by PK Jarju, Birmingham, UK
My dear brother from another mother, greetings in the name of the most Beneficent, Merciful and Gracious Lord, our Cherisher and Sustainer, Who has created man out of a clot and has taught [man] the use of the pen.
It’s been a while since I last wrote to you as I have been very busy thousands of miles away in a foreign land. Yeah, the place I moved to in order to escape your brutal regime, which has no regards to the rights and freedoms of the Gambian people.
My brother from another mother, when you took over the reigns of power in July 1994, many Gambians gave you their blessings. They stood by you in those difficult years thereby enabling you to attain some of your objectives. But sadly today, many of them have lost confidence and trust in you. They have been betrayed, lied to and failed by the revolution which was supposed to change their lives and country for the better.
The revolution instead of alleviating their sufferings brought nothing but more miseries, hardships and retrogression. While you and your associates are getting rich and richer, a large percentage of the Gambian people live far below the poverty ladder. And as a result, many Gambians are today cannot afford to acquire a decent meal for the day.
You and your associates have highjacked the country and is wrecking the lives and dreams of many Gambians, especially the young generation. Despite 14 years of promises, the Gambian people are yet to break free from the shackles of poverty.
The prices of basic commodities are increasing left right centre everyday beyond the reach of many Gambian families. The Gambian people continue to be born in poverty, grow up in poverty and die in poverty.
My brother from another mother, becoming president of our little country is too good to be true for you. You have become so intoxicated with power and despite being in power for 14 years; you still never want to give it up. Your government have lost its sense of direction and have no interest in the welfare of the people at heart. You are ruling the country as though it is your private estate and property, to do with as you choose. You have created a dictatorship and neglected your duties as president.
You gave yourself so much power making you the most powerful Gambian the country has ever seen. You are now more powerful than a king and you talk to people the way you want, do things the way you want for you are untouchable.
My brother from another mother, the situation in our country has over the years being going from bad to worst and the Gambian people are crying everyday in their homes, bantabas, farms and rice fields about the shameful misdeeds of your government. They cry every day about the increasing level of poverty, sufferings, arrest and detention without charge, torture and the incompetence of your brutal regime. But instead of listening to their cries, you employ bullying and intimidation techniques to silence them.
You and your government are scared of the truth and as a result you are doing all within your powers to extinguish it. You want to spread ignorance among the Gambian people by keeping them uninformed and living a life of complete denial.
Those who speak the truth are whisked away in the middle of the night from their families never to be seen again. They are branded enemies of the Gambia, undesirable elements and illegitimate sons and daughters of Africa, who deserves nothing better than the gas chambers.
My brother from another mother, as a man who carry the holy book of Almighty Allah everywhere you go and hymn His praises 24 hours a day, seven days a week 365 days a year, permit me to draw your attention to the story of Luqman, the wise, who has a surah named after him in the Qur'an.
When Allah asked Luqman whether he liked to be king and justly rule over the people. He submitted: "O my Lord, if it is a command from You, I must obey; for in that case, I shall be assisted by You. But if I am granted the choice to accept or to decline, I would rather be excused; I do not like to undertake this onerous responsibility. A ruler is always in a difficult situation. Tyranny and other evils surround him on all sides and everything depends upon whether he is divinely aided or not. If he rules justly, he can attain to salvation, if not; he is led astray from the path leading to Jannah. And, it is far better to lead a humble life rather than to live an easy life in this world and do harm to one's life in the Hereafter. He who prefers this world to the Hereafter suffers double loss: this world forsakes him, sooner or later, and he has no value in the Hereafter."
Don't misjudge me, I am not asking you to be Luqman; all I ask of you is to govern the people base on the principles of democracy and the rule of the law.
My brother from another mother, it is true that you are president of 1.5 million people so what? You are nothing special in the eyes of wise men but a mere human being. Remember that no matter how powerful thou may be, no matter how much wealth you gather and no matter how long thou may live, thou shall one day be laid down in the pit of the grave for your abode and men you used to look low upon; men you bullied and mistreated will throw dust upon you from all sides to cover you.
My brother from another mother, as president, you were elected to represent the welfare of the Gambian people. But instead you have gone further to own the country and everything in it. You have killed, tortured, jailed and exiled anyone who refuses to bend his knee for you. This has resulted in a situation of fear an uncertainty.
Your security officers are armed and given the license to arrest, torture and even kill anyone who does not agree with your dictatorial policies. In your name, they have orphaned many Gambian children. In you name they have widowed many Gambian women and in your name they have made many parents childless. Also in your name my dear brother, they have torned many closed Gambian families apart.
My dear brother from another mother, you need to remember that no matter how big and powerful you are; you cannot be bigger than the Gambia. The Gambia was born centuries before you and will always continue to exist till the end of time. The Gambia does not belong to you and you do not love it more than anyone of us. The Gambian people have a right to speak out against the brutality and mismanagement of your government.
My brother from another mother, you have to learn from the lessons of past dictators like Idi Amin, Samuel Doe, Hussein Habre, Charles Taylor, Saddam Hussein and others. You have to put down your sword and start listening to the views of the people especially your opponents and critics. These people are Gambians like you. They love and cared for their country and it is ridiculous to hear you branding them as anti-development just because they choose to speak the truth. You are the cause of the Gambia's problems and you have to be honest with the people.
Continuing your policies of brutality and savagery is not the best way forward. You have to bury your pride and stop dividing and ruling the people base on party politics.
My brother from another mother, you have to realise that no act of brutality against your opponents will stop them from speaking out against your government.
