Washington, United States | AFP | The United States said Monday it would forbid entry into the country of former Gambian dictator Yahya Jammeh and his family over corruption during his 22-year rule. Under a US law that bans foreign officials involved in “significant” corruption or human rights abuses, the …
Read More »Prince Charles urges The Gambia to work with UK to promote democracy
Banjul, Gambia | AFP | The Prince of Wales on Thursday called on The Gambia to work with Britain to promote democracy nearly two years after the small West African nation emerged from decades of authoritarian rule. Prince Charles’s arrival in The Gambia was the first royal visit since the …
Read More »Prince Charles, Camilla start African tour in Gambia
Banjul, Gambia | AFP | Britain’s Prince Charles and his wife Camilla landed Wednesday in The Gambia for the first leg of a week-long African tour aimed at strengthening ties with Commonwealth nations. The Prince of Wales, heir to the throne, took over as head of the 53-member Commonwealth of …
Read More »Gambia launches truth commission into ex-dictator’s abuse
Banjul, Gambia | AFP | The tiny West African state of The Gambia on Monday swore in an 11-member commission tasked with shedding light on summary executions, disappearances, torture, rape and other crimes under ousted dictator Yahya Jammeh. President Adama Barrow hailed the panel as a vital step towards national healing. …
Read More »Gambia launches probe into ex-dictator’s abuse
Banjul, Gambia | AFP | The West African state of The Gambia on Monday launched an 11-member truth commission tasked with shedding light on summary executions, disappearances, torture, rape and other crimes under regime of ousted dictator Yahya Jammeh. “Today marks… the beginning of the much-anticipated mechanism that is expected …
Read More »Gambia ex-president accused of ordering 50 migrant deaths
Accra, Ghana | AFP | A paramilitary unit controlled by former Gambian president Yahya Jammeh was accused Wednesday by rights groups of being behind the killings of more than 50 West African migrants in 2005. Human Rights Watch and TRIAL International said they interviewed 30 former Gambian officials, including 11 …
Read More »Gambia arrests Jammeh’s ex-spies over detention death
Banjul, Gambia | AFP | Ten members of Gambia’s former spy agency have been detained on suspicion of murdering a political activist who led a protest during ousted strongman Yahya Jammeh’s rule, police said Tuesday. Solo Sandeng, organising secretary of the United Democratic Party, was arrested in April 2016 for fronting …
Read More »Gambia apologises to Thailand for sex tourism slur
Banjul, Gambia | AFP | The Gambia Tuesday apologised to Thailand after its foreign minister said the Asian country was a haven for sex tourists, sparking a strongly worded protest from Bangkok. Hamat Bah said on state television in January that The Gambia, a sunny beach destination favoured by Western tourists …
Read More »Gambia rejoins Commonwealth under new president
London, United Kingdom | AFP | The Gambia was readmitted to the Commonwealth on Thursday, welcomed back following the democratic election of President Adama Barrow, who reversed the shock pullout of 2013. His predecessor Yahya Jammeh suddenly withdrew the impoverished west African nation in October that year, branding the group …
Read More »Gambian police arrest lecturer over newspaper interview
Banjul, Gambia | AFP | Gambian police arrested a university lecturer and kept him in overnight detention for questioning the president’s ability to maintain national security in a newspaper interview, he told AFP on Thursday. Campaigners said the arrest was a worrying echo of restrictions on freedom of speech under the …
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