#yahya jammeh

[echosmedias]

Que signifie pour les victimes le Tribunal spécial de la CEDEAO pour juger les violations des droits de l'homme en Gambie sous Yahya Jammeh ?

La CEDEAO veut créer un tribunal pour juger les violations des droits de l’homme commises sous l’ancien président gambien, Yahya Jammeh, parti en exil en Guinée équatoriale depuis janvier 2017. Alors que les familles des victimes applaudissent ce nouveau développement, le camp de l’ancien président estime que la CEDEAO a trahi l’accord qui lui avait fait céder le pouvoir…L’approbation par la…

[awetistic-things]

Hello I'm Yousef, I'm afather of a sick son, he suffers from shortness of breath and needs continuous treatment.

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“Every Westerner is jubilanting that the Berlin Wall has fallen. Something worst than the Berlin Wall of in Palestine and nobody is talking about it” ➖ Yahya Jammeh

[coochiequeens]

Gambia's parliament of 58 lawmakers includes five women. If the bill eventually passes through parliament, President Adama Barrow is expected to sign it into law. He has not spoken publicly about the legislation."

Ladies, this is why "every vote counts" means everywhere elections are held. Vote more women into office

Lawmakers in Gambia have referred a repeal of the 2015 ban on female genital cutting for further committee discussions

By ABDOULIE JOHN Associated Press and JESSICA DONATI Associated Press

March 18, 2024, 8:49 AM

SERREKUNDA, Gambia -- Lawmakers in Gambia referred an attempted repeal of the 2015 ban on female genital cutting for further committee discussions on Monday.

Gambian activists fear a repeal would overturn years of work to better protect girls and women. The legislation was referred to a national committee for further debate and could return to a vote in the weeks and months ahead.

Activists in the largely Muslim country had warned that lifting the ban would hurt years of work against a procedure often performed on girls younger than 5 in the mistaken belief that it would control their sexuality.

The procedure, which also has been called female genital mutilation, includes the partial or full removal of external genitalia, often by traditional community practitioners with tools such as razor blades or at times by health workers. It can cause serious bleeding, death and childbirth complications but remains a widespread practice in parts of Africa.

Jaha Dukureh, the founder of Safe Hands for Girls, a local group that aims to end the practice, told The Associated Press she worried that other laws safeguarding women’s rights could be repealed next. Dukureh underwent the procedure and watched her sister bleed to death.

“If they succeed with this repeal, we know that they might come after the child marriage law and even the domestic violence law. This is not about religion but the cycle of controlling women and their bodies,” she said. The United Nations has estimated that more than half of women and girls ages 15 to 49 in Gambia have undergone the procedure.

The bill is backed by religious conservatives in the nation of less than 3 million people. Its text says that “it seeks to uphold religious purity and safeguard cultural norms and values." The country’s top Islamic body has called the practice “one of the virtues of Islam."

Gambia's former leader, Yahya Jammeh, banned the practice in 2015 in a surprise to activists and with no public explanation. Since the law took effect, enforcement has been weak, with only two cases prosecuted.

On Monday, a crowd of men and women gathered outside Gambia's parliament, some carrying signs protesting the bill. Police in riot gear held them back.

Gambia's parliament of 58 lawmakers includes five women. If the bill eventually passes through parliament, President Adama Barrow is expected to sign it into law. He has not spoken publicly about the legislation.

The United States has supported activists who are trying to stop the practice. Earlier this month, it honored Gambian activist Fatou Baldeh at the White House with an International Women of Courage Award.

The U.S. Embassy in Gambia declined to say whether any high-level U.S. official in Washington had reached out to Gambian leaders over the bill. In its emailed statement, Geeta Rao Gupta, the top U.S. envoy for global women's issues, called it “incredibly important” to listen to the voices of survivors like Baldeh.

The chairperson of the local Center for Women’s Rights and Leadership, Fatou Jagne Senghore said the bill is “aimed at curtailing women’s rights and reversing the little progress made in recent years.” The president of the local Female Lawyers Association, Anna Njie, said the practice “has been proven to cause harm through medical evidence.”

