June 17, 2007, was a historic day in Kanilai village, Foni Kansala District, the birth place of President Yahya Jammeh.

This is because the day witnessed the discharge by President Jammeh, a batch of 33 cured HIV/Aids patients who have successfully undergone the President’s treatment.

At the event, President Jammeh delivered a groundbreaking speech revolving on his treatment of the pandemic at an event attended by top government officers and the local community, among others.

Below we reproduce the unedited version of the President’s speech:

Honourable Secretaries of State, Secretary-General Office of the President, Service Chiefs, CEO RVTH, Cuban Team, Permanent Secretaries, my boss, Alkalo of Kanilai, even though am the President, but if am in Kanilai, he is my boss as am under his jurisdiction, civil servants, Honourable members of the National Assembly, my medical team, patients and well-wishers.

First of all, I would like to thank the Almighty Allah for a day like this. I want to also thank Dr Malick Njie and his team for their dedication.

We come at very difficult time. I want to thank you for very dedication and loyalty. I want to remind Gambians why I say that we started work at difficult time and the patients who are now treated and discharged can attest and those who watch TV, if you remember them, you know what am talking about. The Almighty Allah knows that your first time we brought this patients, some of them, their body conditions was very difficult to lay hands on them. I received my calls from well-wishers.
I have received complaints from well-wishers. Out of concern for my well-being, they advised me not to touch the patients because the way they have seen their body conditions of the patients. I should not touch them. I should leave it to the doctors and nurses. I told them with all due respect, that is something I cannot do. Those doctors and nurses are human beings and they have the same life that I have. So if I have to leave it to them to touch the patients, because am fear of my life, then am not honest. I thought I put their concerns to rest. 

Only for them to come back and say yes we know they are human beings, they have the same life as you and they are trained to take risk and they are not the President. They say if you die and you are the President you destroy the country. I told them I would not live one second beyond the time allocated to me, and I will not die a second before the time allocated to me by Allah.

To make a long story short I made it very clear that I declared to the whole world that I can cure AIDS and if I show any fear for any AIDS patients that means that I cannot cure it. So, if I don’t touch the patients am not confident in my declaration that I can cure HIV/AIDS.  Why would you be afraid if you are a doctor of a disease you claimed to be able to cure. Well, to our Cuban brothers and sisters, these are true friends of The Gambia. Today Gambia’s profile in the medical service is among the best in the whole world. Thanks to the generosity of the Cuban government and people.

Well they may be wondering why, they don’t continue on the treatment. When we started, we started with them. Then a situation arose and I have to let them go.  The reason being, when the first CD4 counts results were announced I realised that we have picked a huge fight globally and since the valiant people of Cuba has always been in fight in big powers. I don’t want them to be part of another global fight. I pick up the fight on behalf of The Gambia and humanity. I didn’t want to add another burden to the republic of Cuba, that was the only reason why I said we leave our cuban brothers and sisters in peace, while we continue this global fight that has been unleashed on us. So, it is not because you are not efficient it is not that we did not trust you, the simple reason is that I don’t want to put you in a fight that is directly against Yahya Jammeh and The Gambia. 

The principles of humanity dictates us that, if you have a friend who is always in a fight and trying to help you, it’s more honourable to involved him in a new fight. That is the reason why our Cuban sisters and brothers were relieve of their responsibility in the treatment of HIV/AIDS.

Why today?  I don’t claim to be God, I don’t claim to be a prophet but I’ve every right to claim that am a God fearing person and my love for humanity have no limit and I do everything possible to please the Almighty Allah, and  I prayed to Allah. Am not looking for popularity, wealth, but all what I seek is the pleasure of the Almighty Allah. We are not visitors of this world, we are leaving today.  The most important world that we all aspire of is the Kingdom of Allah in heaven. Whatever I do in this world, I do in pursuit of the next world.

The fight against HIV/AIDS, the treatment has expose the hypocrisy and lip service that the western world is putting on today. Let us ask ourselves as African and Non-Europeans, why is AIDS killing more blacks and than the rest of humanity. Malaria kills both Black and White, Asthma attacks both black and white in equal numbers. In fact Malaria is more devastating to the White race than we the Blacks.  But why is it that, AIDS anytime it is mentioned by the international western press, if they give you that 20-million people are suffering from AIDS and what is a million for the local people.

