Exiled Yahya Jammeh, family banned from entering U.S.

The United States has slapped a ban on former Gambian President Yahya Jammeh and his family from entering the country.

The measure announced on Monday is largely related to charges of corruption and gross rights abuses during his 22 years in charge.

His wife, Zineb Yahya Jammeh, and his children, are also on the US blacklist relating to foreign leaders involved in large-scale corruption or serious human rights violations, according to a State Department statement.

The statement stressed the resolve of Washington in assisiting the Adama Barrow -led government in the area of support for a transition to greater transparency, accountability and democratic governance.

Jammeh ruled The Gambia, a small English-speaking West African country, for 22 years until his defeat at the polls in 2016 by Adama Barrow.

He left power after the West African bloc ECOWAS threatened a military intervention. He is currently resident in Equatorial Guinea where regional leaders arranged for him to live in exile.