Gambian ex-president Yahya Jammeh will be allowed to keep his collection of 13 luxury cars and fly them out to his exiled home in Equatorial Guinea, a spokesman for new president Adama Barrow said Tuesday.
Barrow’s spokesman confirmed to AFP an agreement had been struck to facilitate Jammeh’s exit on Saturday in order to end a weeks-long impasse caused by the ex-leader’s refusal to recognise Barrow’s election victory.
“What is very clear is that arrangements were made and the government was fully prepared and supportive of ex-president Jammeh to leave and as a result they found it is better to leave with all his properties instead of coming down and checking properties,” spokesman Halifa Sallah told AFP.
An airport source who saw the cargo being prepared on Saturday night when Jammeh flew out of the country said “two Rolls Royce and one (Mercedes) Benz” were loaded onto a Chadian cargo plane, while others await shipment.
The spokesman added that the decision was also aimed at minimising return visits by Jammeh. “He leaves with all his properties so he is not coming up and down to check,” Sallah said.