In doing so, U.S. officials may have at least indirectly helped to protect the president of Gambia,Yahya Jammeh, who has drawn international condemnationfor his dismal human rights record, his violent rhetoric against gay people and bizarre beliefs such as his claim to have concocted an herbal cure for AIDS. President Obama and first lady Michelle Obama greet Gambian President Yahya Jammeh and his wife, Zineb, at the White House in August 2014. (Amanda Lucidon/The White House)
UCHAGUZI wa Taifa dogo la Afrika Magharibi la Gambia lililopo kilometa chache ukingoni mwa Jangwa la Sahara, uligubikwa na mvuto wa kipekee kutokana na wasifu wa wagombea wawili waliochuana vikali. Rais aliyebwagwa katika uchaguzi huo, Yahya Jammeh, aliyetawala kwa miongo miwili na ushei aliyeingia madarakani kwa Mapinduzi ya kijeshi amekubali kushindwa na kuahidi kukabidhi madaraka kwa amani kwa mpinzani wake aliyeshinda, Adama Barrow, ambaye hajawahi kuongoza katika ngazi yoyote ya kisiasa.