offices he was not only denied but was detained and subsequently held in a holding cell in the IEC premises by NIA agents who double as staffers of the Independent Electoral Commission.  Mr. Joof's agent was released after spending a night and asked never to return to the IEC premises.

It is evident from Mr. Joof''s account, Jammeh has succeeded in transforming the IEC offices not as nest for secret agent but as a holding cell for Gambians whose crime is requesting a nomination form.  How long this has been going on is unclear.

It appears that Jammeh issued instructions and according to the former Attorney General, threatened The Chairman of the IEC, Alieu Momar Njie, should he allow Mr. Joof to contest the elections.  In fact, even after eventually downloading the forms from the Commission's website which had not been operational for an entire year, the IEC was in no mood to accept Mr. Joof's forms nor his cash deposit by giving him numerous appointments only to be told to return the next day.

A law suit has been filed by Mr. Joof in the Supreme Court of the Gambia agaonst the IEC for deny him his right to contest the elections by refusing to accept and approve his nomination and cash deposit that would have allowed him to participate in the December presidential elections.  As he explained, it is because of the suit that is pending before the Supreme Court that he legally restraint from taking an active member of the Coalition. He is. however. with the Coalition opposition in spirit according to him.

Security Alert: Jammeh's deteriorating health and plummeting popularity pose a security threat

Former Minister Yankuba Touray with worried APRC supporters

Yaya Jammeh's week-long nationwide re-election campaign tour is slowly unraveling an unpleasant message of plummeting popularity and support that signals the end of an era of unchallenged authority fueled in part by unbridled support.  The other part of his support was through force and intimidation.

Because of 22 years of inappropriate and bad fiscal and monetary as well as high level corruption that has come to represent Jammeh dictatorial regime, Gambians have seen their standard of living eroded by deliberate policies designed to make Jammeh and his business cronies rich at the expense of everybody else and the incidence of poverty doubled, particularly among the rural poor.  The hostile economic environment resulting from Jammeh's failed policies has driven young people away from every rural hamlets across the country into the treacherous waters of the Mediterranean in search of brighter futures, ending, at times, in great loss of life.

Evident during the tour is the lack of enthusiasm amidst among Jammeh's supporters that was made up of a large portion of the Mandinka ethnic group that he now threatens with extermination that caught the eye of the United Nation's Special Adviser on Genocide.  The result of such violent rhetoric from Jammeh has resulted in a sharp drop in his support, not only among Mandinkas but across the board.

The opposition, on the other hand, has managed against all odds to coalesce around a single candidate to take the fight to the Gambian dictator this presidential year.  The 7-party Coalition is brimming with confidence and unafraid to exercise their right to assemble and to campaign vigorously against Jammeh.  As a result, and in an attempt to slow down the opposition momentum, Jammeh has instructed agents of his notorious National Intelligence Agency (NIA) to intimidate and arrest coalition supporters to instill fear.  Jammeh sees Adama barrow, the Coalition leader as a genuine threat to his presidency.   It is expected that an emboldened Coalition will stand its ground against Jammeh and the NIA.

The lack of enthusiastic in the face of plummeting appears not to be the only challenge facing Jammeh and his entourage.  His health has become another cause for concern compelling his Syrian doctors to advise that he interrupt his tour and return home for urgent medial attention.  Whether he will heed the advise is anybody's guess.  Some family members have joined the chorus with an appeal to other members of the family to intervene.   Readers will recall that a similar incident occured last year when he fell ill and had to interrupt his farmers' tour.  

Jammeh suffers from occasional blackouts the cause of which is a closely held state secret - the condition that sometimes lasts for days.  It is being reported that he suffered the same in Farafenni a day or two ago.  A minister was overheard saying that the online media were right in suggesting that there is something seriously wrong with Jammeh's health.  The state is in a precarious condition which did not go unnoticed.  In Banjul, soldiers loyal to General Badgie were seen yesterday in full battle gear in and around the offices of the General.  

                                    VOTE COALITION   -   VOTE ADAMA BARROW          

Gambian Christians must be mindful of Jammeh's political doublespeak

Azerbaijani President, Iranian President and Jammeh at IOC

Yaya Jammeh is an expert in the art of political deception otherwise known as political doublespeak.  He will insult the Mandinka ethnic group and immediately turns around and preach peace to the same group which makes him either an artful liar or a lunatic for thinking that people are not following his utterances.

Either way, in this election season, Gambians must pay close attention to Jammeh's deceptive messages designed to appease groups he had demonized and stigmatized with threats of killing them and burying them nine feet deep. He has used hate speeches against a given ethnic group on one side of his mouth and try to placate them on the other side hoping that we will not notice.

