Everything is not alright at The Gambian Mission in Taiwan, as
the Ambassador Mawdor Juwara is at the centre of a corruption scandal, as another Gambian student in Taipei emailed the Freedom Newspaper complaining about the Ambassador’s shady deals among other things. The student who begged for anonymity accuses the Ambassador of using funds given to them by President Jammeh to run his private errands. “ As I emailed you, he is refusing to hand over the $5000 dollars given to us by the President. This is not the first time that the Ambassador is sitting on our funds. The Taiwanese Government had in the past also extended help to us, but we haven’t seen anything to that effect. The Ambassador should desist from using our names as a passport to fulfill his desire to become rich. We are appealing to the President to please come to our aid. We are being unjustly exploited by the Ambassador and his inner circles. This is a clear case of economic exploitation.” said the student.
According to the student, due to poor pay and lack of incentives, some foreign diplomats are tempted to engage in corrupt practices. “ The Ambassador and his staff have been writing letters soliciting for funds. It’s regrettable that some of our colleagues are being used as front by these shameless diplomats to carry out their corrupt practices. The President should preserve the image of The Gambia by ending this mess taking place at the Gambian Mission in Taipei. I’m privy to certain top secrets involving Embassy officials and if given chance by the President I will tell him how I feel about the Ambassador. It’s not our wish to relay our concerns through the Freedom Newspaper, but we have no choice but to use the medium to reach out to the President. If urgent action is not taken, the situation might degenerates to a full blown confrontation between Embassy staff and students.” he posited.
Ambassador Juwara has also been accused of divide and rule. “ He is favoring his loved ones. The Embassy is divided to a point that no one here is willing to work. We always find them charting in their offices, while the Ambassador is indisposed most of the time. They are insensitive to our plight.” said the student.
The student appealed to the Taiwanese Government to involve their representatives in all matters relating to student funds and other assistance extended to them. “ We do not trust the Ambassador and his group. If they are refusing to handover monies given to us by the President, what is going to stop them from reaping us off? There are few students on the side of the Ambassador. A good number of us are displeased with the way the Ambassador handles our funds. The President should look into our complaints.” said the disgruntled students.
Ambassador Juwara who is running a five staff Embassy was also quoted as saying that students supplying information to the Freedom Newspaper risked losing their scholarships. The Ambassador threats against students followed revelations that he refuses to handover Euros 5000 gift extended to Gambian students by the Gambian leader.
Efforts to locate the Ambassador for comment was impossible as no one was available to answer the phone at his Taipei office.