Gambia&#8217;s first president after independence from Britain in 1965, Dawda Jawara, was buried Thursday in Banjul, the capital, VOA news <a href="https://www.voanews.com/africa/gambias-former-president-dawda-jawara-buried">reports</a>.
Speaker of The Gambia National Assembly, Mariam Jack Denton, said he was known for his integrity, kindness and sense of humour.
&#8220;Our hearts are heavy with this lost. He was an ardent promoter of human rights. He was a patriot and a true son of this country.&#8221;
Sedia Jatta, one of the opposition leaders who contested 1987 elections against Dawda Jawara, described his former opponent as a democrat and a tolerant person.
&#8220;We are not only here to pay homage to who brought independence to this country, but to learn from the challenges he faced as a leader. We have to learn tolerance from him.&#8221;
Gambia President Adama Barrow said: &#8220;It is with deep regret that I deliver this statement on this solemn occasion. The entire Gambian nation is in a state of mourning. We are mourning because our nation has lost its first premier, prime minister and president for over 30 years.&#8221;
Dawda Jawara, who died Tuesday at age 95, was a Glassgow trained veterinary doctor who ruled the small West African country from independence to 1994 when he was overthrown in a bloodless military coup led by Yahya Jammeh who ruled the country for 22 years.
He sought refuge in the U.K. where he lived with his family up to 2002, when he returned home after President Yahya Jammeh granted him amnesty and returned his assets, which were seized by a Commission of Inquiry established by the military junta to investigate cabinet members and officials of the previous regime.

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Gambia’s Former President Dawda Jawara Is Buried

A beauty pageant winner is accusing Gambia&#8217;s former dictator of raping her four years ago, VOA news <a href="https://www.voanews.com/africa/beauty-pageant-winner-accuses-ex-gambia-president-rape">reports</a>.
The young woman is one of several now coming forward and accusing Yahya Jammeh of sexual violence while he was in power.
Jammeh fled into exile in the reclusive nation of Equatorial Guinea in 2017 after losing the presidential election and initially refusing to step down.
The young woman, Fatou Jallow, plans to testify before Gambia&#8217;s truth and reconciliation commission that is investigating crimes committed during Jammeh&#8217;s rule.
Human Rights Watch described Jammeh as a sexual predator who lavished gifts on young women and their families before violently attacking them.
The human rights organization says it will take international pressure for Jammeh to be extradited from Equatorial Guinea.
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Beauty Pageant Winner Accuses Ex-Gambia President of Rape

The U.S. State Department says former Gambian President Yahya Jammeh and members of his immediate family are now ineligible for entry into the United States, <a href="https://www.voanews.com/a/us-blocks-ex-gambian-president-family-from-entering/4694931.html"> VOA news</a> reports.
The decision comes almost two years after Jammeh was forced into exile in Equatorial Guinea after he refused to concede defeat in a presidential election. Jammeh ruled the tiny West African country for two decades.
The State Department says he&#8217;s now being banned from entry under a category that applies to foreign government officials who are believed to have committed &#8220;significant corruption or a gross violation of human rights.&#8221;
In addition to Jammeh, his wife Zineb, and their daughter Mariam and son Muhammad are also being blocked.