The more you torture and kill them, the more you will see them rise again. The more laws you create to suppress them, the more they would break them. For they are a people who want to see the full restoration of democracy and the respect of human rights in the country.
While you may succeed in silencing some of them through force, yet their desire, their instinct to oppose brutality and repress freedom of thought will never be quenched. Of course it can be forced to keep quiet at times, when the repression gets worse. But instinct remains, and will always remain and when the circumstances becomes a little bit favourable, it will raise its head again. The desire to be free is one of the fundamental human desires.
Have a good day my dear brother from another mother, Eid Mubarak.
For comments write to papak196@yahoo.co.uk or info@allgambian.net
Thursday 11 December 2008
For How Long Shall He kill Our Prophets?
by PK Jarju
“Liberty cannot be preserved without a general knowledge among the people, who have a right and desire to know, but besides this, they have a right an indisputable, unalienable, indefensible, divine right to that most dreaded and envied kind of knowledge- I mean the characters and conduct of their rulers..." John Adams
The continuous arrests, detention and disappearance of people in the Gambia should indeed be a cause for concern to every Gambian living in the country and abroad. A week hardly passes by without someone being picked up and detained by the state security agents for one unexplained reason or another.
These arrests have gone far too long and many people are languishing at the Mile Two Prisons, Janjangbureh Prisons, NIA headquarters and police stations across the country without being charged or told the reasons for their arrests. Chief Ebrima Manneh, Kanyiba Kanyi, among many others are a good example of Gambians who are being arbitrarily detained for months and years without been brought before any court of law. These men are being punished for crimes that only Yahya Jammeh knows.
The Jammeh regime is becoming more and more powerful by the day and has ceased to be a government of the people. Forget about democracy and the rule of law. We are only a democratic country by name. The Gambia is owned by Yahya Jammeh and we are all his subjects.
You may disagree with me but we are not a free society anymore. The notion of living in a free Gambia is out of the window because we have allowed Yahya Jammeh and his cronies to snoop into our peaceful lives and violate our space while we all stood aside and watch with open eyes. As a trusting people, we gave him an inch to manage our affairs but he has taken a mile.
As president and head of state, Jammeh has become so intoxicated with power. All what he talks and dream about is POWER. He rules with the motto that, he as president should be good sometimes and be wicked on most occasions. He believes in god and the god he believes in wants him to be filthy rich, successful and reign over us forever and his opponents and critics dead and buried six-feet-deep. His god also wants him to be more powerful than even King Solomon and Samson in the New Testament.
Jammeh has grown bigger than the Gambia and he therefore expects everyone to bend their knees for him. Blinded and absolutely corrupted by his powers, today Jammeh maintains that he has the right without any basis in the constitution and laws of the Gambia to sack anyone from his job label anyone a criminal, saboteur or detractor then lock him up and throw the keys into the River Gambia. He is the boss and cannot be challenged.
Despite the fact there exists three chambers of government with different duties and responsibilities as spelt out in the constitution, yet these chambers of government are far from being independent. They are directly under the control of the president and as a result, they do not live up to their responsibilities. They all dance to the tune of the big man.
In other words, though he has his offices in Kanilai and Banjul, Jammeh runs and controls every facet of the Gambian society from curing HIV/Aids, hiring and firing secretaries of state, expelling National Assembly Members, dismissing judges, civil servants and even seyfolu and village alkalolu. Not only that, he declares public holidays when ever he wants, sets the news agenda of the public media, decides what prices commodity goods are to be sold at and when we should all observer the two Eids (Eidul Fitr and Eidul Ahad) among others.
Like Napoleon in George Orwell's Animal Farm, Jammeh regards anything that goes against him as an enemy. An enemy that deserves to be punished severely. His orders are always final and it makes me sick all the time when I see people jumping to execute his commands without even using their God-given brains to think. For these zombies, who often boost about how much they loved and cared for the country, whatever the president says or does is in the best interest of the country.
It is therefore not surprising that the bodies of hundreds of Gambians and nonGambians are today full of scares of torture while the unlucky ones are decomposing in marked and unmarked graves across the country. Like angels guarding the fire of Hell, Jammeh's henchmen do not have anything call sympathy in their hearts. They don't flinch a bit when commanded to do something by their master. As a result, these men are committing many heinous crimes against people with impunity in the name of the president.
Take the case of the 44 Ghanaians as an example. These young immigrants, who were traveling to Europe in makeshifts boats via Gambian waters, were in the summer of 2005 arrested and lynched by state agents, just because some idiots in the Quadrangle without any shred of evidence accused them of trying to destablise the country.
Daba Marena and others were also arbitrarily killed while in government custody just because someone accused them of treason. The student demonstrators were also brutally gunned down just because someone accused them of being used by some opposition elements to destabilise the country.
All these and many serious unresolved murder cases involving security officers are buried deep under the carpet. No investigations were conducted and will never be conducted because the president loves the Gambia so much and does not want anything that will tarnish the image of the country.
Recently, many butchers and traders are being harassed by security officers and local councils because Jammeh issued orders for the price reduction of commodity goods and meat. Again market vendors, traders and taxi drivers are harassed on set setal Saturdays because Jammeh gave orders that we should all be at home sweeping our streets and localities.
Today in the Gambia, despite the fact that there exist a book called the constitution, that was supposed to make us live in peace and unity; people are being governed according to the law of the jungle - survival of the fittest. The president and those close to him can do anything they want to the poor masses without being held accountable.
