Yahya Jammeh of The Gambia is still in the country and holding himself out as President.
This is despite the expiration of his mandate after midnight of Wednesday January 18.
Jammeh was given a mandate extension of three months by the National Assembly.
He declared a 90-day state of emergency on Tuesday evening, a situation that makes the scheduled swearing-in of the president-elect, Adama Barrow, close to impossible at least on Gambian soil.
Barrow’s camp insist the investiture will take place someway somehow.
Botswana is the first African country to publicly state that it does not recognise Yahya Jammeh as the President of The Gambia.
A statement released a day after Jammeh’s tenure expired said everything should be done to ensure Jammeh respects the will of the people.
“Mr. Jammeh’s decision not to respect the will of the Gambian people undermines the ongoing efforts to consolidate democracy and good governance in The Gambia and Africa as a whole.
This is also in direct contravention of the spirit and aspirations of the African Union Constitutive Act.
“The Government of Botswana therefore continues to appeal to the international community to do all within its power to exert pressure on Mr. Jammeh to hand over power in order to ensure a smooth transition,” the statement read in part.
