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Gambia president names new justice minister after coup attempt
Al Hadji Yahya Jammeh, President of the Republic of the Gambia, addresses the 69th United Nations General Assembly at the U.N. headquarters in New York, September 25, 2014. PHOTO BY REUTERS/Lucas Jackson
14/01/2015
BANJUL (Reuters) - Gambia's President Yahya Jammeh named Mama Fatima Singhateh as Attorney General and Minister of Justice on Tuesday to replace Basiru Mahoney, who was removed from cabinet last week after an attempted coup.
Singhateh had previously held the posts until her removal in August. State television, which made the announcement, gave no reason for the change. Last Thursday, it named Aboubacarr Senghore to oversee the ministry following Mahoney's departure.
Jammeh, who came to power in a 1994 coup, has accused foreign-based dissidents of fomenting the coup bid, which took place last month while he was out of the country. Security forces have made arrests but few details have been released, stoking fears in a country accused of human rights violations.
Prosecutors in the United States last week charged a Texas businessman with bankrolling and trying to lead the coup with the support of a former U.S. Army sergeant.
Tuesday's announcement is the latest of several cabinet changes since the coup attempt.
(Reporting by Matthew Mpoke Bigg; Editing by Angus MacSwan)
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