Gambia’s Jammeh as discipline master-in-chief

 President Yahya Jammeh

Mobhare Matinyi, Washington DC, The Citizen, Thursday, 10 May 2012 20:52 This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Gambian President Yahya Jammeh is an interesting person. There are times when he acts like a typical comedian, but sometimes like a very dangerous man. This last time he acted dangerously and badly injured his wife’s bodyguard, Lieutenant Bajerreh Manneh.

What do you quickly imagine after hearing such a sentence, that the president badly injured his wife’s bodyguard? What happened? The bodyguard apparently slept while on duty “endangering” the life of First Lady Zeinab Suma Jammeh.

The young president, who turns 47 on May 25, beat up the bodyguard with his traditional African sword stick, so severely that the army officer was left bleeding profusely. According to the Gambia’s Freedom newspaper, the dictator went on to kick and knock down the helpless soldier and then fired him on the spot.

But here is the worst part of the story: the lieutenant is on the loose in Senegal, apparently, an enemy country, if Jammeh’s questionable mind is anything to go by. Bearing in mind that the tiniest country on the African continent is simply a land that covers the banks of River Gambia, the unlucky bodyguard didn’t have to travel long to escape from the wrath of his master.

That escape has ignited a fire back home, and now Jammeh has fired his Presidential Guard Chief General Alhagie Martin, and a number of other state guard officials. The Interior Minister, Lamin Kaba Bajo, is also gone, just three weeks after being appointed, but surprisingly Jammeh has reappointed Ousman Sonko who was sacked in February. Jammeh wants Manneh back but the unlucky young man is running for his life. Why is Jammeh so worried? The bodyguard knows a lot of secrets.

But who is Jammeh? He is an American-trained military police officer with only high school education that came to power as the chairman of a military junta after a July 1994 coup d’état. He promoted himself from a lieutenant to colonel in August, 1996, then quit the military within two weeks, and was later elected president in September 1996.

On January 19, 2012 Jammeh was sworn-in for his fourth five-year term after winning the presidential election in November 2011. Sounds like an American timetable? Yes! Americans elect their presidents in November and swear them in January. What a coincidence!

Jammeh, who often sounds like a clown, after his inaugural ceremony promised to turn Gambia into an economic superpower in five years, and warned that whoever doesn’t work hard, will either get fired or go to jail. But look at this one fact: based on official exchange rates, Gambia’s Gross Domestic Product is approximately $1.1 billion, the same as the annual revenue of International Delight, a California company that makes coffee creamer cups.

According to the presidential website, Jammeh’s official title is His Excellency Sheikh Professor Alhaji Dr. Yahya Abdul-Azziz Jemus Junkung Jammeh, and adds that he is the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces and the Chief Custodian of the Sacred Constitution of The Gambia; sounds like Uganda’s Idi Amin!

The website continues: His Excellency is also the Minister of Defence and holds responsibility over several departments which are cabinet, legislature, public service commission, auditor general, the national intelligence agency, the army, navy, national guards, and the ministry of agriculture.

Like many African despots, Professor Jammeh has a lot to tell about his wives too but don’t ask. His numerous hobbies include playing tennis and animal rearing.  Lucy Freeman, Amnesty International's researcher on The Gambia, sums up Jammeh’s authoritarian rule as follows: “The international human rights groups constantly accuse Jammeh of making unlawful arrests and holding unfair trials.”

Nevertheless, Alhaj Jammeh claims to be a devoted Muslim, wears the popular robe for West African muslims, prays in the state house mosque, walks around clutching his Quran, prayer beads and his African royal stick, and makes many charitable donations to Muslim communities including sheep from his farm.

Regarding the aid-gay issue, Jammeh declared in April 2012 while opening the National Assembly: "If you are to give us aid for men and men or for women and women to marry, leave it; we don't need your aid because, as long as I am the President of The Gambia, you will never see that happen in this country." He said he couldn’t offend God.

Jammeh claims that he can cure AIDS with a green herbal paste, and that his concoction is not an argument, but a proof. He also claims that he possesses extensive knowledge in traditional herbal therapy and can get rid of asthma and epilepsy.

That’s Dr. Jammeh! Could this be another African buffoon in the making the same way we witnessed in Uganda during the 1970s before Tanzania’s Julius Nyerere said enough was enough and went on to accomplish the only regime-change mission in Africa?

Jammeh may not be a discipline master-in-chief but something worse than that. Watch out!