UNICEF said earlier this month that some 30 million women globally have undergone female genital cutting in the past eight years, most of them in Africa but some in Asia and the Middle East.

More than 80 countries have laws prohibiting the procedure or allowing it to be prosecuted, according to a World Bank study cited this year by a United Nations Population Fund Q&A published earlier this year. They include South Africa, Iran, India and Ethiopia.

“No religious text promotes or condones female genital mutilation,” the UNFPA report says, adding there is no benefit to it.

Girls are subjected to the procedure at ages ranging from infancy to adolescence. Long term, it can lead to urinary tract infections, menstrual problems, pain, decreased sexual satisfaction and childbirth complications as well as depression, low self-esteem and post-traumatic stress disorder.

[beardedmrbean]

NIAMEY, Niger (AP) — West African nations have given Niger’s coup leaders one week to reinstate the country’s democratically elected president and have threatened to use force if the demands aren’t met.

The announcement came at the end of an emergency meeting of West African countries Sunday in Nigeria, where the regional bloc, known as ECOWAS, convened to respond to last week’s military takeover. President Mohamed Bazoum remains under house arrest and has yet to resign.

READ MORE: French embassy in Niger attacked during pro-junta rally in capital

“In the event the authority’s demands are not met within one week, (the bloc will) take all measures necessary to restore constitutional order in the Republic of Niger. Such measures may include the use of force,” said the statement.

The bloc also imposted strict sanctions, including suspending all commercial and financial transactions between ECOWAS member states and Niger and freezing of assets in regional central banks.

Economic sanctions could have a deep impact on Nigeriens, who live in the third-poorest country in the world, according to the latest U.N. data. The country relies on imports from Nigeria for up to 90% of its power, according to the International Renewable Energy Agency.

The sanctions could be disastrous and Niger needs to find a solution to avoid them, the country’s Prime Minister Ouhoumoudou Mahamadou told French media outlet Radio France Internationale on Sunday.

“When people say there’s an embargo, land borders are closed, air borders are closed, it’s extremely difficult for people … Niger is a country that relies heavily on the international community,” he said.

The 15-nation ECOWAS bloc has unsuccessfully tried to restore democracies in nations where the military took power in recent years. Four nations are run by military governments in West and Central Africa, where there have been nine successful or attempted coups since 2020.

In the 1990s, ECOWAS intervened in Liberia during its civil war. In 2017, it intervened in Gambia to prevent the new president’s predecessor, Yahya Jammeh, from disrupting the handover of power. Around 7,000 troops from Ghana, Nigeria, and Senegal entered, according to the Global Observatory, which provides analysis on peace and security issues.

If the regional bloc uses force, it could trigger violence not only between Niger and ECOWAS forces but also civilians supporting the coup and those against it, Niger analysts say.

“While this remains to be a threat and unlikely action, the consequences on civilians of such an approach if putschists chose confrontation would be catastrophic,” said Rida Lyammouri, senior fellow at the Policy Center for the New South, a Morocco-based think tank.

Lyammouri also said he does not see a “military intervention happening because of the violence that could trigger.”

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken commended ECOWAS’ leadership Sunday to “defend constitutional order in Niger” after the sanctions announcement, and joined the bloc in calling for the immediate release of Bazoum and his family.

The military junta, which seized power on Wednesday when members of the presidential guard surrounded Bazoum’s house and detained him, is already cracking down on the government and civil liberties.

READ MORE: Blinken says Niger must restore ‘democratic order’ to avoid loss of U.S. economic aid

On Sunday evening it arrested four government officials, including Mahamane Sani Mahamadou, the minister of petroleum and son of former President Mahamadou Issoufou; Kassoum Moctar, minister of education; Ousseini Hadizatou Yacouba, the minister of mines, and Foumakoye Gado, the president of the ruling party. That’s according to someone close to the president, who was not authorized to speak about the situation, and a Nigerien analyst who did not want to be named for fear of reprisal.

