President Jammeh of The Gambia bans child marriage

“As from today, July 6, child marriage is illegal and is banned in The Gambia.

 “Anyone who marries a girl under 18 years will spend 20 years in jail. 

“The girls’ parents would spend 21 years in jail and anyone who knows about it and fails to report the matter to the authorities would spend 10 years in jail.

“The Imam and those that preside over the marriage ceremony would also be sent to jail.

“If you want to know whether what I am saying is true or not, try it tomorrow and see.”

With the above pronouncement, President Yahaya Jammeh of The Gambia announced a ban on child marriage.

President Jammeh made the announcement while speaking to a group of Muslim elders in Banjul on Wednesday.

Jammeh instructed lawmakers to pass legislation reflecting the new ban before July 21.

Gambia, it might be recalled, is a predominantly Muslim nation in West Africa.

In December, legislators had passed a bill criminalising female circumcision.

They also introduced prison terms of up to three years for anyone who flouts the ban.

The ban came a month after Jammeh branded the practice outdated and ordered its immediate cessation.

Jammeh declared in November that the practice was not required by Islam — the religion of around 95 percent of the country’s 1.8 million population.

He said that it should be consigned to history, according to a government spokesman.

President Yahaya Jammeh has been ruling The Gambia with an iron fist.

A coup attempt against him was reported to have been thwarted on 21 March 2006; Jammeh, who was in Mauritania at the time, quickly returned home. 

Army chief of staff Col. Ndure Cham, the alleged leader of the plot reportedly fled to neighboring Senegal.

Other alleged conspirators were arrested and put on trial for treason. 

In April 2007, ten former officers accused of involvement were convicted and given prison sentences; four of them were sentenced to life in prison.

Jammeh ran for a third term in the presidential election held on 22 September 2006.

The election was initially planned for October but was moved forward because of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

He was re-elected with 67.3% of the vote and was declared the winner of the election; the opposition candidate Ousainou Darboe finished second, as in 2001.

In November 2011, Jammeh was again re-elected as president for a fourth term in office, reportedly having received 72% of the popular vote.

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