The country is now a nanny state and we are all being watch. Our daily activities are being monitored and recorded not by Close Circuit Televisions (CCTV), but by informers and the secret police. We cannot say anything about the government or Jammeh in the streets because someone elsewhere is listening. Our phone lines are tapped by NIA officers in the name of national security. Political debates are now out of our school curriculum because so many students are serving as the eyes and ears of the regime. Criticise the regime and you will never see the sun again.
These bullies have sown fear in the hearts of everyone in the country. So much arrests and disappearance have left people wondering who is next on the men in black's list. That irrational fear is what is making some people jump under their beds when they hear a car park outside their houses in the middle of the night.
All these evils are happening every day in our lives and yet we are doing nothing to stop it. We have accepted them as part of life and do not give a monkey as to who is bundled into a tinted glass pick-up and banged up in a filthy and mosquito infested cell or killed by the men in black. The only time we seem to care is when a family member or someone close to us goes missing. Like a former colleague of mine (name withheld) once told me after his arrest and detention at the NIA headquarters, he never believed in the stories people say about the brutality of the NIA officers until when he landed there.
Like my friend, we should not wait until we have all become victims before we start doing something. We should not continue sitting down and allow Jammeh and his cronies to rule us any how they want. We are a country and not a village. It is time to say enough is enough. Far too many wrongs have been committed by the regime and we must all not sit down and accept these evils and wrongs the way they are. We are a talk and do nation and those who can talk must talk while those who can do must do every little thing we all can to change things for the better.
The political madness that has gripped our peaceful country can only be eradicated if we come together and form a united political front that will flush out Jammeh through the polls. Let's stop looking low upon ourselves or doubt our abilities. We are not a bunch of dummies. We are all literates and our labour power is a force, which when fully tapped can bring about the much needed changes in our land of birth.
This is the only way out. The Gambia belongs to each and every one of us and we must all do everything we can to restore democracy and the rule of law in our God bless country. We are all blessed with different skills and we should use our skills to let Jammeh know that we have seen and had enough of his brutal regime. Our spirit can never be crushed as long as we have the self belief that our dreams are attainable. Like my late grand dad (may Allah bless his soul) used to tell me during my primary school days, when treads unite, they can even tie and elephant.
Sitting down with folded hands and a sorry face or praying to the heavens for miracles to happen will get us nowhere. God's help only descent on a people who help themselves. As stated by Abu Darda in one hadith, you people must all command people to do good, restrain them from evil otherwise Allah will cause such a tyrant to rule over you who will not respect your elders and will not have mercy on your youngsters. Then you people will pray to Him but will not answer to your prayers, you will ask Him for help but will not help you, you will seek His pardon but will not pardon you.
Long live the great people of the Gambia. Long live the Gambia.
Wishing my esteem readers a happy Koriteh. Peace!
For comments, write to info@allgambian.net or papak196@yahoo.co.uk. You can also read my blog www.pkjarju.blogspot.com.
“Liberty cannot be preserved without a general knowledge among the people, who have a right and desire to know, but besides this, they have a right an indisputable, unalienable, indefensible, divine right to that most dreaded and envied kind of knowledge- I mean the characters and conduct of their rulers..." John Adams
The continuous arrests, detention and disappearance of people in the Gambia should indeed be a cause for concern to every Gambian living in the country and abroad. A week hardly passes by without someone being picked up and detained by the state security agents for one unexplained reason or another.
These arrests have gone far too long and many people are languishing at the Mile Two Prisons, Janjangbureh Prisons, NIA headquarters and police stations across the country without being charged or told the reasons for their arrests. Chief Ebrima Manneh, Kanyiba Kanyi, among many others are a good example of Gambians who are being arbitrarily detained for months and years without been brought before any court of law. These men are being punished for crimes that only Yahya Jammeh knows.
The Jammeh regime is becoming more and more powerful by the day and has ceased to be a government of the people. Forget about democracy and the rule of law. We are only a democratic country by name. The Gambia is owned by Yahya Jammeh and we are all his subjects.
You may disagree with me but we are not a free society anymore. The notion of living in a free Gambia is out of the window because we have allowed Yahya Jammeh and his cronies to snoop into our peaceful lives and violate our space while we all stood aside and watch with open eyes. As a trusting people, we gave him an inch to manage our affairs but he has taken a mile.
As president and head of state, Jammeh has become so intoxicated with power. All what he talks and dream about is POWER. He rules with the motto that, he as president should be good sometimes and be wicked on most occasions. He believes in god and the god he believes in wants him to be filthy rich, successful and reign over us forever and his opponents and critics dead and buried six-feet-deep. His god also wants him to be more powerful than even King Solomon and Samson in the New Testament.
Jammeh has grown bigger than the Gambia and he therefore expects everyone to bend their knees for him. Blinded and absolutely corrupted by his powers, today Jammeh maintains that he has the right without any basis in the constitution and laws of the Gambia to sack anyone from his job label anyone a criminal, saboteur or detractor then lock him up and throw the keys into the River Gambia. He is the boss and cannot be challenged.
Despite the fact there exists three chambers of government with different duties and responsibilities as spelt out in the constitution, yet these chambers of government are far from being independent. They are directly under the control of the president and as a result, they do not live up to their responsibilities. They all dance to the tune of the big man.
