“The way I left, the whole world saw me going — red carpet to the plane. That is the way I will come out of the plane,” says Ex -Ex-President Jammeh

Former President Yahya Jammeh has declared that President Adama Barrow cannot stop him from returning to The Gambia, warning that “sooner or later, we will see who owns The Gambia.”

In a new WhatsApp audio message, Jammeh said his return from exile is imminent and dismissed suggestions that he would re-enter the country secretly.

“I will not sneak into the country,” he said. “The way I left, the whole world saw me going — red carpet to the plane. That is the way I will come out of the plane.”

The comments come after the Barrow government warned that Jammeh would face prosecution if he returned, citing the Truth, Reconciliation and Reparations Commission (TRRC) findings which implicated him in serious human rights violations.

Jammeh criticised the current state of security in the country, claiming violent crime has risen sharply and that offenders are rarely prosecuted.

He cited incidents of rape, stabbings, hit-and-run accidents, and robberies, describing The Gambia as “a place for all the neighbourhood criminals.”

The former leader also defended his past security measures, including checkpoints and executions, saying those who once condemned them now “know the reason.”