Secret audio recordings of former Gambian president Yahya Jammeh, in which he addresses someone he refers to as “My Serere” about the burning down of the APRC bureau, have been leaked online and have since gone viral.
“I have heard what you said about the burning of the Political Bureau. I can assure you that I listen to a lot of audio recordings. If you give the audio recording to Sanna Manjang, I will be able to get it. I want to know how they planned the burning, who was involved, and who sent them. Please tell him not to fear Sanna Manjang or anyone else. He may not trust Sanna Manjang because of the circumstances, but he can be assured that Sanna Manjang will do whatever he says. Sanna Manjang will not betray him.” he said.
The former president is heard on the audio telling the man not to share the information in the “Lamin Tamba is ours” WhatsApp group.
“If he sends the audio to the “Lamin Tamba is ours” group, everyone involved will know that I am aware of the situation. This is not safe for him. The best thing for him to do is to make audio and give it to Sanna Manjang. I will then get the audio from Sanna.
I have listened to all the audio from Gilbat and others, but this does not mean that I am in direct contact with them. I do not want him to share my audio with anyone. You can guarantee that he will not share it with anyone. He needs to tell me everything that has happened, including who was responsible, who sponsored it, and why.” Jammeh said.
In a separate WhatsApp audio recording, the former Gambian leader is heard saying that the boy accused of burning the Bureau is only using the pronoun “we” without being specific about who else was involved
“The boy has not named any of his accomplices, which is unfair. We only know about him, but what about the others? He needs to tell us everything. We need to know the truth. He can either come clean or forget about it. He can’t ask us for assurances and then refuse to name the others involved. It seems like the boy is hiding a lot of things. I know the Colley he mentioned. He’s a fair-skinned boy who is Fula.
“Please inform him that the truth will eventually come out, whether he likes it or not. If he is hiding others, he is putting himself at risk and will be held accountable for everything that has happened. He should not play games with me. He should tell the truth and name everyone involved in his group, from the burning of the GNPC petrol station to the Political Bureau. He should either tell the truth or shut up. I am tired of his stories. Tell him that one day the truth will come out, whether he likes it or not. The boy should play the tape (Jammeh’s audio) for him and delete it as he did last time.” he said.
In the leaked audio recording, Yahya Jammeh, the former president of the Gambia, accused his own supporters of undermining their candidate in an election, without specifying who the candidate was.
“The boy may or may not have won the election. Only God knows why he didn’t win, but he also has to understand that some of our own people were trying to undermine him. This is the bottom line. He was campaigning and people were following him, but at the end of the day, they undermined him just like former Mayor Yankuba Colley did to me in KMC. He told people not to vote for me, even though we had been touring together. God is great, and that’s all I can say. As I always say, the world is yesterday, today, and tomorrow. Tomorrow is coming, and if anyone wants to tell the truth, they should come out and tell it. Don’t hide anything, because the truth will come out by the grace of God, whether someone likes it or not. So let him tell us the whole damn truth, otherwise don’t send me his audios anymore.” he said.