Gambia’s ‘no stress’ army chief to retain his job

Gambia’s celebrity army chief who has found popularity during the political crisis in the country will not be losing his top military job after Gambians rallied online calling for the new President Adama Barrow to keep him.

Lt. Gen. Ousman Bargie will remain the country’s Chief of Defense Staff, Barrow announced on Saturday.

THE GAMBIA: New president Adama Barrow must reconstruct the country and its sport

by Abdoulie Bah, AIPS Young Reporter, Gambia

BANJUL, January 27, 2017 - At last, Arsenal fan Adama Barrow has become the Head of State of The Republic of The Gambia.

After a chaotic past few weeks in The Gambia as tensions and frustrations over the fragile political situation manifested in almost every aspect of daily life, including sport.

Both players and administrators running various disciplines got caught in the impasse which began early December, after general elections which saw the country’s long serving leader Yahya Jammeh defeated by Adama Barrow. After initially conceding loss, Jammeh made a dramatic U-turn, citing irregularities in the process.

Rousing welcome for Barrow in Gambia

Gambians Thursday evening treated their new President Adama Barrow to a historic tumultuous welcome on his return from a 13-day exile.
President Barrow left Gambia on January 13 for Mali to meet regional leaders to discuss his country's political situation and later proceeded to Dakar, Senegal where he took the oath of office on January 19.

No deal in talks to persuade Gambian leader to step down

No deal was reached Friday in last-ditch attempts by a regional mediation team to persuade Gambia's longtime leader to step down, and while mediation will continue, the inauguration next week of the elected opposition coalition leader will go forward, the spokesman for coalition said.

Press union ask for detained journalist to be released, closed radios opened

The Gambia Press Union is demanding the release of a journalist who has been detained since last year and for charges against the former director of the state broadcast network be dropped.
Journalist Bakary Fatty has been detained since November 8, 2016. Director Momodou Sabally has been released on bail after being arraigned for the second time on charges that were previously dropped.

Breaking: ECOWAS Chiefs Of Defence Staff Meet, Discuss Military Action In The Gambia To Oust President Yahya Jammeh

“The (Nigerian) Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) General Abayomi Gabriel Olonisakin has hosted some ECOWAS CDS’s at the Defence Headquarters, (DHQ) Abuja as “part of efforts to mitigate the political impasse in Gambia following the refusal of President Yahya Jammeh to hand over power to the president elect, Adama Barrow after he lost the December 1 2016 election,” the Nigerian military said in a statement on Saturday.

Buhari Activates Process To Stop Gambia Dictator, Yahya Jammeh

President Muhammadu Buhari has “activated” the process of stopping Gambia’s defeated President Yahya Jammeh from clinging to power, the presidency in Nigeria indicated in a statement on Saturday.
Jammeh, who had been in power for 21 years, lost the December 1 presidential election to opposition leader, Adama Barrow.

AU warns Jammeh of ‘serious consequences’, will cease to recognize him

The African Union has warned the Gambia’s defeated President Yahya Jammeh of serious consequences if his refusal to leave causes any crisis in the tiny West African nation.