APA-Banjul (The Gambia) Three top Gambian diplomats including a deputy ambassador at the country’s embassy in Washington have been expelled from the United States over a fraudulent visa regime, APA has learnt from a statement by the US State Department.
Mustapha Sosseh, Deputy Chief of Mission, Alhagie Badara Joof, the finance attache of the Gambian embassy in Washington and Pa Sako Darboe, first secretary have been declared persona non grata and asked to leave the US by July 17th 2023.
They face allegations of misconduct involving visa processing and forgeries.
The under–fire diplomats allegedly brought children to the US on visitors’ visa and ”forged paperwork to enroll them in US schools”.
The nationalities of the children are not clear.
The Gambian embassy in Washington, the foreign service in Banjul and the three men have not commented on the allegations but sources say this alleged malpractice has been commonplace for some years.
Abdou Cham, a fourth Gambian who worked as a counsellor at the Gambian Embassy in Washington has also been told to leave the country after he was found to have struck his daughter, an act which is deemed unacceptable in the United States.
Investigations into Cham’s behaviour were carried out by the Montgomery County Police Department (MCPD).
WN/as/APA