Yahya Jammeh’s swan song after stepping aside

Jammeh-bye-bye-to-Gambia

Disgraced former Zambian president Yahya Jammeh finally left the country on Saturday night with the Guinean president Alpha Conde after agreeing to step aside and allow the will of the people to prevail.

Here is Jammeh’s speech on his decision to relinquish power after West African troops entered his country to flush him out by force.

“I have decided today in good conscience to relinquish the mantle of leadership of this great nation,” said Jammeh, dressed in his usual white robe and looking tired.

“It was not dictated by anything else but by the supreme interest of you the gambian people and out dear country taking into consideration my prayer that peace and security continue to reign in the Gambia.

“All those who have supported me or were against me in this period, I implore them to put the supreme interest of our nation the Gambia above all partisan interest and endeavour to work together as one nation,” he added.

Jammeh made no mention of whether he would go into exile, but said he was leaving power in the national interest and was grateful there was no bloodshed during the political stalemate.

Reuters reports that he spent much of Friday in talks in Banjul with the presidents of Guinea and Mauritania over where he would live and whether he could be offered amnesty for alleged crimes committed during his years in power, said sources close to talks.

Those talks were yet to be concluded and some in Banjul said they were angry he was being allowed to bargain and sceptical he would in fact step down, not least because he first accepted he lost the December 1 election to Barrow and then changed his mind.