Finally Gambia’s new president has arrived the country. He was in Senegal and was inaugurated at the Gambian Embassy there following refusal of authoritarian leader Yahya Jammeh to step down.
In the December 1 general election Adama Barrow was elected as the president.
Barrow was greeted by hundreds of diplomats in capital Banjul and people in thousands lined up in the streets to welcome the new leader as he stepped out of a small plane and walked down a red carpet.
While Barrow was being greeted couple of fighter jets from the West African ECOWAS regional force passed overhead.
UN Special Representative for West Africa and the Sahel, Mohamed Ibn Chambas, said a new page is being turned in Gambian history.
Barrow is a devout Muslim having two wives and four living children. His eight-year-old son died recently on January 15, 2017, after being bitten by a dog. For security reasons he was in Senegal and couldn’t attend the funeral.
During his days in England he became a fan of English football club Arsenal.
Meanwhile, Jammeh left the country into exile last week and it is claimed to have stolen millions of dollars during his final weeks in power.
A special adviser for the new president Adama Barrow said Jammeh plundered the state coffers too and shipped out luxury vehicles by cargo plane.
Gambia is the smallest country in the mainland Africa. It is entirely surrounded by Senegal with land border and a coastline on the Atlantic Ocean.