Botswana officially cuts ties with Mr Jammeh, first African country to do so

The Government of Botswana says it will no longer recognize Yahya Jammeh and his government following his refusal to handover executive power after the expiration of his mandate.

The Southern Africa nation becomes the first country to openly denounce Jammeh’s continued stay in power contrary to what they described as the ‘‘expressed will of the Gambian people.’‘

A statement released by the Government on Thursday read in part, ‘‘This decision which takes effect immediately is consistent with Botswana’s position as articulated through the Press Release of 16th December 2016.

‘‘Mr. Jammeh’s decision not to respect the will of the Gambian people undermines the ongoing efforts to consolidate democracy and good governance in The Gambia and Africa as a whole. This is also in direct contravention of the spirit and aspirations of the African Union Constitutive Act,’‘the statement added.

They also continued to make appeals to the international community to do all within its power to exert pressure on Mr. Jammeh to hand over power in order to ensure a smooth transition.

The opposition coalition led by President-elect, Adama Barrow, have scheduled his swearing-in to take place in the Gambian embassy in neighbouring Senegal. Barrow has been in Senegal for over a week now after regional mediators flew out with him after a second round of inconclusive talks with Jammeh.

The Economic Community of West Africa States (ECOWAS) has deployed troops close to the Gambia with the high possibility of an intervention.