In other words, though he has his offices in Kanilai and Banjul, Jammeh runs and controls every facet of the Gambian society from curing HIV/Aids, hiring and firing secretaries of state, expelling National Assembly Members, dismissing judges, civil servants and even seyfolu and village alkalolu. Not only that, he declares public holidays when ever he wants, sets the news agenda of the public media, decides what prices commodity goods are to be sold at and when we should all observer the two Eids (Eidul Fitr and Eidul Ahad) among others.
Like Napoleon in George Orwell's Animal Farm, Jammeh regards anything that goes against him as an enemy. An enemy that deserves to be punished severely. His orders are always final and it makes me sick all the time when I see people jumping to execute his commands without even using their God-given brains to think. For these zombies, who often boost about how much they loved and cared for the country, whatever the president says or does is in the best interest of the country.
It is therefore not surprising that the bodies of hundreds of Gambians and nonGambians are today full of scares of torture while the unlucky ones are decomposing in marked and unmarked graves across the country. Like angels guarding the fire of Hell, Jammeh's henchmen do not have anything call sympathy in their hearts. They don't flinch a bit when commanded to do something by their master. As a result, these men are committing many heinous crimes against people with impunity in the name of the president.
Take the case of the 44 Ghanaians as an example. These young immigrants, who were traveling to Europe in makeshifts boats via Gambian waters, were in the summer of 2005 arrested and lynched by state agents, just because some idiots in the Quadrangle without any shred of evidence accused them of trying to destablise the country.
Daba Marena and others were also arbitrarily killed while in government custody just because someone accused them of treason. The student demonstrators were also brutally gunned down just because someone accused them of being used by some opposition elements to destabilise the country.
All these and many serious unresolved murder cases involving security officers are buried deep under the carpet. No investigations were conducted and will never be conducted because the president loves the Gambia so much and does not want anything that will tarnish the image of the country.
Recently, many butchers and traders are being harassed by security officers and local councils because Jammeh issued orders for the price reduction of commodity goods and meat. Again market vendors, traders and taxi drivers are harassed on set setal Saturdays because Jammeh gave orders that we should all be at home sweeping our streets and localities.
Today in the Gambia, despite the fact that there exist a book called the constitution, that was supposed to make us live in peace and unity; people are being governed according to the law of the jungle - survival of the fittest. The president and those close to him can do anything they want to the poor masses without being held accountable.
The country is now a nanny state and we are all being watch. Our daily activities are being monitored and recorded not by Close Circuit Televisions (CCTV), but by informers and the secret police. We cannot say anything about the government or Jammeh in the streets because someone elsewhere is listening. Our phone lines are tapped by NIA officers in the name of national security. Political debates are now out of our school curriculum because so many students are serving as the eyes and ears of the regime. Criticise the regime and you will never see the sun again.
These bullies have sown fear in the hearts of everyone in the country. So much arrests and disappearance have left people wondering who is next on the men in black's list. That irrational fear is what is making some people jump under their beds when they hear a car park outside their houses in the middle of the night.
All these evils are happening every day in our lives and yet we are doing nothing to stop it. We have accepted them as part of life and do not give a monkey as to who is bundled into a tinted glass pick-up and banged up in a filthy and mosquito infested cell or killed by the men in black. The only time we seem to care is when a family member or someone close to us goes missing. Like a former colleague of mine (name withheld) once told me after his arrest and detention at the NIA headquarters, he never believed in the stories people say about the brutality of the NIA officers until when he landed there.
Like my friend, we should not wait until we have all become victims before we start doing something. We should not continue sitting down and allow Jammeh and his cronies to rule us any how they want. We are a country and not a village. It is time to say enough is enough. Far too many wrongs have been committed by the regime and we must all not sit down and accept these evils and wrongs the way they are. We are a talk and do nation and those who can talk must talk while those who can do must do every little thing we all can to change things for the better.
The political madness that has gripped our peaceful country can only be eradicated if we come together and form a united political front that will flush out Jammeh through the polls. Let's stop looking low upon ourselves or doubt our abilities. We are not a bunch of dummies. We are all literates and our labour power is a force, which when fully tapped can bring about the much needed changes in our land of birth.
This is the only way out. The Gambia belongs to each and every one of us and we must all do everything we can to restore democracy and the rule of law in our God bless country. We are all blessed with different skills and we should use our skills to let Jammeh know that we have seen and had enough of his brutal regime. Our spirit can never be crushed as long as we have the self belief that our dreams are attainable. Like my late grand dad (may Allah bless his soul) used to tell me during my primary school days, when treads unite, they can even tie and elephant.
Sitting down with folded hands and a sorry face or praying to the heavens for miracles to happen will get us nowhere. God's help only descent on a people who help themselves. As stated by Abu Darda in one hadith, you people must all command people to do good, restrain them from evil otherwise Allah will cause such a tyrant to rule over you who will not respect your elders and will not have mercy on your youngsters. Then you people will pray to Him but will not answer to your prayers, you will ask Him for help but will not help you, you will seek His pardon but will not pardon you.
Long live the great people of the Gambia. Long live the Gambia.
Wishing my esteem readers a happy Koriteh. Peace!
For comments, write to info@allgambian.net or papak196@yahoo.co.uk. You can also read my blog www.pkjarju.blogspot.com.
Yahya Jammeh's Secret World
by PK Jarju
In the wake of the July 22 military coup that brought Yahya Jammeh and the AFPRC/APRC regime to power, numerous commissions of inquiry were set up to probe the activities of ex-President Jawara, his ministers and associates.
The Junta among other things accused the PPP regime of rampant corruption and living a flamboyant lifestyle at the detriment of the Gambian people. And the commissions of inquiry were used as a venue to expose and humiliate ex-PPP officials.
