Why Jammeh Should Be Impeached

JAMMEH’S VAULTING AMBITION AND GREED HAVE INTOXICATED HIM WHICH REQUIRES HIS IMMEDIATE IMPEACHMENT

Dear Editor,

As the bell of President Jammeh’s tenure of office tolls and charms on the eve or the dawn of a new anniversary that marks his 20th year on the throne, may I seek an opportunity to advise the president not to exceed more than twenty years in power as his predecessor, if he does not want to be unceremoniously yanked and his mental well-being is no longer supportive?

It is the constitution of The Gambia, which has given members of parliament the authority and the right to impeach the president, if he is found incapable of performing his functions as a result of ill-health. In line with this condition, the behaviour of President Jammeh has not only proved beyond all reasonable doubt, that his vaulting ambition to amass wealth and to personalise state resources, manifest the magnitude of his greed and state of mental health or imbalance, which calls for his impeachment by the National Assembly Members if they are true representatives of the people of The Gambia. The speaker of the National Assembly should temporary take the position of the president for ninety days before a new president would be elected. And this is exactly the condition in which we are about to find ourselves.

Sir, Jammeh’s efforts in spreading his tentacles to the length and breadth of the country, are geared towards making every national asset as his own, including the land itself. It is in this respect, that he uses his powers to forcefully take plots of lands or houses from their owners to his name or ownership. It is not uncommon for Jammeh to seize vehicles from the sea ports and change their ownerships to himself if they are too exclusive or too exorbitant. Furthermore, Jammeh does not want anybody to have anything that he does not have. He sees everything that belongs to the government or the state as his personal property. For example, the camera the GRTS staff is using to work belong to him (Jammeh) and he can take it and kick the camera man out if he so desires.

Sir, in the past few years, Jammeh started to determine or decide whether a particular dead body can be buried in the country or not. A good illustration is when he refused Kukoi Samba Sanyang to be buried in the country, this inhumane action of the President has a far reaching effect on The Gambian people. Despites of its unprecedented nature, one could perceive it as a mistake but hoping that it wouldn’t be repeated again. However, I found myself being baffled by my conscience when I read on the newspapers that the late Hon Buba Baldeh was also denied a decent burial in his home country based on flimsy excuses that could not even come from a lunatic. This is a clear manifestation that Jammeh is a wicked fellow who does not forgive.

Jammeh is proving to Gambians that he can do whatever he wants irrespective of its repercussions and no one can do anything about it. He has failed to honour the respect the Gambians have earlier bestowed on him as a result of his position. The reason is Jammeh believed that Gambians accepted and honoured him out of greed and cowardice. I found myself dumfounded when he insulted Momodou Joof, one of his executive officers in public by accusing him of watching his mouth and failing to make a correct interpretation for him. This kind of public embarrassment of a civil servant is unacceptable and is enough to warrant a resignation even if you will stay jobless for the rest of your life.
Sir, it is observable from Jammeh’s nonchalant behaviour that all is not well with him and if the general public cannot confirm it, for the sake of fairness, I request the national assembly to select a team of three medical experts or psychologists to assess his psychological state. If this is confirmed, then the vote of no confidence and impeachment of the president should be passed respectively.

By instilling fear into Gambians, Jammeh has filled himself with false confidence by presenting himself to the Gambians as a valiant, irresistible and unstoppable man who has been ordained to rule until the time of his desire which is fake. This will be manifested on a day, when Gambians can no longer bear the patience of taking all these abuse and form a united force that will hold him accountable for all the crimes and atrocities he has committed against humanity.

In the light of the above facts, I found it deemed imperative to advise the President to resign due to his behaviour, greed for materialism and fame which has sicken him. The vision 2020 is not achievable even though he tries to chew more than he can swallow. The happiest person is the one who is most contented. The President should know that he is not the strongest man neither could he stand against the wave or the force of united Gambians. So let him go before he will be like of those dictators who were molested whilst they fall down.

By Abdul Badjie

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