{"id":90796,"date":"2025-11-23T17:34:19","date_gmt":"2025-11-23T17:34:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/uncategorized\/essa-faal-weighs-in-on-prospects-of-yahya-jammehs-return"},"modified":"2025-11-23T17:40:37","modified_gmt":"2025-11-23T17:40:37","slug":"essa-faal-weighs-in-on-prospects-of-yahya-jammehs-return","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/essa-faal-weighs-in-on-prospects-of-yahya-jammehs-return","title":{"rendered":"Essa Faal Weighs in on Prospects of Yahya Jammeh\u2019S Return"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Gambia. <\/strong><\/span>Essa Faal, the lawyer-turned-politician who helped lead The Gambia\u2019s truth commission, offered a nuanced assessment of former President Yahya Jammeh\u2019s possible return, calling the matter a delicate blend of legal rights and political realities.<\/b><\/p>\n

Speaking in a recent interview with Eye Africa TV, Mr. Faal\u2014now the leader of the APP-Sobeya party\u2014said that while Jammeh, like any Gambian citizen, retains the constitutional right to re-enter the country, the circumstances surrounding his 2017 departure complicate the question.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs a lawyer, I have to say what the law emphasizes, but as a politician, I have to think beyond the law,\u201d Mr. Faal said. \u201cYahya Jammeh and any other Gambian citizen have the right to return back to his\/her country. That is what the law emphasizes.\u201d<\/p>\n

But Jammeh\u2019s case, he added, is \u201cdifferent.\u201d The former head of state went into exile in Equatorial Guinea after regional leaders negotiated his exit to avert a potentially violent standoff following his refusal to concede defeat in the 2016 election.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe was a former head of state, and how he leaves the country has to do with something that we have to secure,\u201d Mr. Faal said. \u201cWe thought if he stayed here, the peace we needed to come to the Gambia would not be here.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mr. Faal noted that Jammeh cannot simply board a flight home. Any return, he said, would require cooperation from the government of Equatorial Guinea as well as formal clearance from Gambian authorities. \u201cEven if the Equatorial government gives him a passport, The Gambia has to accept it first,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The APP-Sobeya leader used the moment to criticize President Adama Barrow\u2019s administration, accusing it of treating the issue as a political tool. \u201cWhatever the government does is a political calculation so they can remain in power,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

His comments followed President Barrow\u2019s statement last week that Jammeh is \u201cnot ready\u201d to return\u2014a characterization Mr. Faal suggested reflects political expediency more than candor.<\/p>\n

Mr. Faal also recounted a personal anecdote from Jammeh\u2019s time in power, saying the former president had once tried to recruit him into the army as a legal adviser. His refusal, he said, contributed to a long-standing tension between them.<\/p>\n

Jammeh\u2019s potential return remains one of the most divisive questions in Gambian public life. For some citizens, it is a matter of constitutional rights; for others, a test of the country\u2019s commitment to justice after the Truth, Reconciliation, and Reparations Commission documented years of abuses under his rule.<\/p>\n

\u201cA day will come that I will come out and say a lot,\u201d Mr. Faal said. \u201cThat time has not come yet.\u201d<\/p>\n

For More News And Analysis About Gambia<\/span> Follow Africa-Press<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Gambia. Essa Faal, the lawyer-turned-politician who helped lead The Gambia\u2019s truth commission, offered a nuanced assessment of former President Yahya Jammeh\u2019s possible return, calling the matter a delicate blend of legal rights and political realities. Speaking in a recent interview with Eye Africa TV, Mr. Faal\u2014now the leader of the APP-Sobeya party\u2014said that […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":90795,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,12],"tags":[260],"class_list":["post-90796","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-policy","tag-gambia"],"yoast_head":"\nEssa Faal Weighs in on Prospects of Yahya Jammeh\u2019S Return - Gambia<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Essa Faal, the lawyer-turned-politician who helped lead The Gambia\u2019s truth commission, offered a nuanced assessment o ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/essa-faal-weighs-in-on-prospects-of-yahya-jammehs-return\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Essa Faal Weighs in on Prospects of Yahya Jammeh\u2019S Return\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Essa Faal, the lawyer-turned-politician who helped lead The Gambia\u2019s truth commission, offered a nuanced assessment o ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/essa-faal-weighs-in-on-prospects-of-yahya-jammehs-return\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Gambia\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AfricaPressTunisiaa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-11-23T17:34:19+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-11-23T17:40:37+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/gambia\/sites\/19\/2025\/11\/sm_1763906937.775796.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1280\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"720\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/essa-faal-weighs-in-on-prospects-of-yahya-jammehs-return#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/essa-faal-weighs-in-on-prospects-of-yahya-jammehs-return\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"Essa Faal Weighs in on Prospects of Yahya Jammeh\u2019S Return\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-11-23T17:34:19+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-11-23T17:40:37+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/essa-faal-weighs-in-on-prospects-of-yahya-jammehs-return\"},\"wordCount\":463,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/essa-faal-weighs-in-on-prospects-of-yahya-jammehs-return#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/gambia\/sites\/19\/2025\/11\/sm_1763906937.775796.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Gambia\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"policy\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/essa-faal-weighs-in-on-prospects-of-yahya-jammehs-return#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/essa-faal-weighs-in-on-prospects-of-yahya-jammehs-return\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/essa-faal-weighs-in-on-prospects-of-yahya-jammehs-return\",\"name\":\"Essa Faal Weighs in on Prospects of Yahya Jammeh\u2019S Return - 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