Actually, the headline at Afrik.com, an aggregator of news from Africa, reads President plans to kill off every single homosexual. The sub-head reads
Gambian President Yahya Jammeh says he will "cut off the head" of any homosexual caught in his country.
The Gambia, a former British colony in West Africa, already has made homosexual conduct a felony punishable by imprisonment for a term of 14 years.
Now, Pink News reports,
Gay men and lesbians must leave the country within 24 hours or face "serious consequences," the President of Gambia said on [last] Thursday.
The Daily Observer -- tag-line, "Forward with The Gambia" -- entitled its article:
No room for gays in The Gambia
The bolded sub-head?
President Alhaji Dr Yahya Jammeh, on Thursday, gave less than 24 hours (until last week Friday) ultimatum to homosexuals, drug dealers, thieves and other criminals, to leave The Gambia or face serious consequences if caught.
The news report continues:
The president equally warned all those who harbour such individuals to kick them out of their compounds, noting that a mass patrol will be conducted on the instructions of the IGP and the director of the Gambia Immigration Department to weed bad elements in society. "Any hotel, lodge or motel that lodges this kind of individuals will be closed down, because this act is unlawful. We are in a Muslim dominated country and I will not and shall never accept such individuals in this country".
Last year, Pink News also reports, President Jammeh "horrified scientists by announcing that he had developed a 'miracle cure' for HIV/AIDS."
Hundreds of Gambians lined up to be "cured" by President Jammeh, who treats his patients by rubbing a mysterious herbal paste into their ribcages and then instructing them to swallow a bitter yellow drink, followed by two bananas. The therapy is administered repeatedly over several weeks.
According to Mr Jammeh, AIDS sufferers are cured within "three to thirty days." The President announced his alleged cure in January to a gathering of perplexed foreign diplomats. "Whatever you do there are bound to be skeptics, but I can tell you my method is foolproof," he said.
President Jammeh's own website claims:
His Excellency President Yahya Jammeh's effective herbal treatment has yet again been manifested in the recent discharge of four HIV/AIDS patients of the 3rd and 4th batch. The President has announces that the period for the treatment of HIV 2 patients have now been reduced to 2 weeks instead of two to three months to allow others to have a first chance.
According to the CIA World Fact Book, The Gamibia's estimated population is only 1,735,464. The country's tourist board website proclaims: Welcome to The Gambia, the smiling coast of Africa.
I suggest that we contact our country's leaders and the candidates for President, urging them to speak out against this threatened pogrom. Companies should be discouraged from doing business with The Gambia. And, the country's tourist spots should be left empty.
The world must tell President Jammeh that it will not tolerate the expulsion of, or violence against, The Gambia's gays and lesbians.