Personal Life
Jammeh's first marriage ended in divorce. Jammeh married his second wife Zeinab Suma Jammeh, in 1999, and they have two children as of 2007: a daughter, Mariam Jammeh, and a son, Muhammed Yahya Jammeh. The latter was born in late 2007, when his daughter was eight years old. Both of his children were born in Washington, D. C., and U. S. citizenship recognition was requested for the first child – but her request was denied (because, as a child of a foreign person holding diplomatic exemption status, she was not considered subject to the jurisdiction of the United States when born, as is required for birthright citizenship in the United States).
On 30 September 2010, Jammeh announced his marriage to a 21-year-old (or possibly 18-year-old) additional wife by the name Ms. Alima Sallah, daughter of Mr Omar Gibril Sallah, Gambia's current Ambassador to Saudi Arabia, and Mrs Zahra Sallah. It was announced that his new wife would officially be referred to as Lady Alima Yahya Jammeh, and would not be referred to as a "first lady", since Zeinab Suma Jammeh is the official "first lady".
According to at least one source, his marriage to Ms. Sallah was a shock to his other wife Zeinab Suma Jammeh, and the additional marriage led to strains in their relationship and even plans for their divorce. Zeinab Jammeh had reportedly already been living in the U. S. separately from her husband for some time. Ms. Sallah reportedly also left Gambia for the U. S. in June 2010. According to the same publication, he then divorced Ms. Sallah in early 2011.
Read more about this topic: Yahya Jammeh
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“The dialectic between change and continuity is a painful but deeply instructive one, in personal life as in the life of a people. To ‘see the light’ too often has meant rejecting the treasures found in darkness.”
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