President Jammeh reinstates sacked civil servants

Gambian President Yahya Jammeh has reinstated civil servants sacked last week for not supporting his re-election bid in October, official sources in the capital Banjul, told IRIN on Monday. Only the head of the Gambia Ports Authority, Ebrima Jagana, was not reinstated. Last week, the president enforced a threat he had made earlier and dismissed several staff in the finance ministry, customs and excise department, police force, Gambia International Airlines and the social security services. Those dismissed included the finance ministry's deputy permanent secretary, Karamo Bojang; Director of housing Tumbul Danso; Director of finance Amie Jahateh; the deputy director of customs and excise, Kabbah Tambajang, and the director of Civil Aviation Authority, Dembo Ftty, who had been in office for only two weeks. Five police officers were also sacked, the Panafrican News Agency (PANA) reported on Monday. There had been intensive lobbying for the reinstatement of the sacked officials in Bangul, the agency reported. Meanwhile, a senior staff reporter of the Independent Newspaper and correspondent for West Africa magazine in Gambia, Alhagie Mbye, has been picked by state agents. It is believed he was picked up in connection with a story he wrote in the West Africa magazine, in which he alleged that President Jammeh was re-elected on 18 October thanks to thousands of foreigners who voted for him, PANA reported on Friday.