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President Yahya Jammeh now has to find another gambit to stay in power beyond next week, as his court case against Adama Barrow’s election has run into a ditch.
Gambia’s Supreme Court said today that it cannot rule for several months on Jammeh’s challenge against his electoral defeat on 1 December due to a lack of judges.
“We can only hear this matter when we have a full bench of the Supreme Court,” Emmanuel Fagbenle, the court’s chief justice said Tuesday.
The Nigerian judge said the extra judges needed to hear the case were not available.
The Gambia relies on foreign judges, notably from Nigeria, to staff its courts due to a lack of trained professionals in the tiny west African state.
Jammeh’s political party lodged a legal case on his behalf last month aimed at annulling the December 1 election result and triggering new elections.
Fagbenle added that he would prefer the country to resolve its political deadlock through the mediation underway by a group of West African leaders, who are attempting to persuade Jammeh to respect the constitution and step aside.
“This is why alternative dispute resolution is important,” he said.
“We are now only left with the ECOWAS mediation initiative and the inter-party committee set up by government to resolve the dispute,” he said.
The leaders from the ECOWAS regional grouping led by Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari will return to The Gambia for the second time since the election tomorrow to attempt a diplomatic solution, but Nigeria’s foreign minister has said the use of force remains an option.
By ECOWAS deadline, Jammeh has up till 19 January to quit office to allow the swearing in of Adama Barrow on 20 January, as the new leader
-NAN
Jammeh what crime has d ppl of gambia committed that u want to destroy them?
Me Jammeh, what crime did i commit that they refused to vote me
Funny
hmm
Pls sir step down for somebody
jammeh days are numbered already, soon his family’s will cry for him
Much ado about names
Jammeh means JAM ME
Mr Jamme, of all the years you have served as the president why not step down and enjoy your retirement peacefully with your family.
He should be jail.
When will Africans know that everything in life is turn by turn. If his predecessor clung to power like his doing he won’t be a president
Live jahme alone go n release Morse in prison before you come n faith jahme forlisnes
does the presidential sit belong to jammeh ancestors