At that time, Jammeh portrayed himself as a puritan and a patriot, who feels the pain and sufferings of the people. He condemns everything that had to do with Jawara and does things that the people have never seen Jawara do like joining in cleaning exercises, walking on foot from State House to the July 22 Square among others.
To Jammeh, Jawara was nothing but a thief and a criminal who mismanaged the Gambian economy and diverted millions of taxpayer’s money to fund his luxurious lifestyle. Jammeh was so angry with Jawara that he ordered the demolition of the borehole in Jawara's native village, Barajally, which was the only source of fresh water for the village.
Interestingly, there was nothing special about Barajally. No major developments have taken place in the village throughout Jawara's 30-year rule. The village was like any other rural Gambian village.
Jawara’s house in Bakau and his gardens in Yundum were all frozen by the Junta because they were allegedly acquired from taxpayer’s money.
At the time of taking over the reigns of power, Yahya Jammeh was not a wealthy man. In fact, he only had a few thousands of Dalasis in his Continent Bank account. But just after 14 years in power, Jammeh has become the richest Gambian.
Despite being paid a monthly salary of less than £1000, Jammeh is so much loaded that he does not even know how much money is stashed away in his bank accounts. He is living a luxurious lifestyle and has once even confessed that he is so loaded with money that not even his great grand children will be able to exhaust it. How did he acquire all these riches? Well you answer that question.
Since 1994, Jammeh has been building a vast empire in his native Kanilai, which is reported to be worth millions of Dalasis. Before 1994, Kanilai was a hamlet, previously unknown to many Gambians. In fact, it was only known by a few as a place for healing broken arms and limbs. And Jammeh's hobbies were honey hunting and farming.
But today, the village is transformed into a modern town with uninterrupted power supply, water, telephone, internet facilities, street lights, good road network, a safari camp, fire station, a well equipped hospital, a school for Mathematics and Science, an 8 square kilometre game park among others.
A large contingent of NIA officers, State Guard soldiers, police and CIDs are permanently based in Kanilai that monitors the activities of anyone who visits the place. Apart from the government owned GRTS and the Daily Observer, no other media houses are allowed entry. In other words, Kanilai is a no go area for local journalists.
However, I managed to get some information about President Jammeh’s secret world which I hope will interest the Gambian voters.
Life Style
Despite having his office in State House, Banjul, the Gambian leader spends less time in the capital. He spends most of his time in Kanilai, where he feels more relaxed.
For Jammeh, the saying there is no place like home isvery true asKanilai offers him the freedom to do stuff that he likes most. He smokes Piccadilly and is addicted to Chinese Green Tea, Attaya, which is brewed for him by State Guard soldiers. His favourite brewer is a female soldier from Kiang called Nyima Sanneh, whom he lavishes with money, when he is in a joyous mood.
Jammeh is responsible for the feeding and upkeep of the thousands of soldiers and people in Kanilai. Everyday whether Jammeh is in Kanilai or not, a bull and four sheep are slaughtered. Over a thousand bags of rice are consumed each month.
Friday and Saturday nights are for cultural dance except in the month of Ramadan. The dance which starts at 12am to 4am is held outside Jammeh's residence. Jammeh never misses the cultural dances as he is a great lover of cultural music. He sits on a sofa sometimes with his wife Zaineb and guests. The different cultural dancers compete among themselves before Jammeh, who rains money on them as if it grows on trees. The best dancer of the night goes home with a cash amount of D50, 000.
In the dry season, Jammeh also organises inter-village wrestling competitions and other cultural festivals during which he gives away huge amount of money to wrestlers and their supporters. These events attract thousands of people from across the country who are fed and sheltered by Jammeh.
Games Park
The Kanilai Games' Park has more animals than the Abuko Nature Reserve. The 8 square kilometre park has 300 species of birds, 8 wild dogs that feed on fresh meat, 265 crocodiles, 3 wilder beasts, 3 lions, many ostriches, falcons, peacocks, wolves, dears, antelopes, monkeys, bush pigs among others.
Most of these animals were bought from South Africa and transported to Banjul via chartered cargo planes. The planes according to our State House sources normally land at the Banjul International A
irport during ungodly hours of the night to prevent the public from seeing them. There are also over 25 camels, over 100 sheep and goats and over 150 heads of cattle.
Buildings
Since late 1994, Jammeh took ownership of vast hectares of land. Some of the land was inherited from his parents while the others were given to him by some families hoping to earn certain favours in return. But recently, families like the Colley Kunda family are complaining in low tones that some of their lands are being grabbed by Jammeh for farming and building.
Jammeh's private residence can be compared with any king's palace. It is a 100x100 and has an indoor swimming pool and a crocodile pond. Dears and other animals can be seen roaming about in the garden and Jammeh sometimes personally feeds them. The palace is sealed away from the public by a 12 foot fence. The palace has other facilities like a cabinet room where cabinet meetings are held, VIP room, where visiting diplomats are received etc.
Outside the palace, Jammeh built a large building called the Four House where he spend most of his leisure time treating people with HIV/Aids and other diseases.
There is also The Reservoir, a hotel like estate with over 10 buildings and many rooms. This is the residence of Jammeh's employees and farm helpers. There is also a secret detention camp and an army camp. Currently, a lot of construction work is on going and it’s been rumoured that many ministries might be move there if not the capital.
Farms
As a man who loves farming, Jammeh has so many farms. Every year he cultivates vast hectares of peanuts, rice, corn, millet, coos coos, water melon among others. There are also vegetable gardens.
