July 22, 2007 

Yahya AJJ Jammeh

State House

Marena Parade

Banjul

The Gambia 

Dear Mr. Jammeh 

CRIMINALS AT STATE HOUSE 

It is 13 years today when you and your colleagues took arms and ammunitions of the National Army of The Gambia with the intent to destroy and kill Gambians in order to forcefully take-over the government of The Gambia. This was both a serious violation of the code of conduct of the army and treasonable offense in the 1970 constitution. Until the day you and anyone who play a role in that act are brought to court you remain the number criminal in town. This is a legal dilemma many African countries struggled with without appropriate outcome. The people of the Gambia will sooner or later set an example that criminals cannot remain at large under the pretext of indemnification and/or some fake or illegally acquired social standing. 

I bear no desire to write you instead it is out of a frustration of an ordinary citizen over the state of affairs in my home. At your forceful take-over in 1994, The Gambia already has a rich political history that earned us independence from colonial rule. The Jawara government’s political stagnation and self perpetuation in power is an insult to efforts of our founding fathers but not a justification for any individual and/or group to forcefully institute their will over the people by whatever means. A society tolerating such chaos and total disregard to rules is no better than animals in the woods. The people of Gambia hold themselves above wild animals and are no lesser people. Thus, in our commitment to equality before the law, we will pursue treasonable felons and murderers in the person of Yayha AJJ Jammeh and friends at large until justice is serve.  

When the announcement came over the national radio in the evening of July 22, 1994 that Jawara’s government is no more and an Arm Forces Provisional Ruling Council (AFPRC) is instituted, Gambians has a mixed feeling to best describe the situations. Although majority was not happy of Jawaras’ self perpetuation in power most does not like you and you friends. The population avoided confrontation for fear of their lives with the 1981 still a lesson they have at the back of their minds. You mistakenly took this as popularity of your cause.  These was manifested in the number of public rallies conducted in and around the Greater Banjul Area which is very much uncharacteristic of military rule except the copied second-time take over of Jerry J. Rawlings of Ghana. These public fanfares immediately produce new public figures who wanted to take advantage of the vacuum or the old PPP officious who fear the Kangaroo Commissions/Courts.  

With the help of the same people you suspended the 1970 Constitution and replaced it with a bunch of decrees to rule the nation. You declared a so-called 4-year transition rule just back down to 2 upon mounting internal and external pressures. With the decrees you prosecuted perceived enemies under the pretext of corrupt practices during the Jawara administration. While those courts are running with scrupulous judges you were on public relation campaign on accountability, transparency and probity. Any uncovered PPP government corrupt practices became an opportunity for your so-called justification. The crude-oil saga was the most revealing which your government is equally guilty of squandering. Finally you called Jawara “Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves” and I called you “a Treasonable Felon and Murderer”.  

You put up a team to draw a new constitution. They did a good job under the circumstances although the premises remained illegal. The draft was circulated for review. The people asked for all the decrees out. They wanted a two-term limit for a president and an eligible age to contest for that job be 40 years. The later throw you out of the equation and you changed it. You put up an upper-age limit to eliminate some of the potential big contenders. However your first ill intention surfaced when you removed the two-term limit for a president an argument you herald during those endless bashing of PPP. In fact during the recent past you mentioned or alluded that you will be president for 40 years and/or life. We don’t want to argue in that direction for time will be the judge. The constitution was taking to a public referendum with an un-sensitized population. The then newly established TV was extensively used to serve this purpose while alternatives views were denied coverage.  

As the constitution is coming into being and the nation preparing to elect a leader you sent out opinion leaders to promote your candidature. This was a time political activity was restricted by your own decrees, hence acting illegal on your own laws. The head of this campaign was Bakary Dembo Santang Bojang, the chief of Kombo Central and former police commander during the PPP administration. You called him uncle (“nbarin”) and he calls you nephew (“nbarindingo”). Funny, isn’t it? You asked Dembo Santang to publicly request your candidature as if it is a demand of the people of The Gambia. Both you and Dembo are not representing any constituent of the population in these efforts. This is a clear demonstration of your short sightedness because the constitution did not require one to seek any permission from any group of Gambians to be able to contest for president.  In your narrow minded world you think after publicly denouncing politics as dirty at every rally the best way to get into it is under the pretext that it is public demand. What a fool you are. What beat my imagination is Dembo Santang telling Gambians to accept you even if it means eating grass. History will judge him. 

