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Yahya Jammeh
Yahya Abdul-Aziz Jemus Junkung Jammeh (born 25 May 1965) is a Gambian politician and former soldier, who served as President of the Gambia from 1996 to 2017. He was the Chairman of the Armed Forces Provisional Ruling Council (AFPRC) from 1994 to 1996.
Jammeh was born in Kanilai, in West Coast Region of the Gambia, and is a Muslim of the Jola ethnic group. He attended Gambia High School in Banjul from 1978 to 1983 and served in the Gambian National Gendarmerie from 1984 to 1989. He was then commissioned as an officer of the Gambian National Army, commanding the Military Police from 1992 to 1994. In July 1994, he came to power by leading a bloodless coup d'état that overthrew the elected government of Sir Dawda Jawara. At first ruling by decree, he was elected president in the 1996 election. Jammeh was re-elected as president in 2001, 2006 and 2011, but lost to Adama Barrow in 2016.
His presidency oversaw a shift towards authoritarianism, demonstrated in particular by his policies towards anti-government journalists, LGBT+ people and opposition parties. His foreign policy led to constant difficulties with the country's sole neighbour, Senegal. In 2013, Jammeh withdrew the Gambia from the Commonwealth of Nations and in 2016 he began the process of withdrawing the country from the International Criminal Court, one year after he declared the nation an Islamic republic. All three decisions were later rescinded by his successor's government, despite Jammeh's supporters arguing that his foreign policy encouraged self-sufficiency and anti-colonialism.
Jammeh has been implicated in serious human rights violations, such as murder, rape and torture, as highlighted in the final report of the Truth, Reconciliation and Reparations Commission. He is now living in exile in Equatorial Guinea. His assets around the world have been frozen by many countries amidst additional accusations of stealing millions of dollars from his country to fund a life of luxury. Jammeh has denied the allegations against him and has not been formally charged.
Jammeh was born on 25 May 1965 in Kanilai, a village in the Foni Kansala district of the Western Division of the Gambia. He is the son of Aja Fatou Ashombi Bojang, a housewife and trader, and Abdul Aziz James Junkung Jammeh, a career wrestler. Jammeh's grandparents migrated to the Gambia from the Casamance region of Senegal. He had a rural upbringing as part of a Muslim Jola family, primarily focused in Kanilai. One of his closest childhood friends was reportedly Mustapha James Kujabi. He attended Kanilai primary school, Saint Edwards primary school in Bwiam, from 1972 to 1978. After passing the common entrance (CE) exam, he was awarded a government scholarship to Gambia High School in Banjul, in 1978. His formal education ended after he was successful in his O Levels in 1983.
In those days, he used to defend the rights of many Gendarmes who for one reason or another had felt apart with the Gendarmerie command and administration and were brought to the [Military Police] for either investigation or punishment. What actually makes him changed into the biggest violator of the human and civic rights of ordinary Gambian citizens is beyond my comprehension.
In April 1984, Jammeh joined what was then the Gambian National Gendarmerie as a private. He was part of the Special Intervention Unit from 1984 to 1986 and was an escort training instructor at the Gendarmerie Training School from 1986 to 1989. He was promoted to sergeant in April 1986, and to cadet officer in December 1987. A former Gendarmerie officer, Binneh S. Minteh, later claimed that Jammeh "had always singled out Mandinkas as bad people" during his time as a Gendarme. In particular, Minteh recalled Jammeh's "ruthless and disrespectful encounter" with sergeant major Kebba Dibba, and when he "brandished a pistol and threatened to shoot" a captain named Ebrima Camara simply on the basis of his ethnicity.
He joined the Gambian National Army and was commissioned as a second lieutenant on 29 September 1989, serving as the officer in charge (OIC) of the Presidential Escort, part of the Presidential Guards, from 1989 to 1990. In 1991, he served as the officer commanding (OC) the Mobile Gendarmerie, and from 1992 to 1994 was the OC of the Gambia National Army Military Police. On 1 February 1992, he had been promoted to lieutenant. Jammeh was the head of security detail attached to Pope John Paul II during his visit to the Gambia in February 1992. He attended the Military Police Officers Basic Course (MPOBC) at Fort McClellan in the United States from September 1993 to January 1994.