Jammeh employs a small staff mainly his tribal people to work in the farm, who are paid a monthly salary. Also during the raining season, thousands of people from all parts of the country do voluntary work in the President's farms. The volunteers are well fed and sheltered by Jammeh, who gives them large sums of money when they finish work.
Some of the farm proceeds are said to be donated to the Jammeh Foundation for Peace.
If you have any comments on this article write to info@allgambian.net or papak196@yahoo.co.uk
In the wake of the July 22 military coup that brought Yahya Jammeh and the AFPRC/APRC regime to power, numerous commissions of inquiry were set up to probe the activities of ex-President Jawara, his ministers and associates.
The Junta among other things accused the PPP regime of rampant corruption and living a flamboyant lifestyle at the detriment of the Gambian people. And the commissions of inquiry were used as a venue to expose and humiliate ex-PPP officials.
At that time, Jammeh portrayed himself as a puritan and a patriot, who feels the pain and sufferings of the people. He condemns everything that had to do with Jawara and does things that the people have never seen Jawara do like joining in cleaning exercises, walking on foot from State House to the July 22 Square among others.
To Jammeh, Jawara was nothing but a thief and a criminal who mismanaged the Gambian economy and diverted millions of taxpayer’s money to fund his luxurious lifestyle. Jammeh was so angry with Jawara that he ordered the demolition of the borehole in Jawara's native village, Barajally, which was the only source of fresh water for the village.
Interestingly, there was nothing special about Barajally. No major developments have taken place in the village throughout Jawara's 30-year rule. The village was like any other rural Gambian village.
Jawara’s house in Bakau and his gardens in Yundum were all frozen by the Junta because they were allegedly acquired from taxpayer’s money.
At the time of taking over the reigns of power, Yahya Jammeh was not a wealthy man. In fact, he only had a few thousands of Dalasis in his Continent Bank account. But just after 14 years in power, Jammeh has become the richest Gambian.
Despite being paid a monthly salary of less than £1000, Jammeh is so much loaded that he does not even know how much money is stashed away in his bank accounts. He is living a luxurious lifestyle and has once even confessed that he is so loaded with money that not even his great grand children will be able to exhaust it. How did he acquire all these riches? Well you answer that question.
Since 1994, Jammeh has been building a vast empire in his native Kanilai, which is reported to be worth millions of Dalasis. Before 1994, Kanilai was a hamlet, previously unknown to many Gambians. In fact, it was only known by a few as a place for healing broken arms and limbs. And Jammeh's hobbies were honey hunting and farming.
But today, the village is transformed into a modern town with uninterrupted power supply, water, telephone, internet facilities, street lights, good road network, a safari camp, fire station, a well equipped hospital, a school for Mathematics and Science, an 8 square kilometre game park among others.
A large contingent of NIA officers, State Guard soldiers, police and CIDs are permanently based in Kanilai that monitors the activities of anyone who visits the place. Apart from the government owned GRTS and the Daily Observer, no other media houses are allowed entry. In other words, Kanilai is a no go area for local journalists.
However, I managed to get some information about President Jammeh’s secret world which I hope will interest the Gambian voters.
Life Style
Despite having his office in State House, Banjul, the Gambian leader spends less time in the capital. He spends most of his time in Kanilai, where he feels more relaxed.
For Jammeh, the saying there is no place like home isvery true asKanilai offers him the freedom to do stuff that he likes most. He smokes Piccadilly and is addicted to Chinese Green Tea, Attaya, which is brewed for him by State Guard soldiers. His favourite brewer is a female soldier from Kiang called Nyima Sanneh, whom he lavishes with money, when he is in a joyous mood.
Jammeh is responsible for the feeding and upkeep of the thousands of soldiers and people in Kanilai. Everyday whether Jammeh is in Kanilai or not, a bull and four sheep are slaughtered. Over a thousand bags of rice are consumed each month.
Friday and Saturday nights are for cultural dance except in the month of Ramadan. The dance which starts at 12am to 4am is held outside Jammeh's residence. Jammeh never misses the cultural dances as he is a great lover of cultural music. He sits on a sofa sometimes with his wife Zaineb and guests. The different cultural dancers compete among themselves before Jammeh, who rains money on them as if it grows on trees. The best dancer of the night goes home with a cash amount of D50, 000.
In the dry season, Jammeh also organises inter-village wrestling competitions and other cultural festivals during which he gives away huge amount of money to wrestlers and their supporters. These events attract thousands of people from across the country who are fed and sheltered by Jammeh.
Games Park
The Kanilai Games' Park has more animals than the Abuko Nature Reserve. The 8 square kilometre park has 300 species of birds, 8 wild dogs that feed on fresh meat, 265 crocodiles, 3 wilder beasts, 3 lions, many ostriches, falcons, peacocks, wolves, dears, antelopes, monkeys, bush pigs among others.
Most of these animals were bought from South Africa and transported to Banjul via chartered cargo planes. The planes according to our State House sources normally land at the Banjul International A
irport during ungodly hours of the night to prevent the public from seeing them. There are also over 25 camels, over 100 sheep and goats and over 150 heads of cattle.
Buildings
Since late 1994, Jammeh took ownership of vast hectares of land. Some of the land was inherited from his parents while the others were given to him by some families hoping to earn certain favours in return. But recently, families like the Colley Kunda family are complaining in low tones that some of their lands are being grabbed by Jammeh for farming and building.