The same night, junta spokesman Col. Maj. Amadou Abdramane said on state television that all government cars need to be returned by midday Monday and banned the use of social media to diffuse messages against state security. He also claimed that Bazoum’s government had authorized the French to carry out strikes to free Bazoum. The Associated Press can’t verify his allegations.

In anticipation of the ECOWAS decision Sunday, thousands of pro-junta supporters took to the streets in the capital, Niamey, denouncing its former colonial ruler, France, waving Russian flags and telling the international community to stay away.

Demonstrators in Niger are openly resentful of France, and Russia is seen by some as a powerful alternative. The nature of Moscow’s involvement in the rallies, if any, isn’t clear, but some protesters have carried Russian flags, along with signs reading “Down with France” and supporting Russian President Vladimir Putin.

“The situation of this country is not good … It’s time for change, and change has arrived,” said Moussa Seydou, a protester. “What we want from the putschists — all they have to do is improve social conditions so that Nigeriens can live better in this country and bring peace,” he said.

[aureumhq]

This is giving peak rpc era vibes iykyk and I'm obsessed, def sending in an app soon! MW pls

Ahhh thank you!! That’s exactly the energy I was going for — peak rpc nostalgia but make it luxe, messy, and dangerously glamorous. I can’t wait to see your app roll in! Here’s a list of some faces I would love to see around: (additionally, you can look in our most wanted tag here + members, certainly feel free to chime in)

Dua Lipa, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Elle Fanning, Ellise Chappell, Elsa Hosk, Emilia Clarke, Emily Ratajkowski, Enver Gjokaj, Evan Roderick, Ewan Mitchell, Fan Bingbing, Federic Russo, Finn Cole, Fiona Palomo, Freddie Prinze Jr, Go Min Si, Go Yoon Jung, Gong Jun, Gong Yoo, Grace Elizabeth, Han Sohee, Havana Rose Liu, Henrik Holm, Henry Cavill, Herman Tømmeraas, Hwang Yeji, Hyun Bin, Idris Elba, Imaan Hamman, Im Jinah / Nana, Iman Meskini, Irina Shayk, Ismael Cruz Cordova, Jamie Flatters, Jane De Leon, Jasmine Tookes, Jensen Ackles, Jeremy Pope, Jessica Chastain, Jessica Green, Jessica Henwick, Jessica Lucas, Jessica Sutton, Jihane Almira Chedid, Jing Boran, Jocelin Donahue, John David Washington, John Krasinski, Jonathan Bailey, Jorge Lopez, Josefine Frida Pettersen, Josha Stradowski, Joseph Morgan, Jourdan Dunn, Joy / Park Sooyoung, Ju Jihoon, Jude Demorest, Jung Hoyeon, Justin H. Min, Kat Graham, Katja Herbers, Michael Michele, Mikey Madison, Ming Xi, Mint Ranchrawee, Miu Natsha, Monica Bellucci, Mookda Narinrak, Moon Gayoung, Morgan Holmstrom, Naomi Ackie, Nadine Lustre, Namtan Tipnaree, Nathalie Kelley, Nell Tiger Free, Nicholas Hoult, Nicole Wallace, Nicola Peltz, Ni Ni, Nikki Thot, Nina Dobrev, Nolan Gerard Funk, Nychaa Nuttanicha, Olivia Cooke, Olivia Culpo, Oscar Isaac, Ozge Yagiz, Park Boyoung, Park Seo Ham, Pat Chayanit, Paul Mescal, Paul Wesley, Peter Gadiot, Phoebe Tonkin, Pia Wurtzbach, Pinar Deniz, Poppy Drayton, Prang Kannarun, Precious Lee, Priscilla Quintana, Queen Latifah, Rachel Mcadams, Rami Malek, Ransom Canyon, Rege-Jean Page, Renee Rapp, Richard Madden, Ritu Arya, Romee Strijd, Rosamund Pike, Rosario Dawson, S. Epatha Merkerson, Sam Adegoke, Samantha Logan, Samara Weaving, Santiago Cabrera, Sasha Cale, Sasha Luss, Scott Eastwood, Seo Yeji, Serayah Mcneill, Shailene Woodley, Shanina Shaik, Shay Mitchell, Shin Yeeun, Sienna Miller, Simone Ashley, Sobhita Dhulipala, Sofia Carson, Sophie Thatcher, Sydney Sweeney, Ta'Rhonda Jones, Tao Okamoto, Taraji P. Henson, Tarjei Sandvik Moe, Taylor Hill, Thomas Hayes, Tom Hardy, Tracie Thoms, Uma Jammeh, Ulrikke Falch, Valerie Thomas, Victoria Walker, Viggo Mortensen, Wakeema Hollis, Wallis Day, Wang Ziyi, Wawwa Nicha, Win Metawin, Woo Do Hwan, Yahya Abdul Mateen Ii, Yana Santos, Yang Hyeji, Yara Shahidi, Yaya Dacosta, Yoghurt Nattasha, Zendaya Coleman, Zoe Kravitz, Zorzo Natharuetai.

