Gambia: Why there may be war in the country

(Banjul) On the 1^st December 2016 Gambia held an election.

President Yahya Jammeh who took power in a military coup in 1994 and who has since won 4 elections, lost and initially he said he would step down. However just 9 days after losing the election, he made a televised speech where he stated:

"I announce to you, Gambians, my total rejection of the election results and thereby annulling the elections in its entirety," "We will go back to the polls because I want to make sure that every Gambian has voted under an independent electoral commission that is independent, neutral and free from foreign influence."

Well once upon a time African leaders  got away with being dictators for life. All they did was blame the white man, colonialism  and sat back to reap the billions in foreign aid which Western countries handed over in which to silence anybody who played the race card.

Well, it appears that those days may be coming to an end, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has said to Jammeh, that he has to step down and in order to make him comply they have massed troops from Nigeria, Senegal, Ghana and others on the border and set a deadline for  18/2359/01/2017.  Thankfully  Gambia’s army chief has said he would not order his men to fight other African troops if they enter Gambian territory, So it seems that this whole debarkle may be settled peacefully, but only time will tell if Jammeh will go without bloodshed.

Gambia bans Music and Dance during Ramadan.

(Banjul) Gambian Police on Thursday issued a stern warning against music and dance during the month of Ramadan, which began on June 6, a statement from the Office of the Inspector- General of Police said.

“In honor of the Holy Month of Ramadan, all ceremonies, festivities and programmes that involve drumming, music and dance during the day or at night are prohibited. All those engaged in the practice are therefore warned to desist from such acts, otherwise they will be eventually apprehended and face the full force of the law without compromise,” 

The Public Relation Officer of the Police, Lamin Njie, said the police also advised the public to report any such persons or groups to the police, as stern actions would be taken against any offenders.

Gambia’s president declares country Islamic republic

Gambia’s president declares country Islamic republic https://t.co/Kc9Po9hHdO

— The Times of Israel (@TimesofIsrael) December 12, 2015

DAKAR, Senegal — Gambia’s president has declared the tiny West African country an Islamic republic, saying it is line with the country’s majority religion and is an effort to break from a colonial past.

President Yahya Jammeh made the declaration Friday at the end of a political rally. He said the decision is in line with the country’s religious identity and values, which is about 90 percent Muslim. Jammeh assured the rights of the Christian community will be protected.

Jammeh said Gambia could not afford to continue a colonial legacy. A former British colony nestled within Senegal, Gambia is one of the poorest nations in the world and has been ruled with an iron fist by the president since he seized power in a coup in 1994. [...]

Human rights groups accuse Jammeh’s regime of disappearances, assassinations, extra-judicial killings and harassment of journalists and activists — claims the government has repeatedly rejected.

The president was elected for the first time in 1996 and has been re-elected three times since, most recently in 2011 with 72 percent of the vote.

His party, the Alliance for Patriotic Reorientation and Construction (APRC), won a landslide at the last legislative elections in 2012, a vote that was boycotted by six opposition parties accusing the regime of “abuse of power.”