By RFIPalled on 22-07-2019Modified 22-07-2019 at 00:39
Since the departure of Yahya Jammeh, July 22 is no longer a holiday, with speech and parade under the Arch22, monument to the glory of the putschists. What was presented as a liberating event by propaganda is now painstakingly deconstructed by the witnesses of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.
In 1994, the frustration gained the barracks. Some young soldiers feel poorly paid, little regarded, and can not stand being commanded by Nigerian servicemen in the country to train the Gambian army.
This anger is exploited by a group of young lieutenants who want to overthrow the government perceived as corrupt. The coup is scheduled for July 21. The mutineers must capture President Dawda Jawara on his arrival at the airport. But Yahya Jammeh and his comrades are unmasked. As incredible as it may seem, the soldiers are not arrested, only disarmed.
►Read too: Gambia: behind the constitutional facade, the power of a single
The putschists then retake their chance the next day, poorly prepared, but heavily armed. Major Amadou Suwareh, who is in charge of protecting the bridge that gives access to Banjul, remembers the drunkenness of the soldiers. " They said they would overthrow the government and then hand over power to a civilian government. They were so drunk that I knew that in the event of an incident on the bridge, no one could avoid carnage . "
Major Suwareh decides to open the way for mutineers to avoid clashes. The power is taken without a shot. Yahya Jammeh is appointed president of the provisional government on the basis of his seniority in the army. He will lead the country for 22 years .
► Read also: Gambia, what to do with Arch 22, symbol of Banjul and the former dictatorship
On the same subject
Gambia: The testimony of an alleged victim of Yahya Jammeh
Gambia: former junta member refuses to answer justice
Gambia: Government seizes property and assets of Yahya Jammeh
Gambia: former "serious atrocities" perpetrators still in office
comments