Gambia: ex-president Yahya Jammeh announces his return home

In an audio message to his supporters, the former Gambian president announced his return to political affairs, notably as head of the Patriotic Alliance for Reorientation and Construction (APRC).

“I have decided, today, to take back the leadership of my party and not to entrust it to anyone else,” declares Yahya Jammeh.

“The day of our rendezvous is approaching, and it will also be the day of accountability. Even if you run away, I will find you. Don’t run away, wait for me, arrest me and put me in prison if that’s what you want, he continues in his message. Do you think I’m afraid to face justice? By the grace of Almighty Allah, I’m coming back, whether they like it or not.”

This is a direct allusion to ECOWAS, which decided in mid-December to set up a special tribunal for Gambia to try crimes committed under the presidency of the man who ruled for 23 years, between 1994 and 2017.

Yahyah Jammeh was forced from power following his defeat by current Gambian head of state Adama Barrow in the December 2016 presidential election, and lives in exile in Equatorial Guinea.