In the complex tapestry of The Gambia’s political history, few figures have left as indelible a mark both for infamy and impact as former President Yahya Jammeh.
His 22-year reign is rightfully marred in our collective memory by painful stories of human rights violations, repression, and loss. But in our righteous outrage, have we become selectively blind to truths that don’t fit the narrative we prefer?
It is with this discomforting question that I challenge a growing chorus of Gambians who adamantly claim that Jammeh had no assets, that he came to power with nothing and must therefore have left with nothing.
Such a position is not only intellectually lazy but also morally dishonest. It is an insult to the intelligence of the nation and to the very idea of historical accountability.
Let me be clear, acknowledging that Jammeh accumulated wealth is not a defense of his misdeeds. It is an insistence on truth and something The Gambia is in desperate need of as we grapple with transitional justice and national healing.
How Can a President Rule for 22 Years and Have Nothing and yet we see how people who climb the political ladder came form abject poverty to sudden wealth within a very short space of time yet in our flawed narrative we want to assume that Jammeh couldn’t have had any assets of his own and everything belonging to him was rightfully owned by the state.
We must confront a simple but inescapable reality that it is impossible, almost laughable, to believe that a man who ruled with absolute power for more than two decades left behind no assets.
Even in democracies with stringent checks and balances, presidents emerge wealthier after just a few years in office.
How then can it be believable that a president who controlled all levers of state power, the military, parastatals, land, and the national purse could end up with nothing?
Why are we so eager to perpetuate this fiction?
Is it a matter of convenience to separate his abuses from any legacy of development or impact he may have had? Or are we simply too afraid to explore the uncomfortable truth that even those who harm us can also leave behind tangible contributions?
Yes, Jammeh is accused of stealing millions. But we must also ask: if we believe he stole, have we ever seriously investigated where the money also went?
Thousands of Gambians benefitted from state-sponsored scholarships during his regime. Lives were changed. Generations were lifted from poverty. Who paid for those scholarships? What was the source of the funds used to build hospitals, provide ambulances, and construct roads in the remotest parts of the country?
These are not rhetorical questions. They deserve scrutiny and honest answers. If we claim he stole, did we ever commission an honest audit of how he used what he took?
Why was there never a serious commission to trace both the origin and destination of the funds he commanded?
Truth is not one-dimensional. It is not about glorifying a leader or sanitising his crimes rather it is about giving a full, honest account of history so that future generations may learn from it.
To insist that Jammeh should leave “with nothing” because he came “with nothing” is to ignore the very real, tangible legacy that 22 years of leadership however flawed leaves behind.
It is also a betrayal of those who, while condemning his abuses, cannot deny that they or their families benefitted from opportunities that may not have existed otherwise.
We must resist the temptation of moral absolutism. Human beings especially leaders are complex. Jammeh’s reign was a paradox of tyranny and transformation.
The Gambia will never move forward by only acknowledging one side of that paradox.
As a nation we must be called to honest reflection. This is not a call to absolve Jammeh but rather it is a call to remember honestly.
It is time we, as Gambians, stop propagating convenient myths. Let us hold our past leaders accountable but let us do so with integrity, not selective memory.
Let us confront the full weight of our history its darkness, its contradictions, and yes, even its uncomfortable truths.
Because only when we embrace the full truth, will we ever be truly free.
Melville Roberts