[japapinfo]

Justice rendue : peine à perpétuité contre le conducteur de l’escadron de la mort de Jammeh

Bai Lowe refuse d'accepter les accusations portées à son encontre, mais un ⁢tribunal allemand l'a condamné à une peine de prison à vie pour les crimes qu'il aurait commis en Gambie sous le régime de Yahya Jammeh. En⁣ tant que chauffeur pour l'escadron de la mort "Junglers", il aurait été impliqué d... #Gambie #Pays #Rubrique #Société#Justice #peineàperpétuité

[lboogie1906]

President Yahya Jammeh (May 25, 1965) is a Gambian politician and former military officer who was the second president of Gambia (1994-2017). He ruled Gambia for 23 years after rising to power as a young army officer in a bloodless military coup in 1994 that ousted Dawda Jawara who had been the first president of Gambia. He was officially elected the second president of The Gambia in 1996 and reelected in 2001, 2006, and 2011. He was defeated in the 2016 Gambian presidential election and was forced to step down from power in 2017.

He was born in Kanilai, Gambia. He joined the Gambian National Army in 1984 and was commissioned a second lieutenant in 1989. In August 1992, he became commanding officer of the Military Police of Yundum Barracks. He received extensive military training from neighboring Senegal and military police training at Fort McClellan, Alabama.

The Jammeh-led AFPRC suspended the constitution, sealed the borders, and implemented a nationwide curfew. His new government justified the coup by decrying corruption and the absence of democracy under the Jawara regime. Army personnel were dissatisfied with their salaries, living conditions, and prospects for promotions.

He married Tuti Faal (1994-98). He married Zeinab Suma (1999) and the couple had two children, a daughter and a son. He married Alima Sallah (2010-11). #africanhistory365 #africanexcellence

[ahmedhashimabdullgader]

Gambia's President Barrow announces research

The Gambian government has announced an investigation into the sale of assets seized by former President Yahya Jammeh, after widespread public concern. Some assets, including cattle and luxury vehicles, were sold, while a panel was still investigating the wealth that Jammeh had collected during his 22-year-old rule. A newspaper investigation has exposed alleged irregularities and a clear lack of…

[africabriefingsblog]

Gambia probes Jammeh asset sale scandal

Keypoints: Barrow orders inquiry after sale of Jammeh’s assets BBC reports claims of insider deals and low prices Opposition demands independent investigation GAMBIA has launched a formal investigation into the controversial sale of assets seized from former president Yahya Jammeh, following an exposé alleging insider dealing and public outcry over a lack of transparency. According to a report…

[newssphere0]

Gambian ex-soldier convicted at US trial of torturing suspected backers of a failed 2006 coup

