Madam Zineb Suma Yahya Jammeh,

Outgoing First Lady

Republic of The Gambia

 

December 21st  2016

 

Dear Madam,

OPEN LETTER FROM CONCERNED GAMBIAN AND WEST AFRICAN WOMEN

We, concerned Gambian women and friends of The Gambia write to you, to ask you to reason with your husband, outgoing president, Yahya Jammeh, to relinquish power peacefully as decided by the people of the Republic of The Gambia on December 1st, 2016.

You are no doubt aware of the situation of The Gambia as you would not have left the country in such haste just after the elections.  The cause of your running for safety is the reason for our writing this letter.  We would like to remind you that the reasons leading to the very undesirable situation in The Gambia has the potential of erupting into conflict.

The 2016 Gambian Presidential elections were held on Thursday December 1st, 2016.  You were by the side of your husband, President Yahya Jammeh, when he cast his vote.  The elections were conducted transparently, freely and fairly.  Your husband had earlier attested to the fact that the elections in The Gambia would be held under these conditions.  

On December 2nd, after the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) Chairman announced the results, declaring Adama Barrow of the Coalition, President elect, your husband, President Yahya Jammeh, in a televised broadcast congratulated Adama Barrow.  The outgoing President Jammeh attributed his defeat to the will of God, promising to hand over peacefully and facilitate the transition process.

A week later, on Friday December 9th, he changed his mind about the results and made a public declaration that he rejected the results.  In addition he called for fresh elections under a new and God fearing IEC.  Totally unexpected, his new position was incomprehensible and upsetting both nationally and internationally.   

Last week, there was national and global outcry and condemnation of your husband’s action.  The President was urged in no uncertain terms to honour the televised statement accepting his defeat.   Statements have been made to the effect and a high level delegation of ECOWAS heads of States and other institutions sent to The Gambia to mediate.

Yesterday, December 20th, your husband again defied the position of our regional bloc, ECOWAS, who declared on December 17th, following a mediation effort with the outgoing president, that all means possible will be engaged to ensure that the President elect, Adama Barrow, takes over the reins of our country, come January 19th, 2017.

As a wife and as a woman who has lived in The Gambia for several years now you are aware of the accusations that have been levelled against your husband by individuals, different sectors of society and human rights organisations.  These range from arrests, detentions, abductions, disappearances, cult killings, torture, seizure of properties and businesses and expulsion of journalists, business persons, CSO’s and international officials on flimsy and trumped up charges.

Madam, you cannot claim to be impervious to these accusations as some very close members of your entourage have disappeared, been exiled, imprisoned and even died in mysterious circumstances. These actions have systematically destroyed the fabric of the Gambian society.  

The brain drain caused by the exodus of high level intellectuals to other countries has impacted negatively on the socio-economic development of the country.  They could have positively and meaningfully contributed to the development of our beloved Nation if they had stayed behind.   Our rural economy has been further weakened by the illegal out migration of young people, who are fed up and do not have jobs.

Despite, the fact that your children's future is clouded by the heinous acts committed by their father, your husband outgoing President Jammeh from 1994 to date, Gambians have always made sure that you and your children were never associated with these acts. By remaining mute over the recent actions of your husband however, you run the risk of being accused of being an accomplice.  For how long could you possibly not know what was happening?

Today you stand at a very difficult crossroads.  That is, as outgoing First Lady to ensure that peace and stability prevail in The Gambia or to stand by and watch as your husband overthrows the due election process and by so doing, entrench himself in power at a very high cost to national and regional peace and stability.  Your efforts to influence the actions of your husband will determine the type of life you lead after the problem is resolved.  The ball lies in your court.

We urge you to persuade your husband to give in to the voice of reason.  Too many lives have been lost in The Gambia already and we cannot afford to lose anymore due to election violence.  

As concerned women of The Gambia and West Africa, we call on you Zineb Suma Yahya Jammeh to diffuse the tension in The Gambia by calling on your husband President Yahya Jammeh to hand over power to the President elect, Adama Barrow.  Refusal on his part to do so will be interpreted as going against the wishes of the Gambian people. This will have serious consequences at all levels.

Yours and your children’s future will be dependent on what happens in the country over the next few days.  If your husband, President Yahya Jammeh goes ahead with his destabilizing actions associated with his statements of December 9th and December 20th, 2016 then he will be held responsible for any fall back from this action.  If he however, decides to peacefully handover it will only be fair to say that your children deserve to have a peaceful and secure life.  

Today, you are in the United States of America living in Potomac with your two children. While it may seem the wise thing to do at the moment, there will come a time when no place will feel safe enough.  Your children may, in future, want to go home to their country. To walk freely about, visit family and be recognized as the children of the former President, Yahya Jammeh.  This of course is predicated on what happens in The Gambia over the next few days.  

Every action that their father, your husband President Yahya Jammeh takes to destabilize the country (that gave him so much) over the next few days will be the deciding factor.  As women and mothers, we are of the belief that you do not want your children to grow up as refugees from their own country as many families are suffering this pain. You, Zineb Suma Yahya Jammeh, have the primary responsibility to ensure that your children have a bright and safe future.  You can relocate to another country, change their identities but don’t forget that in this modern world and global village you can only run, but you cannot hide.  

We are convinced as women and as mothers that this is not the life you envisaged for your children and for ours.  As First Lady, you promoted the rights of the child and campaigned for Gambian children.  You also participated in the activities of the First Ladies Association which aimed at bettering the lives of African children.  We believe that this is the name you want to leave behind.  

In addition you, Zineb Suma Yahya Jammeh, have a responsibility to the country and people of The Gambia whose generosity you enjoyed for years.  You were accorded all the respect and enjoyed all the trappings of being a First Lady despite your foreign origins.  It is now time to give back to the country from which you received so much.

Your name will always be etched in the history of The Gambia as the wife of the President of the 2nd Republic.  We believe that you want your name to be remembered in a good sense and not as the person having stood by and watched the country plunge into chaos.

Your husband has taken steps to ensure your safety and that of your children.  Yet, he is ready to put the lives of the children, wives and husbands of Gambians at risk.  While you sit in the comfort of your home at Potomac, we Gambian women ask you to reflect on this impending crisis.  We ask you to put yourself in the shoes of the Gambian women who are unable to and or cannot afford to take their children out of the country.  

We urge you in God’s name to prevail on your husband to hand over power to the democratically elected President elect Adama Barrow for the sake of peace, prosperity and stability of The Gambia and the West Africa region as a whole; for the sake of our children and our children’s children that their lives are not put at risk from violence in all its forms and for the sake of democracy.  

Yours sincerely,

Signed:

Ndey Tapha Sosseh

Aisha Dabo