Jammeh's private residence can be compared with any king's palace. It is a 100x100 and has an indoor swimming pool and a crocodile pond. Dears and other animals can be seen roaming about in the garden and Jammeh sometimes personally feeds them. The palace is sealed away from the public by a 12 foot fence. The palace has other facilities like a cabinet room where cabinet meetings are held, VIP room, where visiting diplomats are received etc.
Outside the palace, Jammeh built a large building called the Four House where he spend most of his leisure time treating people with HIV/Aids and other diseases.
There is also The Reservoir, a hotel like estate with over 10 buildings and many rooms. This is the residence of Jammeh's employees and farm helpers. There is also a secret detention camp and an army camp. Currently, a lot of construction work is on going and it’s been rumoured that many ministries might be move there if not the capital.
Farms
As a man who loves farming, Jammeh has so many farms. Every year he cultivates vast hectares of peanuts, rice, corn, millet, coos coos, water melon among others. There are also vegetable gardens.
Jammeh employs a small staff mainly his tribal people to work in the farm, who are paid a monthly salary. Also during the raining season, thousands of people from all parts of the country do voluntary work in the President's farms. The volunteers are well fed and sheltered by Jammeh, who gives them large sums of money when they finish work.
Some of the farm proceeds are said to be donated to the Jammeh Foundation for Peace.
If you have any comments on this article write to info@allgambian.net or papak196@yahoo.co.uk
Acts of barbarism in the name of Islam
by PK Jarju
The more I look at TV footages of last Wednesday's terror attack in Mumbai, India, the angrier I get. A group of losers who claimed to be believers in the oneness of Allah and the Day of Judgement attacked innocent people, killing over 170 people and injuring 200 or more. And the thousand and one questions I keep asking myself is, who the hell are they and what are they hoping to gain?
Personally, I think they are bunch of useless, hopeless and blood thirsty idiots whose only desire is to kill hundreds of innocent men, women and children. The attack on Mumbai is not a jihad and these attackers should not identify themselves as Muslims. The indiscriminate killing of people and wanton destruction of properties is totally condemned by Islam, a religion of peace.
Islam does not promote the senseless killings and violence that we see young Muslims embarking upon. And these idiots, who blow themselves up in name of Allah, should forget about going to heaven. They are doing it for their own selfish desires and must forget about gaining the pleasure of Allah. They are vile murderers who will not taste the fragrance of heaven not to even talk of being blessed with 72 virgins.
Over the past years, we have seen a significant rise in the number of young Muslims being radicalised by so-called Islamic scholars and international criminals like Osama bin Laden and others. These young men are being fooled into blowing themselves and others up by fanatics who are themselves too scared of death.
Idiots and cowards like Bin Laden, Ayman al-Zawahiri hiding some where in the caves of Afghanistan or Pakistan are tarnishing the name of Islam with their promotion of violence against people, who do not share the same faith or belief.
Every Muslim wants to go to heaven and if Bin Laden and his associates truly believe that blowing oneself up together with hundreds of infidels will lead to his admission in heaven, then what the hell are they doing in the darkness of a cave? Surely, the mountains of Afghanistan cannot be compared with heaven.
The Muslim community needs to take drastic actions by weeding out these criminals, who hide behind our peaceful religion to rain havoc on innocent people. Though they are our brothers in faith or blood, their bombs and bullets do not know who is a relative, Muslim, Hindu, Christian, Sikh, American, British or Israeli.
Indiscriminate killing of people is not part of our noble religion and until we stand up to these idiots, our religion will continue to be associated with acts of barbarism like the one we saw in New York and now India.
I pray to Almighty Allah to bless the departed souls in His heavenly kingdom and grant a speedy recovery to the injured.
Rest in Peace my dear friends
The saying that death is a bad reaper that is always after the unripe fruit is indeed very true. In the past three months alone, I have lost three close friends of mine in the media.
First to depart this world was Abubacarr Sanyang, marketing manager of the Daily Observer. Mr Sanyang was a great friend of mine. Our friendship started in the summer of 2003, when he was hired by Sheriff Bojang as assistant marketing manager of the company.
Although we were working in different departments, Mr Sanyang and I had a very cordial working relationship and were often referred to as twins from another mother by the compositors in the computer room.
He was a hard working guy, who had the interest of the company at heart. Mr Sanyang was lovable, friendly and respectful. He had a good sense of humour and PR, which enabled him to attract many customers.
The Daily Observer was Mr Sanyang's second home. He would report to work at 8am and would in most cases clock out hours after his official closing time.
My relationship with Sanyang continued even after my sojourn to the UK. We spoke regularly on the phone and was devastated when I phone his cell phone a day after Korite and was told he passed away a day before.
My second friend to die was Ejatou Jallow alias EJ of the now closed Independent Newspaper. My friendship with EJ started in 2001 when she joined The Independent. She was like a sister to me and had shared by-lines on many stories like the treason trial of Dumo Sarho and co, the murder trial of the UDP leadership among others.
My friendship with EJ continued even when I quit The Independent for the Observer. We were always in touch on the phone and would always visit her anytime I went to Banjul. While I was covering the Baba Jobe economic crime trial, (then she was pursuing a diploma programme in law at the Gambia Technical Training Institute), she would often come to the High Court. We would have breakfast in the High Court café with Emile Touray of Foroyaa and talk about the Baba Jobe case and other criminal matters been presided over at the time by Justice Madabuchi Abuchi Paul.
Stop other reporters at the High Court from following us to the café, we would often lie to them that we were going to Justice Paul’s naming ceremony. But we got found out day by Surahata Danso of Foroyaa.
