2017 — A President Sworn In at an Embassy

On January 19, 2017, Adama Barrow was sworn in as president of The Gambia, not in Banjul, but at the Gambian Embassy in Dakar, Senegal. Outgoing dictator Yahya Jammeh refused to step down, so the former real estate developer took his oath in exile, in the capital of a neighboring country.

Barrow had stunned Africa by defeating Jammeh, who had ruled for twenty-two years. Jammeh first conceded on live television, then reversed course and declared a state of emergency. As Barrow took the oath, ECOWAS troops crossed into The Gambia to enforce the result. Two days later Jammeh fled into exile in Equatorial Guinea, and Barrow returned home on January 26.