The Gambia’s capital was yesterday awaiting the arrival of the country’s new leader and an era of democracy, hours after the authoritarian ruler flew of 22 years flew into exile with an extraordinary set of assurances from the international community.
Even as new Gambian President Adama Barrow remained in neighboring Senegal yesterday awaiting a triumphant return after a whirlwind political crisis, former leader Yahya Jammeh is guaranteed the right to come home.
A joint declaration issued shortly after Jammeh left by the UN, African Union and West African regional bloc says the bodies will work with Barrow’s government to make sure Jammeh, his family and his close associates are not the target of punishment.
Jammeh was last seen flying toward Equatorial Guinea on Saturday, while a regional military force is securing the capital, Banjul.
Jammeh’s refusal to step down after a Dec. 1 election in which Barrow was declared the winner, triggering weeks of uncertainty that almost ended in a military intervention involving five other west African nations.
The longtime leader, wearing his habitual white flowing robes, waved to supporters before boarding a small, unmarked plane at Banjul airport alongside Guinean President Alpha Conde after two days of talks over a departure deal.
He landed in Conakry, the capital of Guinea, but set off again for Equatorial Guinea, where he is to remain in exile, Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) President Marcel Alain de Souza said at a Dakar news conference.
Jammeh said he would step aside in the early hours of Saturday morning and hand power to Barrow.
“I call on president Barrow to come in immediately and take over the supreme responsibility of president, head of state, commander in chief and first citizen of our republic,” Jammeh said, according to remarks read out on state TV before he left the country.
It would be improper not to “sincerely wish him and his administration all the best,” he said.
Jammeh took power in a 1994 coup from the country’s only other president since independence from Britain, Dawda Jawara, making this the Gambia’s first democratic transition of power.
The choice of Equatorial Guinea for his exile helps ease concerns that Jammeh might interfere in his nation’s politics if he stayed in Guinea, whose border is not far from the Gambia’s eastern region.
Scenes of jubilation broke out almost immediately on streets near Banjul after the news filtered out that Jammeh had gone.
“We are free now. We are no longer in prison. We do not have to watch our back before we express our opinions,” said Fatou Cham, 28, who was celebrating with her friends.
Rights advocates will be keen to see Jammeh — who controlled certain sections of the security forces — refused amnesty for crimes committed during his tenure, which was marked by systematic rights abuses.
Jim Wormington, West Africa researcher at Human Rights Watch, said Jammeh’s departure was “the chance to usher in an era based on respect for the rule of law and human rights.”
Jammeh’s departure followed days of mediation led by Mauritanian President Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz and Conde, who said in a statement he “welcomed the successful outcome of the crisis in the Gambia, which, through dialogue, avoided a bloodbath.”
Jammeh attempted to build a personality cult and has left behind a small minority of diehard supporters, some of whom wept as his plane departed.
“We wanted to be behind this man for a century or more,” said Alagie Samu, speaking on the tarmac. “He is the most successful, visionary leader in the entire world.”
Dressed in green, the color of his political party, some were loyal to the end.
“No human being is perfect, but for 22 years in the country here he has tried hard for Gambians,” said a woman with cheeks wet from tears, who did not wish to be named.
The Gambia is one of the world’s poorest nations and although education and health standards have lifted in recent years, poverty remains endemic.
The first priority will be to help the tens of thousands who have fled in recent weeks fearing a bloody end to the crisis to return safely, said Isatou Touray, a key official in the government-in-waiting on Saturday.
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