DENVER (AP) — A former member of Gambia’s military was convicted Tuesday of charges that included torturing people suspected of involvement in a failed coup against the West African country’s longtime dictator nearly 20 years ago. Michael Sang Correa was charged with torturing five men believed to be opponents of Yahya Jammeh following an unsuccessful plot to remove him from power in 2006. A jury…

[surnaal]

#Gambie #TroisièmeMandat #AdamaBarrow #Démocratie L’annonce d’Adama Barrow de briguer un troisième mandat présidentiel en 2026 suscite un débat intense sur l’équilibre entre stabilité politique et respect des normes démocratiques. Le chef de l’État gambien justifie sa décision par la nécessité de consolider son jeune parti, le National People’s Party (NPP), qu’il estime vulnérable en l’absence d’un leadership expérimenté. Cette posture rappelle les trajectoires controversées d’anciens dirigeants ouest-africains, alimentant les craintes d’un glissement vers un pouvoir prolongé. Arrivé au pouvoir en 2017 après la chute de Yahya Jammeh, Adama Barrow met en avant des réalisations infrastructurelles et économiques pour légitimer sa candidature. Routes, écoles, centres de santé et augmentation des salaires figurent parmi les arguments phares de son bilan. Pourtant, cette autosatisfaction contraste avec des enquêtes d’opinion pointant un scepticisme croissant dans la population. Le président gambien balaie ces critiques, invoquant plut��t des rapports internationaux favorables à sa réélection. La stratégie de Barrow évoque immanquablement le cas sénégalais voisin, où Macky Sall a renoncé in extremis à un troisième mandat en 2024 sous pression populaire et institutionnelle. Contrairement à son homologue sénégalais qui a préservé sa stature en cédant le pouvoir, le Gambien semble s’inspirer davantage de l’ancien président Abdoulaye Wade, dont la tentative de prolongation en 2012 avait provoqué un rejet électoral. Cette analogie interpelle sur les risques de fragmentation politique dans un pays encore en convalescence démocratique. L’alliance surprenante du NPP avec l’APRC, ancien parti au pouvoir sous Jammeh, ajoute une dimension polémique à ce scénario. Les critiques y voient un calcul opportuniste pour capter l’électorat historique de l’ex-dictateur, au détriment des promesses de rupture initiales. Cette realpolitik soulève des questions sur l’ancrage démocratique réel du régime, malgré les avancées en matière de libertés publiques depuis 2017. La jeunesse du parti présidentiel, brandie comme justification principale, masque mal une centralisation progressive du pouvoir. Les récentes dissensions au sein de la coalition au pouvoir et les limogeages de ministres critiques alimentent cette perception. L’argument de la maturation institutionnelle sonne dès lors comme un prétexte pour contourner l’alternance, dans une région où plusieurs dirigeants tentent de modifier les constitutions à leur avantage. Read the full article

[erichold]

The Great Gambia Heist

For more than two decades, Yahya Jammeh ruled over Gambia, a tiny West African country known for tropical beaches and tranquility in a region often rocked by conflict.

Jammeh quickly became a dictator after taking power in a 1994 coup d’etat. His administration was implicated in widespread human rights abuses and several waves of brutal crackdowns on dissent. And his bizarre personality drew headlines around the world after he gave himself five titles and claimed to be able to cure AIDS.

Throughout his years in power, Jammeh flaunted his wealth. His lavish private estate in his home village was home to exotic animals, a military training camp and scores of luxury vehicles. He was known to drive a stretch Hummer around the country and he travelled in private jets.

But most of Jammeh’s financial dealings remained hidden — until now.

In a series of stories, OCCRP exposes for the first time how Jammeh and his associates plundered nearly US$1 billion of timber resources and Gambia’s public funds. Tens of thousands of documents — including government correspondence, contracts, bank records, internal investigations, and legal documents — lay bare the true scale of the theft.

Jammeh’s powerful inner circle helped him to solidify his power. He formed lucrative partnerships with foreign businessmen, including Mohamed Bazzi, a Lebanese businessman and financier for the Hezbollah militant group, that would pave the way for the looting of nearly $364 million from the state-run telecoms company. He also worked with two Romanian businessmen, Nicolae and Dragos Buzaianu, to secure $325.5 million in illicit timber revenue.

