A Year After Gambia’s Jammeh Fled Into Exile, Officials Mull His Extradition

A Year After Gambia’s Jammeh Fled Into Exile, Officials Mull His Extradition
Gambian President Yahya Jammeh during the 17th African Union Summit, Malabo, Equatorial Guinea, June 30, 2011 (AP photo by Rebecca Blackwell).

Editor’s Note: Every Friday, WPR Associate Editor Robbie Corey-Boulet curates the top news and analysis from and about the African continent.

It’s been a year since former Gambian President Yahya Jammeh fled into exile, and speculation is starting to pick up about his potential return to the country to face charges for crimes committed during his more than two decades in power.

In January 2017, as West African troops entered Gambian territory, Jammeh announced he was leaving so Adama Barrow could take office, flying to Guinea before ultimately settling in Equatorial Guinea, where he remains today. Barrow defeated Jammeh in the December 2016 election. Though Jammeh initially agreed to respect the result, he later changed his mind and tried to cling to power, precipitating a political crisis before intense international pressure forced him out.

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