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Supreme Court flop returns ball to Buhari, ECOWAS
By John Eche
Ahead of the scheduled January 19 date for the inauguration of Adama Barrow as President of The Gambia, there is palpable confusion in the tiny West african nation over how things would eventually pan out.
Also on the burner is the rescheduled meeting between the Muhammadu Buhari-led ECOWAS mediation team and the intransigient incumbent, President Yahya Jammeh. At jammeh’s instance, the meeting which had been scheduled to hold on Wednesday was rescheduled for Friday.
Sourcces say that a very critical bome of contention in the continuing drama is the attempt to secure a deal that will lead to an eventual non-prosecution of jammeh for his alleged crimes against the state. It is also being speculated that there are also speculations over a possible place of exile for the outgoing President.
Meanwhile, a publicly unrepentant Jammeh has continued to hold on to the levers of power, using same to punish those that he sees not to be very loyal to him at this time. One of the latest casualties in theis regard is the youth and sports minister who he recently fired.
There are also reports of further defections from the armed forces even as more and more erastwhile loyalists of the defeatted president jump ship.
In a related development, the pan-African Lawyers Union has applauded the judges from Nigeria and Sierra Leone that refused to lend their weight to the electoral traversty going on in The Gambia. A statement signed by Emeka Obegolu, its Vice-President (West Africa) assured that the Union would continue to stand with the legal profession and indeed the entire people of The Gambia as they continue to ‘overcome the challenges ahead and deepen their constitutional democracy.’
President Yahya Jammeh of The Gambia
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