By 'Femi Okutubo
The power house of President Yahya Jammeh built over the last 22 years of his tenure as Gambia's leader, is fast collapsing in the midst of resignations of his close aides.
Joining the growing list of Ministers who have resigned from Jammeh's government are his deputy - Vice President Isatou Njie Saidy, and the Minister for Higher Education, Research, Science and Technology, and Religious Affairs - Dr. Aboubacar A Senghore.
Dr Isatou Njie Saidy (left) and President Jammeh b
Dr Isatou Njie Saidy (left) and President Jammeh
In spite of rising tension in the country, some Gambians have reacted humorously on social media to the wave of resignations. One Gambian remarked that the next resignation letter they were waiting for is that of Mrs Jammeh - the President's wife!; while another joked that with the way things are going, there may be no driver available to drive Jammeh to his escape!
Dr Aboubacar Senghore resigns from Jammeh's cabinet
Dr Aboubacar Senghore resigns from Jammeh's cabinet
Yesterday, in an attempt to cling to power beyond his tenure which ends in a few hours - later today, Jammeh declared a State of Emergency, while the National Assembly extended its tenure and that of Jammeh, by 90 days.
Dr Isatou Njie Saidy
Dr Isatou Njie Saidy
Jammeh said he was making the declaration “to prevent a constitutional crisis and power vacuum.”
Following failed mediation attempts, Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), is expecting to use force to remove Jammeh if he refuses to step down tonight. There is no indication as to how long this forced transfer of power will take.
An aide of President-elect Adama Barrow stated that the Inauguration will go ahead as planned on January 19 "on Gambian soil." There are speculations from Trumpet's sources in Dakar, that the inauguration may take place at the Gambian Embassy in Senegal - which some consider to be "Gambian soil."
Trumpet's research and investigations revealed that this popular perception may not be an accurate and correct interpretation of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations 1961.
Article 22 of the Vienna Convention gives an Embassy immunity from searches and entry to the premises by the Host country, implying that the Host country does not have sovereignty over the premises of the Embassy - and needs permission of the Mission before it can gain access (even if there was a fire!). The Embassy is however considered to be on the foreign country's soil.
This implies that while the Gambian Embassy in Senegal enjoys immunity from Senegal in terms of what happens there, the Gambian Embassy is considered to be on Senegal's soil.
Jammeh who has ruled for over 22 years following a coup in 1994, lost the election to President-elect Adama Barrow by a narrow margin. He initially conceded defeat but a week later contested the results, after it emerged that there were some tallying errors in the results. The revised results released by the election umpire did not change the outcome of the election - as it only narrowed the margin of win between Jammeh and Barrow.