The Christian community in the Gambia must be mindful of his political doublespeak which he has perfected into an art form.  Jammeh plans to transform The Gambia into an Islamic Republic without consulting neither the Christian community nor the general population.  He intends to proceed with his plans once he secures a win in the upcoming elections.  It is thus wise to ignore his overtures to you, the Christian community because he doesn't mean a word he says.  All Jammeh is interested in is to perpetuate himself in power for his own selfish ends to benefit his immediate family and a few business cronies.

We are appealing to members of the Christian community to disown him and vote for the Coalition of opposition parties led by Adama Barrow who will usher in a new beginning after 22 years of dictatorship that has brought nothing but regression and backwardness.  He has destroyed our institutions, made a mockery of our judiciary and killed or exiled Gambia's most promising future economic, business and political leaders.  Many Gambians are determined to reject Jammeh and his leadership.  We hope the Christian community will join the rest of Gambia in this endeavor.

                              VOTE COALITION   -  VOTE ADAMA BARROW      

Jammeh's campaign tour thrown into turmoil by claims of rebel presence in the area

Sheikh Sidia Bayo

Military sources traveling with Yaya Jammeh on his nationwide campaign tour of the country say they believe Sheikh Sidia Bayo, the self-styled rebel leader of French and Gambian nationalities and his rebels are in the Central River and Upper River Regions of the country. Jammeh and his entourage are presently in Farafenni (military barracks) located in the North Bank Region advancing into CRR.

Mr. Bayo and his band of rebels that he claims have been recruited from Mali and around the region have been issuing threatening messages via social media in recent weeks directed at the regime of Yaya Jammeh that they promised to topple.

Our sources with the presidential entourage fear that the rebels are poised to mount an ambush attack on the dictator's motorcade.

"There is panic within the army and people are getting word of mouth that rebels are in the country" says a source embedded in the Jammeh entourage.  Jammeh's deteriorating health is also another concern of the military, especially his frequent fainting spells that can render him immobile and unconscious to extended period of times.

Last week, Jammeh decided to postpone his campaign tour from Monday to Thursday due to his poor health and the threat of rebel incursion in the CRR and URR.  However, once it was reported here, he decided to prove us wrong by maintaining his initial schedule.  Now that intelligence reports appear to confirm rebel presence in the area, a source is quoting a military officer as saying "we still doubt whether the elections will still go ahead,"

This is a developing story .....

It should be all about the elections and nothing else

A. Barrow - Coalition flag bearer 

We never thought that there will ever be the need to remind opposition supporters that the selection of the Coalition flag bearer is over and the concession flag bearer is Hon. Adama Barrow.  There is hardly a political selection process that is perfect and the recently concluded opposition political party convention that selected Mr. Barrow is no exception.

After many selection processes were suggested the idea of a party convention was selected and by any measure the selection was orderly and transparent.  And as far as we can tell, the outcome was never contested.  One opposition party opted out of the selection process and so did one non-party affiliated Independent candidate who subsequently joined the 7-party Coalition.

Unfortunately, as at this writing, there is only one single holdout - a situation that we wish didn't happen but must be accepted as a product of the democratic culture the opposition parties are fighting to reintroduced.

Freedom to associate or disassociate is a fundamental right that must be respected even when it may go against one's wish or desire.  It is still not too late to abandon the isolation ward and join the coalition.

The 7-party Coalition is no mean feat that we must all be proud of because it an outcome that has eluded previous attempts at unifying the opposition.  It is, therefore, the obligation of  political leaders as well as supporters to protect the gains by ignoring all attempts to distract us from the ultimate goal of not only prosecuting an effective political campaign but to be successful in winning the presidential elections as well as the parliamentary.  From now on to December 1st, our focus should be all about the elections and nothing else.

VOTE COALITION  -  VOTE ADAMA BARROW

Jammeh security chiefs advise him to tone down his rhetoric against Mandinka ethnic group

Prior to embarking on his campaign tour of the country, Jammeh's security chiefs had to pull him to the side and warned him to dial down his venomous rhetoric against the Mandinka ethnic group whom he had threatened to "bury nine feet deep" in his latest tirade.  He has also spuriously referred to them as foreigners who deserve to be deported.

As the presidential elections draw near, Jammeh finds himself in unfamiliar territory in his 22-year rule - a determined and unified opposition under the banner of a Coalition of 7-party opposition led by Hon. Adama Barrow who replaced the imprisoned Ousainou Darboe.