The former president played China and Taiwan against each other to obtain more than $100 million of bilateral aid that was dished out with few questions asked.

The Gambian people paid the biggest price for Jammeh’s corruption as he stole $60 million from the country’s pension fund.

To this day, Jammeh has never been charged with a crime.

[carmenvicinanza]

Fatou Baldeh

Siamo in otto, tutte ‘tagliate’: giriamo per villaggi e comunità rurali a parlare con gli abitanti per spiegare che le mutilazioni non sono un bene per le donne, che provocano malattie fisiche e mentali e che tradizione e abitudini si possono cambiare.

Fatou Baldeh, attivista che si batte per porre fine alle mutilazioni genitali femminili, è la fondatrice e presidente di Women in Liberation & Leadership che, dal 2018, agisce per tutelare salute e diritti delle donne in Gambia.

Insignita con l’Ordine dell’Impero Britannico nel 2020, ha ricevuto l’International Women of Courage Award del Dipartimento di Stato degli Stati Uniti e l’International Women’s Rights Award a Ginevra, nel 2024.

Il suo nome compare tra le donne dell’anno 2025 per la rivista Time.

Nata in Gambia nel 1983, paese in cui il 75% delle giovani viene sottoposto a mutilazioni genitali, nonostante dal 2015 esista una legge che le vieta, aveva otto anni quando ha subito il famigerato “taglio” della clitoride.

Le operazioni in maniera informale e illegale, avvengono senza farmaci, senza antidolorifici, solo con un coltellino affilato senza sterilizzazione, che spesso procura infezioni e strascichi letali.

Ha trascorso gran parte della sua vita in Scozia, dove ha studiato psicologia all’Università di Wolverhampton e ottenuto un master in salute sessuale e riproduttiva presso la Queen Margaret University di Edimburgo. 

Dopo gli studi, ha lavorato nel campo della ricerca sociale per il Dignity Alert Research Forum, di cui, nel 2015 è diventata direttrice.

Ha documentato gli stupri, lavori forzati e omicidi subiti dalle donne sotto la dittatura di Yahya Jammeh. Le sue scoperte sono state presentate alla Truth, Reconciliation and Reparations Commission del Gambia.

Ha testimoniato di fronte al Parlamento scozzese per discutere le linee guida da implementare per proteggere le giovani donne dalle mutilazioni genitali femminili.

Nel 2018, tornata nel suo paese d’origine, ha fondato la WILL, Women in Liberation and Leadership che agisce per la tutela dei diritti delle donne in Gambia.

Nel 2020 ha ricevuto lo She Award per il suo straordinario contributo all’emancipazione delle ragazze e delle donne in Gambia e, in riconoscimento del suo lavoro con le comunità di migranti e le donne che hanno subito abusi nel Regno Unito, la Regina Elisabetta II, nel 2020, l’ha nominata Membro dell’Ordine dell’Impero Britannico (MBE).

Ci ha messo tempo, studio e approfondimento prima di capire che quello a cui era stata sottoposta era un crimine lesivo della dignità e libertà e non una doverosa pratica tradizionale. Alla sua battaglia si è unita anche la madre, che aveva permesso che venisse mutilata e che oggi la affianca nella campagna di sensibilizzazione contro le MFG.

Sono tornata in Gambia con l’obiettivo di aiutare il mio Paese a svilupparsi, a crescere. Nessuno può farlo per noi, siamo noi che dobbiamo impegnarci per cambiare le cose. Il “taglio” ha radici profonde nella nostra società, nelle credenze e nelle superstizioni, è parte della nostra identità, considerato un rito di passaggio all’età adulta e spesso sono le nonne che lo impongono alle nipoti. Talvolta mi trattano come se fossi una traditrice dei valori tradizionali, mi accusano di essermi fatta corrompere dall’ideologia occidentale. Serve tempo e soprattutto educazione.

