Gambia President Yahya Jammeh Tells Gay Men: “I Will Slit Your Throat”
While much attention has been given to anti-gay laws and rhetoric in Kenya and Uganda, Gambian President Yahya Jammeh is clearly trying to one-up his fellow West African dictators.
In
a speech last week, Jammeh warned homosexuals, “If you do it
here, I will slit your throat.”
“If
you are a man and want to marry another man in this country and we catch you, no
one will ever set eyes on you again,” he warned. “And no white person can do
anything about it.”
Jammeh
has ruled Gambia, a nation of about 1.8 million people, for more than two
decades. The EU cut aid to the country last year, though, over its
abysmal human rights record—including the persecution of Gambia’s LGBT
community.
In
2008 Jammehsaid he would “cut off the head” of any
homosexuals found in his country.
“Homosexuality
is anti-god, anti-human, and anti-civilization,” he ranted in 2013. “If we catch
you, you will regret why you are born. I have buffaloes from South Africa and
Brazil and they never date each other. We are ready to eat grass but we will not
compromise on this.”
While
known for his bizarre declarations and brutal secret police, Jammeh fancies
himself something of an intellectual and scientist: In 2007 he
declared he discovered a miracle cure for AIDS, a green herbal paste rubbed
onto the rib cage of the patient.
The
World Health Organization became alarmed when it learned Jammeh’s “cure”
required patients to stop taking anti-viral medications.
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