Why Yahya Jammeh Refused to Step Down: Power, Politics, and The Gambia's Democratic Transition

The ex-Gambian leader, Yahya Jammeh

Gambian president Yahya Jammeh refused to step down and condemned efforts by West African regional leaders to get him to hand over power after he lost an election to challenger Adama Barrow.

Jammeh initially accepted the results of the 1 December election, which was seen across Africa as a moment of hope. He is accused by human rights groups of the detention, torture, and killing of perceived opponents during his 22-year rule.

Yahya Jammeh, the West, and the Politics of African Sovereignty: Examining a Controversial Relationship

Yahya Jammeh of Gambia


Many African leaders think they have had enough of colonial masters and wouldn't like to do anything with them. Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe and Yahya Jammeh of Gambia are two of them. 


They suddenly became enemies because of their views on homosexuality and the fact that the West finds it hard to deal with them.  In fact, the West and America pray to see an immediate end to the governments of Mugabe and Jammeh.