$11 million disappear from Gambian coffers as Yahya Jammeh go on Exile

$11 million dollars is said to be missing from the Gambian government purse following the departure of long-time leader Yahya Jammeh from the country.

An adviser of new President, Adama Barrow, Ahmad Fatty according to the BBC said financial experts are still trying to evaluate the exact loss incurred by the tiny West African country but it is known that Mr Jammeh had loaded luxury cars and other items into a Chadian cargo plane on the night he left the country.

“The coffers are virtually empty,” he said.

“It has been confirmed by technicians in the ministry of finance and the Central Bank of the Gambia.”

He said Mr Jammeh had made off with more than $11m in the past two weeks alone. The BBC is unable to independently verify the claims.

Mr Fatty said officials at The Gambia’s main airport had been told not to let any of Mr Jammeh’s belongings leave the country.

Yahya Jammeh was forced to leave for exile after being in power for 22 years. He refused to accept the result of an election he lost to opposition coalition candidate but later agreed to leave over the threat of military intervention.

West African troops have entered the Gambian capital, Banjul, on Sunday to prepare for his arrival.
Cheering crowds gathered outside the State House to watch soldiers secure the building.

The Senegalese general leading the joint force from five African nations said they were controlling “strategic points to ensure the safety of the population and facilitate… Mr Barrow’s assumption of his role”.

Reports said some of the former leader’s goods were in Guinea where Mr Jammeh had stopped on his journey into exile.

Mr Jammeh is reported to now be in Equatorial Guinea, although authorities there have not confirmed it.