Breaking News Elizabeth Y. Renner is Gambia’s Prospective House Speaker

By Ebrima G. Sankareh, Editor-In-Chief

Unimpeachable sources at State House have disclosed to The Gambia Echo that Mrs. Elizabeth Yamede Renner has been nominated as National Assembly Member (NAM) replacing Fatoumatta Jahumpa Ceesay, who was sacked yesterday along side a team of high profile government luminaries. Mrs. Renner, a career schoolteacher, was The Gambia’s beauty Queen at independence in 1965; and was until the mid-1990s, Principal of Banjul’s Saint Augustine’s High School. She holds a Masters degree in English Education from Australia, a Higher Teacher’s Diploma from Winneba College, in Ghana. In the later years of the PPP government, Mrs. Renner was a nominated Member of Parliament until the military coup that swept away that government. In the pre-lude to the July coup, she was conferred with honorary citizenship by the state of Kansa in the USA.In what could be described as an irony of fate, her current nomination to replace Fatoumatta J. Ceesay may be seen as compensation to her previous job, dealt a blow by Jammeh’s own coup.

Says Kissy Kissy Mansa, “the probability that ‘Yamede’ as she is affectionately called, replaces FJC, not only as NAM but Speaker as well, is more probable than otherwise”. “In the coming days” says Kissy, “you will be seeing numerous officials of the PPP government coming back to roost as HE tries to mend fences here and there”. According to Kissy, Lamin Waa Juwara, Musa Drammeh, former Parliamentary Secretary at the Interior under the PPP regime are among numerous officials in the old guard that Mr. Jammeh is talking to.”

In a related twist, it is also highly probably says Kissy, that The Gambia’s Ambassador to the USA, Neneh M. Gaye may be recalled to serve in a different capacity. Quoting highly placed Foreign Affairs sources, Kissy says that the Gambian Consulate in Washington, DC has become a huge mess that no one can fix. “They are at war over there, because JT Kujabie and the entire staff cannot see an eye to eye.” “Currently, the Deputy Chief of Mission, Musa M’boob is here and may never return because, according to Foreign Affairs, the situation in Washington has worsened progressively since the new team arrived” said Kissy.

Asked in what capacity Neneh could serve, Kissy was quick to add, “to replace Yankuba Touray as spokesperson provided that the elders of Banjul have failed to convince HE to reinstate Touray.” According to Kissy, ever since Touray’s sacking last week, numerous elders in Banjul have been calling the President’s office pleading with him because most people continue to argue that “Yankuba is politically indispensable, President Jammeh cannot afford to hire any person who could go to the extend that Touray, a former military officer has climaxed.” Absent Yankuba’s return argues Kissy, two scenarios are likely, Fatoumatta Jahumpa will return as spokesperson and Propaganda Secretary of the APRC or Neneh Gaye will come back and serve in that capacity.

Until then, we wait and see!

Elizabeth Y. Renner