Ex-Gambian leader Jammeh, family members blocked from entering US

Former long-term leader of Gambia Yahya Jammeh and members of his immediate family have been blocked from entering the United States of America in announcement made by the US State department.

The pronouncement by the State Department says Jammeh and members of his immediate family are ineligible to enter the United States and it is coming two years after he was forced into exile in Equatorial Guinea after he refused to concede defeat in a presidential election.

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Jammeh finally accepted to step down following last-ditch diplomatic efforts made by the leaders of Guinea and Mauritania who both arrived in the capital, Banjul, to get him to cede power.

The former leader was also accused of stealing state funds to the tune of $11 million in his last week as President of the tiny West African country.

Had he refused to step down, ECOWAS troops which entered Gambia, hours after Barrow was forced to hold his inauguration as president in Dakar, the capital of Senegal, were awaiting orders to force Jammeh out if he refused to relinquish power.

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