Le mutilazioni genitali femminili sono talmente radicate in Gambia che nel parlamento (composto da 53 uomini e 5 donne) era recentemente arrivata la proposta di abrogare il divieto per renderle di nuovo nuovamente legali.

L’organizzazione di Fatou Baldeh è attiva anche contro la violenza contro le donne, fenomeno endemico che non vede alcun contrasto dalle istituzioni, tanto che non esistono case di accoglienza e protezione.

[almanach-international]

18 février : la fête nationale de la Gambie

Ce pays d’Afrique, le plus petit du continent, a été l’un des premiers à être occupé par les Européens, les Portugais puis les Anglais. Son indépendance, le 18 février 1965, a été relativement tardive. On la célèbre chaque 18 février. Independance Day est aussi la fête nationale de la Gambie.

La Gambie a été le premier pays d’Afrique de l'Ouest à être conquis par les Britanniques, son territoire se limite au fleuve du même nom et à ses rives. Intégrée à l’Empire britannique le 25 mai 1765, elle sera la dernière des colonies britanniques d'Afrique de l'Ouest à obtenir son indépendance, trois siècles plus tard à quelques semaines près. 

Contrairement à la plupart des États africains, la Gambie a connu une transition pacifique vers l'indépendance. En 1963, soit deux ans auparavant, le Royaume-Uni a accordé au pays une autonomie interne. Le 18 février 1965, le duc et la duchesse de Kent étaient présents pour commémorer l'événement qui a mis la fin de 300 ans de domination coloniale britannique. Le couple princier représentant la reine a rejoint le Premier ministre gambien Dawda Jawara et le gouverneur Sir John Paul dans le mansa bengo (« le rassemblement des rois ») l’assemblée des chefs traditionnels gambiens, présidée par le chef le plus âgé, Touré Sagnaing. Cette cérémonie traditionnelle qui a eu lieu à Brikama, l'une des grandes villes de Gambie, fut un événement mondial regroupant des dignitaires de 30 pays différents.

La célébration de la fête de l'indépendance de la Gambie a permis la levée du drapeau national rouge, bleu, vert et blanc de la Gambie. Conçu par Louis Thomasi, gagnant d’un concours, ce drapeau n'a aucune base politique. Dawda Jawara, le père de l’indépendance a dirigé le pays pendant trois décennies : d’abord comme Premier ministre de 1962 à 1970, puis comme président de 1970 à 1994, en s’appuyant sur un régime à parti unique non démocratique. Durant son règne, la Gambie et le Sénégal voisin ont formé une confédération connue sous le nom de Sénégambie qui a duré 7 ans avant d'être dissoute en 1989. La Gambie, anglophone, craignait de se faire totalement absorber par le Sénégal. 

Dawda Jawaras a été renversé par coup d’État qui a mis Yahya Jammeh au pouvoir en 1994, pour deux décennies encore de régime autoritaire. Toutefois, le dictateur a finalement accepté de se prêter au jeu d’un scrutin démocratique, en 2016, le premier de l’histoire du pays. Il est vrai qu’il a eu un certain mal à reconnaître sa défaite : seule la menace militaire des États voisins lui a fait quitter la scène. Il s’est réfugié chez un autre dictateur, en Guinée équatoriale, mais il devrait être jugé prochainement. En fin de compte, la transition démocratique en Gambie s’est déroulée de manière pacifique. Mais la démocratie reste encore fragile dans ce pays dirigé par Adama Barrow, réélu en décembre 2021, lors d’un scrutin contesté par l’opposition. Son ambition pour 2015 est de changer la constitution, ce qui lui permettrait deux mandats supplémentaires.

La principale célébration du Jour de l'Indépendance a lieu sur la place McCarthy à Banjul, la capitale du pays. Il s'agit d'un défilé de l'armée, mais aussi des fonctionnaires, des écoliers, des enseignants… devant le Président et d'autres dignitaires.

Un article de l'Almanach international des éditions BiblioMonde, 18 février 2025