Jammeh's threats against one ethnic group was recently characterized as "inflammatory" by the United Nations.  The international body's Adviser on Genocide said he was "profoundly alarmed by President Jammeh's public stigmatization, dehumanization and threats against the Mandinkas." The international community did not take the threats lightly because "they can contribute by dividing populations, feed suspension and serve to incite violence against communities, based solely on their identity.

The incendiary rhetoric of Yaya Jammeh worries his party and members of the security forces that led to the admonition prior to his campaign trip.  Based on the reporting of the official mouthpiece of the regime, it appears that he is following advise.  Jammeh is preaching peace in Day One of his week's tour of the country where the reception will be lukewarm at best because Jammeh has failed Gambians, especially the rural population who are primarily farmers.  He has failed to improve the lives of ordinary Gambians who are poorer today than they were when Jammeh seized power in 1994 and it is showing in poor attendance of his first rally in Niumi yesterday.      

A Note of Thanks to our Readers

Last week, we sent out a fund raising appeal to our readers to contribute to the Gambia Democratic Fund (GDF).  We are extremely pleased and proud of all our readers who stepped up to the plate and contributed to make the effort a success.

In the three days of the fund raising effort, volunteers who maned the phones and radio microphones of Kibaro, Kairo, Jollof News, Gainako, Diasporium, Gambia Daily and FatuRadio Network.  The collective team effort from the online radios named here alone has netted GDF $ 30,000 some or all of which will go towards helping finance the Opposition Coalition in the upcoming presidential elections.  More financial contributions have been realized in other separate fund raising efforts.

On behalf of us at sidisanneh.blogspot.com, we thank our readers and supporters for responding positive to our appeal.  We'd also like to extend similar thanks to all those numerous radio personalities who made all the difference in the world by volunteering their time, energy and money to this worthwhile effort - an effort that can mean the difference between living in tyranny, as we currently are, and living in freedom and dignity.

We will continue to encourage you to continue talking to family members and friends in the Gambia to support the 7-party Coalition headed by Hon. Adama Barrow.  

Again, a Big Thank You.  We are very proud of you.

        VOTE FOR ADAMA BARROW   -    SUPPORT Gambia Democratic Fund

Sidi Sanneh
For:  sidisanneh.blogspot.com     

Is there a legal nightmare looming ahead?

VOTE COALITION  -  VOTE ADAMA BARROW 

A legal expert drew our attention to a possible nightmarish scenario where Honorable Adama Barrow wins the presidency but must rely on a potentially hostile APRC-dominated National Assembly to approve his 2017 Budget.

We know, the presidential elections will be held on the final month of the calendar which is also the end of the 2016 Fiscal Year when the National Assembly must debate and approve what would be the 2017 Budget Appropriations Bill for it to become law.

Even before we consider what the likely action of the National Assembly will be, let's look at where the budget process is at this stage and also to assume that Jammeh will relinquish power if defeated at the polls.  Let me hasten to add if he refuses, Gambians will be free to exercise all other options available to them.

it is common knowledge that budget implementation has not been the forte of the Jammeh regime and a notoriously undisciplined lot, fiscally speaking.  The IMF can attest to that.   But let us assume that the budget preparation guidelines under the Jawara administration have been scrupulously maintained - granted an unrealistic expectation - Call Letters would have already been issued by the Ministry of Finance to all Ministries and Departments back in July - August asking them to submit their estimates/request by September -/October.  By now Finance have all the numbers and have actually gone over them with the Ministries and Departments.

At this point in time of the budget process, the Finance Ministry must have gone over the numbers with the IMF, and to a limited extent, with the various development partners.  To cut a long story short, the numbers should be all but finalized by now.  But these are Jammeh numbers which will certainly not reflect the budget program priorities of the incoming administration.  It is conceivable that the new administration can quickly agree with the incoming cabinet members on a provisional budget that will see the new government through April or May.  This may be the easiest part of the problem.

A Cabinet Paper containing the budget provisions must be considered and approved by the incoming cabinet - an equally easy task -  before it is transformed into the 2017 (Provisional) Budget Appropriation Bill to be debated and approved by the National Assembly for it to become law.   There lies the nightmarish scenario where a potentially hostile National Assembly is expected to approve a budget that has been essentially put together, however provisional it is, by a Coalition of opposition parties that have successfully trounced Jammeh and the APRC that still controls the legislative branch of the government.

Without National Assembly approval, it will be illegal to spend a butut unless there is a legal pathway - a legal question that can only be answered by legal experts including the one who brought the problem up in the first place.

This is one more reason why it is necessary, prudent and the most cost effective way to hold the presidential and National Assembly elections on the same day.  The present alignment is fraught with dangers and therefore should be scrapped at the first opportunity.