I have not spoken much with EJ when I came to the UK and was devastated when I was told last month by my friend in the US, Pa Ousman Darboe that she died a week before after a protracted illness.
While trying to come to term with the death of my two friends, it was shocking to hear the death of Habibou Ceesay. I knew Habibou since my days at The Independent and he worked under me at the Observer. He was a shy guy and does not talk much and his best mate was Madi Njie.
The two are always seen hanging at Modou’s shop, near the Observer and I would sometime have a drink with them and have a laugh.
The death of these three is a big blow to the Gambian media. I pray to Almighty to have mercy on their souls and grant them entry into His heavenly kingdom. Amen.
The more I look at TV footages of last Wednesday's terror attack in Mumbai, India, the angrier I get. A group of losers who claimed to be believers in the oneness of Allah and the Day of Judgement attacked innocent people, killing over 170 people and injuring 200 or more. And the thousand and one questions I keep asking myself is, who the hell are they and what are they hoping to gain?
Personally, I think they are bunch of useless, hopeless and blood thirsty idiots whose only desire is to kill hundreds of innocent men, women and children. The attack on Mumbai is not a jihad and these attackers should not identify themselves as Muslims. The indiscriminate killing of people and wanton destruction of properties is totally condemned by Islam, a religion of peace.
Islam does not promote the senseless killings and violence that we see young Muslims embarking upon. And these idiots, who blow themselves up in name of Allah, should forget about going to heaven. They are doing it for their own selfish desires and must forget about gaining the pleasure of Allah. They are vile murderers who will not taste the fragrance of heaven not to even talk of being blessed with 72 virgins.
Over the past years, we have seen a significant rise in the number of young Muslims being radicalised by so-called Islamic scholars and international criminals like Osama bin Laden and others. These young men are being fooled into blowing themselves and others up by fanatics who are themselves too scared of death.
Idiots and cowards like Bin Laden, Ayman al-Zawahiri hiding some where in the caves of Afghanistan or Pakistan are tarnishing the name of Islam with their promotion of violence against people, who do not share the same faith or belief.
Every Muslim wants to go to heaven and if Bin Laden and his associates truly believe that blowing oneself up together with hundreds of infidels will lead to his admission in heaven, then what the hell are they doing in the darkness of a cave? Surely, the mountains of Afghanistan cannot be compared with heaven.
The Muslim community needs to take drastic actions by weeding out these criminals, who hide behind our peaceful religion to rain havoc on innocent people. Though they are our brothers in faith or blood, their bombs and bullets do not know who is a relative, Muslim, Hindu, Christian, Sikh, American, British or Israeli.
Indiscriminate killing of people is not part of our noble religion and until we stand up to these idiots, our religion will continue to be associated with acts of barbarism like the one we saw in New York and now India.
I pray to Almighty Allah to bless the departed souls in His heavenly kingdom and grant a speedy recovery to the injured.
Rest in Peace my dear friends
The saying that death is a bad reaper that is always after the unripe fruit is indeed very true. In the past three months alone, I have lost three close friends of mine in the media.
First to depart this world was Abubacarr Sanyang, marketing manager of the Daily Observer. Mr Sanyang was a great friend of mine. Our friendship started in the summer of 2003, when he was hired by Sheriff Bojang as assistant marketing manager of the company.
Although we were working in different departments, Mr Sanyang and I had a very cordial working relationship and were often referred to as twins from another mother by the compositors in the computer room.
He was a hard working guy, who had the interest of the company at heart. Mr Sanyang was lovable, friendly and respectful. He had a good sense of humour and PR, which enabled him to attract many customers.
The Daily Observer was Mr Sanyang's second home. He would report to work at 8am and would in most cases clock out hours after his official closing time.
My relationship with Sanyang continued even after my sojourn to the UK. We spoke regularly on the phone and was devastated when I phone his cell phone a day after Korite and was told he passed away a day before.
My second friend to die was Ejatou Jallow alias EJ of the now closed Independent Newspaper. My friendship with EJ started in 2001 when she joined The Independent. She was like a sister to me and had shared by-lines on many stories like the treason trial of Dumo Sarho and co, the murder trial of the UDP leadership among others.
My friendship with EJ continued even when I quit The Independent for the Observer. We were always in touch on the phone and would always visit her anytime I went to Banjul. While I was covering the Baba Jobe economic crime trial, (then she was pursuing a diploma programme in law at the Gambia Technical Training Institute), she would often come to the High Court. We would have breakfast in the High Court café with Emile Touray of Foroyaa and talk about the Baba Jobe case and other criminal matters been presided over at the time by Justice Madabuchi Abuchi Paul.
Stop other reporters at the High Court from following us to the café, we would often lie to them that we were going to Justice Paul’s naming ceremony. But we got found out day by Surahata Danso of Foroyaa.
I have not spoken much with EJ when I came to the UK and was devastated when I was told last month by my friend in the US, Pa Ousman Darboe that she died a week before after a protracted illness.
While trying to come to term with the death of my two friends, it was shocking to hear the death of Habibou Ceesay. I knew Habibou since my days at The Independent and he worked under me at the Observer. He was a shy guy and does not talk much and his best mate was Madi Njie.
The two are always seen hanging at Modou’s shop, near the Observer and I would sometime have a drink with them and have a laugh.
The death of these three is a big blow to the Gambian media. I pray to Almighty to have mercy on their souls and grant them entry into His heavenly kingdom. Amen.
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