Copyright standard
The government yesterday confirmed to The Standard that while it welcomes former President Yahya Jammeh’s decision to return to the country, the moment he sets foot in Banjul, he would be taken through due process of law. Yahya Jammeh on Sunday publicly declared an intention to return to The Gambia in November 2025. The announcement, delivered to loyalists via audio and escalating social-media posts, has punctured the quiet that followed his decade-long exile and opened a fresh, high-stakes chapter in Gambian politics. Critics of Jammeh, victims, activists and civil society organisations have called for his arrest and detention at Mile 2 once he sets foot on Gambian soil. When contacted for comments on the latest development, Minister Ceesay said: “Jammeh, as a private citizen on self-exile, can come back, and if he does so, he would be subject to the due process of the law set out in the TRRC process.” He said the government has not and will not play any role in Jammeh’s come back decision. “Government played no role, absolutely nothing, whatsoever,” Dr Ceesay clarified. Jammeh’s supporters hailed the development as a corrective return of a “son of the soil,” while opponents warned that the move could destabilise an already fragile political landscape a year before the presidential election.
