Gambia to arrest ex-president if he returns to the country

Former Gambian President Yahya Jammeh will be arrested if he attempts to return to the country, a minister has told the press.

Justice Minister Aboubacarr Tambadou also said to reporters that he would like to personally prosecute Mr Jammeh over his “brutal” rule of The Gambia, which lasted from 1994 to 2017.

The minister’s comments come days after a large protest by Mr Jammeh’s supporters, who are demanding their former leader be allowed to safely return to the country. They say arresting him will lead to “bloodshed”.

Mr Jammeh has himself expressed a desire to return home, having been removed from power and exiled to Equatorial Guinea in 2017.

In December 2016 he refused to accept election defeat, leading to a military intervention by The Gambia’s neighbours to force him out. 

The former president has since been accused of various human rights abuses, including extrajudicial killings, torture and arbitrary detention. 

The new government, lead by President Adama Barrow, has set up a Truth, Reconciliation and Reparations Commission to investigate the alleged crimes and recommend suitable restitutions. Mr Jammeh has refused to cooperate with the commission. 

Photo credit: AFP