It is 13 years today and that is a little above one-quarter period of our independent nationhood. What we have from this so-called revolution is illegality, self enrichment, immorality and unethical conduct of business of the state. Coupled with lynching, disappearances and killings you instituted a socio-cultural neo-acculturation. In today’s Gambia social relations that used to be our best of heritage are at lower levels never experience since time immemorial. I have seen father and son splitting compound for not belonging to the same political party. Worse yet APRC is fully behind the son to put his father at the lowest level of decency. In our socio-culture this should not happen but if it does there are numerous socially accepted mechanisms to quickly address it before it goes out of the house. With Yahya’s neo-acculturation as long as you are APRC or so association to APRC that is the accepted social standard. The following are noticeable in conduct of business by your government 

1. you controlled the public media and alternative views denied access
2. you have manipulated the Electoral Commission in every possible way
3. you maintained an electoral decree that the supreme law making body in the country has no authority over
4. you turned the civil service including the security services into your personal belonging
5. the government has no known service rules and regulations governing daily conduct of business
6. you fire elected representatives of the people and replace them with your puppets
7. government contracts and businesses are no longer publicly bid
8. those with alternatives views are enemies of the state in your world
9. there is no difference between you and the state
10. there is no difference between AFPRC/APRC and the state
11. there are numerous unaccounted state sponsored lynching’s, arrests/detentions, mysterious disappearances and killings
12. freedom of association and speech under the pretext of national security, etc

 

During the first 5 years you embarked on numerous infrastructural development projects, namely roads and buildings. A mere count of the number of projects will indicate an impressive record within a short period of time. However the utility versus investment proved wasteful use of the meager public resources. The fundamental question everyone is asking why they do not translate to improvement of life in Gambia. We have asked every day Gambians their livelihood today and ten years ago. It is interesting our findings. We have few new roads but cannot get to our destinations in time. We have an airport but no visas because of our poor immigration records and bad international image. Equally tourist are not coming because of increase in crime that is largely blamed on the so-called “dumpsters” (beach goers boys/girls) while such crimes are perpetrated by unscrupulous security personnel who are supposed to protect them to enjoy the sun shine and the sandy beaches. There are few new street lights but crime is in the increase. In fact they questioned the huffing and puffing “no-compromise-of-national-security” but people continued to be killed, disappeared and/or arrested/detained beyond the constitutional limit without explanation. They asked our ability to home and fed Africa’s Presidents but the average family cannot afford three basic meals (breakfast, lunch and dinner). The prices all of basic commodities for every day living has increased over 100% putting inflation in double digits while official reports suggest 5.5-6%. The farming communities that constituted the larger proportion of our nation are faced with both unfavorable natural environmental conditions coupled with poor fiscal policies of your government resulting into near destitution. Poor regulatory environment has dampened the spirit of the already alienated private sector and completely discourage foreign investment. Similar actions of your government coupled with increase in crime have reduced the tourist industries to ghost structures along our fine sandy beaches. The lack of policies and operational procedures in civil service and public parastals are a double-edge sword effect; the good and visionary Gambians ran away and the mediocre and sycophants left behind are daily shuffled like playing cards resulting “to-wait-for directives-from-State-House”. Above all the whole government apparatus is turned into criminal machine against the people and all glorifications is due only to Yahya.  

I will not ask you to surrender power. I will not ask you to ensure rule of law. I will not ask for morals and ethical standards. Others before me have asked you fail to yield. I believed “freedom is never given, it is always earned”. You cannot give me (us) our God given freedom but we will have to earn it. You maybe surprise that we have learnt that you “resorted to terror because it is terror you fear”.  