 When we talk of a million, people will wondered because it does not exist in our local languages. But thousand-thousand is a million, that is what we talking about.  When they tell your that 20million people are suffering from AIDS, they will tell you that 19-million live in sub-saharan, that is the black people. People don’t even know what  sub-saharan means. It is a discretion that the European found when they came to Africa.  Sahara is their language. In European language sub-saharan person is somebody neither black or white. So when say sub-saharan is somebody that is between black and not white. That is why they qualify us as sub-saharan.

Why is that in the whole world if 20-million are suffering from AIDS, 19-million live in sub-saharan Africa which means that you and I counted them. Now, everybody believe the statistics the western press gives about Africa. They have shown all laboratory evidence to back their claim that in some countries, 3 out of 4 nationals are HIV positive. The UN AIDS and WHO accepted those figures. So, why can’t the UN AIDS and WHO accepted laboratory test that are more evident proven than what these people are claiming because our resources is tested in a modern laboratory for that matter. So if they are concerned about the AIDS pandemic in Africa, why can they embrace any attempt that shows positive signs that AIDS can be taken care of. 

I, Yahya Jammeh, my name is the Holy Quran. Am not claiming to be a prophet but I can raise my hands that from the origins of man up to date am the first President who is called Yahya Jammeh. And in the Holy Quran, it is stated that  ‘Ya yahya’ meaning you Yahya holds on to the Holy Quran and make sure the truth prevails. Am not afraid of anything except the Almighty Allah. From the date when the first results of the PCR were announced, they called me all sorts of names. I have been the subject of negative western press. But the greenest and the best tree in a plantation, that is a tree which is germinated in a place where there is more fertiliser. What do I mean by that, all the negative propaganda, all the bad names that they call me is the fertilizer for the tree call Yahya Jammeh.

I will never waver my crusade in the fight against HIV in The Gambia and in Africa. Yes, you will be surprise to know that the WHO and the UN AIDS have given endless problems to the laboratory that tested the blood samples and proven that the medicine is effective. Now they want to know where we want to go next so that they can go and talk to that country not to accept samples from The Gambia.  Why? There is a reason. Even we Gambians believe in witchcraft. When somebody dies and it is claimed that the person may be killed by witchcrafts, even thought those who are suspected of killing the person cry the most. Yes, because they don’t want to show that they are responsible for the person’s death.

So those who produce Aids to kill Africans (blacks) are the ones crying loud about doing something about Aids in Africa.  But their insincerity has been shown by their brutal attacks on something that scientifically cannot be disputed, that is the results of my treatment. If they are concerned about HIV/Aids and they want to stop it, if they are sincere, the first thing they should have done was to come and say let’s see how we can develop it and make it available for humanity. 

Still am coming back to the question. Why today?  Because I could have discharged them a long time ago, Dr Malick Njie  is here with the Cubans and Mariatou Jallow, Dr Mbowe. I said that I can take care of it in three days to ten days.  And the first batch has proven it by testing them after ten days, that what I said is true.  I didn’t  discharge them to go home. I could have discharged them after 30 days but I didn’t do that’s why?  because, the so-called western doctors and western press, the propaganda machinery for the West have labelled me as dangerous and irresponsible, why?  because they said that I told those who are on ARV to stop taking ARV’s and they said that anybody on ARV if you stop taking it, you will die 3 months. 

That is why I kept the spirit for 6 months. They said 3 months if you stop the ARV you will die, I kept them 3 months and they didn’t die, to prove them that they are lying, I kept them for another 3 months, because I have already proven them that they are telling lies.  But they could have been easily manipulated and some of them would die and they will say, look at Yahya Jammeh’s treatment. 
That is why I kept them for another 3 months. 

They can stand up, even those under treatment, and tell me who has a headache.  In fact, Fatou Jatta and Darboe need to thank Dr Malick Njie because they used to give him many lifting exercise. In the first week, we used to have three sections of treatment and each time they come to treatment, they use to carry them and put them on the bed.  After one week, they stop to be carried and they climb on the bed themselves. When they came, Darboe could not stand for 2 minutes.  She had all endless problems.  And for Fatou Jatta, I have made a pledge to her when we tested the first test, at the PCR that is the vital load, she had a million copies and above. Among those that were tested, 2 of them had the highest viral load.  She should have despaired but I made a pledge to her that by the grace of the Almighty Allah, you will not die of Aids, and that you will improve to a standard that you will not believe that you are the same Fatou Jatta.

Now, I found very difficult to recognise her. I use to call Darboe “Bambusu” one day she looked at me while she was lying on the bed, she said, President the names you are giving me is too many--- Jammeh laughed.

