Gambia's Jammeh, Who Once Threatened To Slit The Throats Of Gay Men, Defeated In Election

Gambia's Jammeh, Who Once Threatened To Slit The Throats Of Gay Men, Defeated In Election

• By
• Carlos Santoscoy
• | December 03, 2016

Gambian President Yahya Jammeh, who ruled the West African country for 22 years, was defeated at the polls on December 1.
According to multiple sources, Gambia's Independent Electoral Commission named Adama Barrow the winner of the presidential election.
Barrow is an independent candidate who represents a coalition of opposition parties.
“Allah is telling me my time is up and I hand over graciously with gratitude toward the Gambian people and gratitude toward you,” the AP quoted Jammeh as telling Barrow in a telephone call.
Jammeh, who took power in a 1994 military coup, has a long history of homophobic remarks.
Last year, he threatened to slit the throats of gay men: “If you do it [in Gambia], 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, and no white person can do anything about it.”
“Homosexuality is anti-God, anti-human, and anti-civilization,” he said in 2013. “Homosexuals are not welcome in the Gambia. If we catch you, you will regret why you are born. … Allowing homosexuality means allowing satanic rights.”
In 2008, he warned that he would “cut off the head” of gays found in his country.
Barrow's views on LGBT rights are not known.