By Alieu Jallow
After eight years in exile following his defeat in the December 2016 elections, former Gambian president Yahya AJJ Jammeh has expressed deep homesickness and a renewed desire to return to The Gambia.
In a viral WhatsApp audio shared with supporters who gathered in his hometown over the weekend, Jammeh spoke emotionally about missing his homeland.
“I mean I miss my country. It was supposed to be six months. Now you know how long I have stayed out, and I can hear you people yearning for me to come back. It is not that I don’t want to come back, but I always made it very clear, I always want to come back. In shaa Allah, by the will of the Almighty Allah, I will come back in the month of November 2025,” he said.
Jammeh, who never left The Gambia during his 22-year rule, described life in exile as the most difficult period he has ever faced. He claimed that the agreement which facilitated his departure, signed with former Guinean President Alpha Condé and UN representative Muhammed Ibun Chambers, was meant to last only six months.
“The agreement secured by Alpha Condé, President Aziz, together with then-Chambers who was authorised on behalf of the UN Secretary-General, was drafted in my presence and announced in my office. What was agreed in the memorandum of understanding is very clear. Halifa was told to sign, and he said he was authorised to. Then President Adama Barrow was in Dakar, so Halifa signed the agreement. For a fact, Chambers signed for the UN Secretary-General, I signed, and Alpha Condé and others signed. There were guarantees, and they pleaded with me to leave,” he alleged.
Jammeh urged his supporters to remain calm and law-abiding, assuring them that his anticipated return would be peaceful. He added that he left The Gambia only after realising that judges assigned to his election petition case had failed to appear due to their recess period.
By Alieu Jallow After eight years in exile following his defeat in the December 2016 elections, former Gambian president Yahya AJJ Jammeh has expressed deep homesickness and a renewed desire to return to The Gambia. In a viral WhatsApp audio shared with supporters who gathered in his hometown over the weekend, Jammeh spoke emotionally about The Fatu Network