We are preparing civil movements that transcend the political divides in The Gambia. The only demand for these movements are the protection of all rights, rule of law, good governance and adherence to recognized moral and ethical standards. These movements recognized that every resource of The Gambia belong to Gambians and will be accounted for accordingly, that every civil servant is a servant of the people of The Gambia and will play by the rules or face the full force of the law, that wrong doers regardless of social standing will be treated like every other law breaker, and that we settled for nothing less than people power and authority. 

This will be conducted within the law while we demand removal of all repressive laws including the electoral and indemnification decrees.  We reserved the exclusive right to defend our God given rights in the event of provocation and/or attack. We warned that the only power in that country is the “people and we are the people”. A further miscalculation of this fact and an attempt to use our army against themselves as you did in April 2000 against innocent school children will only result to speeding up your removal. Saddam Hussein could not help it but hide in a mice hole behind a spider web. The estimated 1.5 million people minus the 3000-5000 men/women of all the security services will override any enemy of the people in those services and proceed to deny you exit at Denton Bridge with folks on the South Bank while the North Bank folks will establish a check point at Banjul and Barra Ferry ports. You may flee by air or sea, your return will be secured with our international friends. Retired Lieutenant, Binneh Minteh, will help us work our way through the whole stack of international protocols and diplomacy. The world has moved beyond the times when dictators can peacefully die in exile while crimes against humanity await them at home. Idi Amin Dada of Uganda died in Saudi Arabia but Yahya and Moussa Troare will die in Gambia and Mali respectively. The world is no longer bi-polar. 

A rag kid on July 21, 1994 to a multimillionaire in 13 years. The acquisition of that wealth will be accounted to the last butut. The salary establisedh for the position you forcefully keep for the last 13 years was D29, 000 per month. Righteously your earning can only be D29, 000/month x 13 years x 12 months/year = D4, 524,000.00 (a little over D4.5 million). Even if I assumed all this is investment in a business that earned 15% per annum is not equivalent to your current known estates. Engaging in business should be made public and through a trustee(s) to avoid potential conflict of interest. This has not happened in your case. Increase of pay and other benefits that are not debated and approved at the National assembly are illegal. So far those National Assembly Member’s I talked to do not seem to know your monthly pay. I only hope this is not another criminality you are engaged in. The US $5000/squad member donation is almost your entire 13 years service earnings at D29, 000/month rate. It is $5000/member x 25 members x D30/US$ = D3.75 million. The numerous gifts of Mecca trips, Ramadan sugars, daily dishing of money to Praise Singers and even the supply of Pick-up trucks (each cost about D¼ million) to numerous police stations  across the country ought to be accounted. It is good to be generous but with your own estate. It makes no sense to rob the poor to turn around and dish it to another group of the poor. 

As you celebrate the 13^th anniversary of the darkest day in the history of our nation we mourn those you decide should not live to witness this day. These are the fallen sons/daughters from Koro Ousman Ceesay to the misingg Daba Marenah and co-prisoners. Our thoughts and prayers are with all those who are placed under conditions less than their choice for no reason other than being different. These list included everyone illegally detained and harmed in various forms including the breaking news of an attack on Mai Fatty’s life.

 

I conclude to tell you that you are a treasonable felon and murderer at State House. We are in pursuit until the day you will be brought to law. Everything you do since July 22, 1994 has no legal bases whether it bears positive and/or negative effects on the people of The Gambia. The choice is yours to give-in or not, what is certain is that my generation or the next will someday hand down the deserved justice on you and your helpers.  

Enjoy the forcefully acquired hospitality of The people of The Gambia as available.  The match is underway to strip it from all the criminals in town. 

For The Gambia ever True. 

Signed: Burama LF Jammeh

Editors note:The views of the author do not necessarily reflects the position of the Freedom Newspaper. This paper would not take liability for the content of the author's piece. His views are his views. Period. We thank you for your attention.