The former Gambian president Yahya Jammeh, now exiled in Equatorial Guinea since his election defeat in 2016 has recently addressed a meeting via internet call conducted at a Kombo South settlement in Berending where he had referred to his successor Adama Barrow as a donkey, a comment flagged by Malagen media monitoring as dangerous speech. 

As The Gambia goes to polls to elect a president on December 4, Jammeh’s breakaway faction of the officially recognised Alliance for Patriotic Reorientation and Construction (APRC) has joined the Gambia Democratic Congress (GDC), led by Mama Kandeh- his former National Assembly Member. He has since been appearing on campaign platforms via calls from his refuge in Equatorial Guinea, as he canvasses for votes for the GDC-led alliance. 

In the 17 minutes 53 seconds audio that has been widely circulated online, Jammeh could be heard recounting the accomlishments of his government when he was in power, between 1994 and 2016. The audience was dominated by women who intermittently cheered him during his speech.  He accused Barrow’s government of destroying the development programmes that he had initiated while expressing concerns over the country’s price hike of basic food commodities, porous security and other issues. 

Speaking in Mandinka language, Jammeh claimed he has acknowledged the hardship especially the women and children are faced with. He said the Coalition 2016 had deceived the people that they would reduce the bag of rice to D700. Jammeh added that one week after he left, there were shortages of electricity, water while the health facilities and roads became dilapidated. 

What exactly did Jammeh say? 

… “they deceived some people that I am the reason why the West was not releasing funds the way we needed it…in those days, if any person had an illness, they would rush to the hospital, including pregnant women to deliver peacefully. But now they cannot go to the hospital because if you go there, you could either lose the child or yourself. We should unite against tribalism and remove these evil people from power. During my time, even if you send a child to the shop, you are confident of his return, and if they stay long, you know they are playing with their friends. But now even mature youth are afraid to go to the shop at night. This donkey who is leading the country today is saying that he would not allow the peace, stability and development of the Gambia to be compromised. It is suffering of the people that appeases Satan.”

In flagging Jammeh’s comments, the following considerations have been made: 

1. The status and influence of Jammeh. As a former president who ruled the country for over two decades, he certainly holds a high degree of influence in the country even though he is far away. 
2. The publicity generated by the comments: The comments were made at a political meeting attended by many people as it could be heard in the audio cheering him up and chanting his name. The audio has been in circulation across social media platforms, including WhatsApp groups.
3. Vile language: Jammeh’s comments that President Barrow is a donkey are not only highly offensive, but it has the potential to instigate violence. In fact, in some countries, giving such attributes to people is considered to be hate speech. Example is Rwanda, where during the genocide, the Hutus would refer to the Tutsis as cockroaches.

Conclusion

Former president Yahya Jammeh’s recent involvement in the election campaigns invites concerns about peaceful conduct of the elections. This situation is not being helped by Jammeh’s habit of using language, including personal attacks, hate speeches and misinformation. The GDC should do well to reign on Jammeh to tone down as the country gets into the most crucial phase of the presidential election. If the situation persists, IEC should remind the GDC of the code of ethics.