Banjul // Gambia’s long-serving dictator, Yahya Jammeh, faced calls to be prosecuted for human rights abuses yesterday as he finally announced he was stepping down after 22 years of tyrannical rule.
In a brief but grandiose speech at his presidential office in the small hours of Saturday morning, the former army officer told Gambians he would “relinquish the mantle of leadership” in the name of democracy.
In reality, he had been left with no choice after being warned that if he clung to power a day longer, a regional invasion force massed at the border would take him out by force.
But as regional mediators nailed down the final details of an agreement that will see him exiled elsewhere in Africa, the question remained of whether he would ever be held accountable for the thousands of Gambians he is accused of jailing, torturing and killing over the years.
Diplomats said yesterday that Mr Jammeh was likely to be offered sanctuary in either Equatorial Guinea, Mauritania or Morocco. The Gambian autocrat had wanted to be allowed to retire to his large farmstead south of the capital, Banjul, but was told his continued presence on home soil would be a threat to good order.
However, while his departure will help Gambia have a smooth transition of power, it also means his victims and their families may never have their day in court. Morocco, for example, has not ratified the statutes of the International Criminal Court, and neither Mauritania nor Equatorial Guinea are known as beacons of human rights.
During Mr Jammeh’s regime, hundreds of Gambians languished in Banjul’s notorious Mile Two Prison and the national intelligence compound, both of which lie just a few kilometres from the palm beaches that attract thousands of foreign tourists every year. A fervent believer in sorcery, he also styled himself as his country’s witchfinder general, once force-feeding hallucinogenic potions to 1,000 villagers he suspected of putting curses on him.
Mr Jammeh was also openly contemptuous of human rights norms, telling both the then UN secretary general, Ban Ki-moon, and Amnesty International to “go to hell” last year when they demanded an inquiry into the case of an opposition leader beaten to death in custody.
Gambian activists also want to know more about the sources of Mr Jammeh’s huge personal fortune. Diplomats estimate it could be anything up to US$3 billion (Dh11bn), sourced variously by embezzlement, cronyism and allowing Gambia to be used as a stage post in the trans-Atlantic cocaine trade from Latin America to Europe. There are rumours that he and his family have been trying to ship out cash and other valuables in containers in recent weeks.
“Jammeh came as a pauper bearing guns. He should leave as a disrobed despot,” said Jeggan Bahoum of the Movement for the Restoration of Democracy in Gambia.
Despite the desire for justice to be done, one diplomat told The National it could take “a decade” to compile a watertight prosecution case against Mr Jammeh, by which time many Gambians might prefer to forget, if not forgive.
The news that the Jammeh era was finally over was greeted cautiously by Gambians in Banjul on Saturday, with no immediate sign of the wild street parties that took place when he was declared the loser of last month’s elections.
Most Gambians said they would only celebrate once they knew he had definitely left the country, or when Adama Barrow, the newly sworn-in president, returned from exile in neighbouring Senegal. Mr Barrow was forced to leave Gambia last week amid fears that Mr Jammeh might try to have him killed.
“We will have a big party once we know the old man has definitely gone and the new guy is coming, but not before,” said Alpha Jallow, a storekeeper in Banjul’s beachside Kotu district.
Right now, he added, few locals were in the mood for celebrations anyway, thanks to the exodus of thousands of tourists last week amid fears that Banjul might become a war zone.
“Jammeh has already done the damage that he needs to,” Mr Jallow said. “We will have no tourists again this season.”
foreign.desk@thenational.ae
MATCH INFO
Manchester United 1 (Rashford 36')
Liverpool 1 (Lallana 84')
Man of the match: Marcus Rashford (Manchester United)
Specs
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At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
Veil (Object Lessons)
Rafia Zakaria
Bloomsbury Academic
SPEC%20SHEET%3A%20APPLE%20M3%20MACBOOK%20AIR%20(13%22)
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Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
The specs: 2017 Ford F-150 Raptor
Price, base / as tested Dh220,000 / Dh320,000
Engine 3.5L V6
Transmission 10-speed automatic
Power 421hp @ 6,000rpm
Torque 678Nm @ 3,750rpm
Fuel economy, combined 14.1L / 100km
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
Pad Man
Dir: R Balki
Starring: Akshay Kumar, Sonam Kapoor, Radhika Apte
Three-and-a-half stars
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
ANATOMY%20OF%20A%20FALL
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PROFILE OF INVYGO
Started: 2018
Founders: Eslam Hussein and Pulkit Ganjoo
Based: Dubai
Sector: Transport
Size: 9 employees
Investment: $1,275,000
Investors: Class 5 Global, Equitrust, Gulf Islamic Investments, Kairos K50 and William Zeqiri
Results
Light Flyweight (49kg): Mirzakhmedov Nodirjon (UZB) beat Daniyal Sabit (KAZ) by points 5-0.
Flyweight (52kg): Zoirov Shakhobidin (UZB) beat Amit Panghol (IND) 3-2.
Bantamweight (56kg): Kharkhuu Enkh-Amar (MGL) beat Mirazizbek Mirzahalilov (UZB) 3-2.
Lightweight (60kg): Erdenebat Tsendbaatar (MGL) beat Daniyal Shahbakhsh (IRI) 5-0.
Light Welterweight (64kg): Baatarsukh Chinzorig (MGL) beat Shiva Thapa (IND) 3-2.
Welterweight (69kg): Bobo-Usmon Baturov (UZB) beat Ablaikhan Zhussupov (KAZ) RSC round-1.
Middleweight (75kg): Jafarov Saidjamshid (UZB) beat Abilkhan Amankul (KAZ) 4-1.
Light Heavyweight (81kg): Ruzmetov Dilshodbek (UZB) beat Meysam Gheshlaghi (IRI) 3-2.
Heavyweight (91kg): Sanjeet (IND) beat Vassiliy Levit (KAZ) 4-1.
Super Heavyweight ( 91kg): Jalolov Bakhodir (UZB) beat Kamshibek Kunkabayev (KAZ) 5-0.
Test
Director: S Sashikanth
Cast: Nayanthara, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine, R Madhavan
Star rating: 2/5
