President Jammeh sacks information minister

Gambian President Yahya Jammeh has sacked his Information Minister, Yankuba Touray, without giving an official explanation. Touray, a 35-year-old former captain in the Gambian army, was considered in political circles as Jammeh's closest aide and loyal supporter. He was the propaganda manager for Jammeh's ruling Alliance for Patriotic Reorientation and Construction (APRC) party and one of the longest serving cabinet ministers in the Jammeh administration. Touray, who was sacked on Tuesday night, had held various top government posts since Jammeh came to power in a 1994 coup, which overthrew the Gambia's first president, Sir Dawda Jawara. Before becoming Information Minister, Touray headed the ministries of Tourism and Culture and Local Government. Although he did not take an active part in the 1994 coup, he was drafted into Jammeh's military junta soon afterwards. No official reason was given for Touray's dismissal, but intelligence sources linked his fall from grace to an allegedly illegal land deal involving a site reserved for Gambia's tourism development initiative. Last month, the director of the National Tourism Authority was suspended indefinitely as a commission of inquiry began looking into the affair. Touray was one of those who supported the president's controversial decision earlier this year to create a media commission, which has powers to try and jail journalists with no right of appeal. His sacking came as another former presidential aide, House majority leader Baba Jobe, was standing trial for economic crimes. Jobe faces multiple charges for failing to pay import duty and other taxes on imports for his business. In October this year, The Gambia launched a crusade code-named "Operation No Compromise" to deal with corruption in government. Jammeh has vowed to spare no one.