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Yahya Jammeh
Yahya Abdul-Aziz Jemus Junkung Jammeh (born 25 May 1965) is a Gambian politician and former soldier, who served as President of the Gambia from 1996 to 2017. He was the Chairman of the Armed Forces Provisional Ruling Council (AFPRC) from 1994 to 1996.
Jammeh was born in Kanilai, in West Coast Region of the Gambia, and is a Muslim of the Jola ethnic group. He attended Gambia High School in Banjul from 1978 to 1983 and served in the Gambian National Gendarmerie from 1984 to 1989. He was then commissioned as an officer of the Gambian National Army, commanding the Military Police from 1992 to 1994. In July 1994, he came to power by leading a bloodless coup d'état that overthrew the elected government of Sir Dawda Jawara. At first ruling by decree, he was elected president in the 1996 election. Jammeh was re-elected as president in 2001, 2006 and 2011, but lost to Adama Barrow in 2016.
His presidency oversaw a shift towards authoritarianism, demonstrated in particular by his policies towards anti-government journalists, LGBT+ people and opposition parties. His foreign policy led to constant difficulties with the country's sole neighbour, Senegal. In 2013, Jammeh withdrew the Gambia from the Commonwealth of Nations and in 2016 he began the process of withdrawing the country from the International Criminal Court, one year after he declared the nation an Islamic republic. All three decisions were later rescinded by his successor's government, despite Jammeh's supporters arguing that his foreign policy encouraged self-sufficiency and anti-colonialism.
Jammeh has been implicated in serious human rights violations, such as murder, rape and torture, as highlighted in the final report of the Truth, Reconciliation and Reparations Commission. He is now living in exile in Equatorial Guinea. His assets around the world have been frozen by many countries amidst additional accusations of stealing millions of dollars from his country to fund a life of luxury. Jammeh has denied the allegations against him and has not been formally charged.
Jammeh was born on 25 May 1965 in Kanilai, a village in the Foni Kansala district of the Western Division of the Gambia. He is the son of Aja Fatou Ashombi Bojang, a housewife and trader, and Abdul Aziz James Junkung Jammeh, a career wrestler. Jammeh's grandparents migrated to the Gambia from the Casamance region of Senegal. He had a rural upbringing as part of a Muslim Jola family, primarily focused in Kanilai. One of his closest childhood friends was reportedly Mustapha James Kujabi. He attended Kanilai primary school, Saint Edwards primary school in Bwiam, from 1972 to 1978. After passing the common entrance (CE) exam, he was awarded a government scholarship to Gambia High School in Banjul, in 1978. His formal education ended after he was successful in his O Levels in 1983.
In those days, he used to defend the rights of many Gendarmes who for one reason or another had felt apart with the Gendarmerie command and administration and were brought to the [Military Police] for either investigation or punishment. What actually makes him changed into the biggest violator of the human and civic rights of ordinary Gambian citizens is beyond my comprehension.
In April 1984, Jammeh joined what was then the Gambian National Gendarmerie as a private. He was part of the Special Intervention Unit from 1984 to 1986 and was an escort training instructor at the Gendarmerie Training School from 1986 to 1989. He was promoted to sergeant in April 1986, and to cadet officer in December 1987. A former Gendarmerie officer, Binneh S. Minteh, later claimed that Jammeh "had always singled out Mandinkas as bad people" during his time as a Gendarme. In particular, Minteh recalled Jammeh's "ruthless and disrespectful encounter" with sergeant major Kebba Dibba, and when he "brandished a pistol and threatened to shoot" a captain named Ebrima Camara simply on the basis of his ethnicity.
He joined the Gambian National Army and was commissioned as a second lieutenant on 29 September 1989, serving as the officer in charge (OIC) of the Presidential Escort, part of the Presidential Guards, from 1989 to 1990. In 1991, he served as the officer commanding (OC) the Mobile Gendarmerie, and from 1992 to 1994 was the OC of the Gambia National Army Military Police. On 1 February 1992, he had been promoted to lieutenant. Jammeh was the head of security detail attached to Pope John Paul II during his visit to the Gambia in February 1992. He attended the Military Police Officers Basic Course (MPOBC) at Fort McClellan in the United States from September 1993 to January 1994.
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