Do you people think am crazy or stupid to claim that I can cure Aids when I know that Aids is killing Africans and the rest of mankind.  If I cannot do it, why would I attract such negative attention to myself which will hurt me, my family and my country for the rest of humanity.  I will never subject my people, the Gambian people, Africans, to Western ridicules.  I will never do that.

Ousman Sowe, is here were they came he was on ARV.  He was the 2nd to last to come. The last person to arrive was Darboe. When Ousman came, he was on ARV and a lecturer at the School of Public Health, and by the time he came, he was not able to stand and lecturer and he was on ARV, stronger.  But when he came to the crazy Dr Jammeh, the man who is a lunatic, the man who is irresponsible, dangerous and playing with human life, today he can run from Kanilai to Kamfenda.  Ask the patients, the clothes they were wearing before, now they cannot wear that.  If my medication was false, I can tell you that, most of them would have been death by now. 

Well, for the rest of the people that have not been discharged, I made it very clear that it is my responsibility and I have explained clearly what my medicine does to HIV/Aids. What I said, I will repeat it. I will get rid of the Aids virus in your bodies.  Those who we think the virus is finished in their body, are those discharged.  I made it clear.  But if you even have 10 copies in your body, I will not let you go until these 10 copies are eliminated from your body. You wiil be surprise that you have 2 from the 3rd batch that has been discharge today. They stayed less than 3 months with us. Why?.... I know we can discharge more from the third batch but we can’t do that, because, most of them, we are still testing their samples.  Some of them, the results will be out this week.

To those discharged, at least, am vindicated, that I have done what I say I can do.  But my treatment is not a guarantee against re-infection.  So the entry point of re-infection is still open, that is the responsibility of you to close that entry point.

You are all known today in The Gambia.  Internationally, all of you are known because, all your pictures are in the internet.  If somebody comes to fool you and say let me take your blood sample, and you allow the person to tamper with your blood system, if you are re-infected, I will not treat you.  As you sit, there is another batch of 90 patients that are waiting and you will not come back and deprive others the chance you have enjoyed.  Some of you have partners that refuse to be tested.  As a Muslim, I should not tell you what you should do in your mind.  But look at what is in your best interest. 

If you want to take the risk and sleep with that partner, it is your problem.  As I said, my treatment is not a vaccination against re-infection.  And we will not follow you to see who you sleep with or who you play with.  What we will do is, on a weekly basis, you will come to be given medications to continue with other opportunistic infection. You will continue with that for another 3 months, after which I don’t know you, you don’t know me.  Be serious with your life and Allah will protect you.

I want to thank every Gambian, the patients, especially, the first batch that is the lead for the trust.
They were subjected to all sorts of ridicules.  They heard all negative words, and accepting to appear on TV. From day one I became Head of State, my slogan has always been “transparency, accountability and prohibity”. Am quite sure that members of the second batch will do more better than you if they are telling the truth. Today in The Gambia, Aids is no longer the incurable disease.

By the grace of Allah, we will continue to treat Aids, Asthma and diabetes.  No one question me on the treatment of asthma and diabetes because asthma and diabetes are universal and are natural disease.  They are not created for any particular race.  They did not question my ability to cure Aids.  Why condemning me for treating HIV/Aids.  Because, the virus has been created to kill non whites and because my medicine has the potential to make them fail their objective of eliminating the black man, they where attacking me. The acronyms of Aids tells you the origin of the virus.  If you create a virus, no matter how you manipulate it, there is the danger that it can run out of control.  Those who believe Aids will only kill Africans, let’s wait for the next five years and see.

It is also important to tell Gambians that we have cause to expel three patients who violated all our rules, which was detrimental to the well-being of the patients.  One from the first group, two from the second group.  In the third group, as far as I know ,we have no cause to expel anybody, but the rules are very clear.  Violate the rules, repeat it and go home.  I will not take risk.

So for the purpose of those who are coming for treatment, you should know that to continue the treatment, you have to obey the rules and regulations.

Also among the patients, there were 2 cases of death. Their time was up from day one, we just know that we are managing this people.  They die from the consequences different from Aids.  I also made it very clear that somebody whose time is up, I can’t do anything about it.

90 people are supposed to constitute the 4th group. I must apologise to the families of the nurses and doctors who spend most of their time in the treatment.  I want to thank your husbands and wives for the understanding.  From now, I free you from my treatment. 
May Allah guide you. Discharging you does not mean the end of my support to you but don’t abuse it. Alsamadeeh!