As promised on Monday, the Gambian president Yahya Jammeh has dismissed five more top government officials, including the Speaker of Parliament, Mrs Fatoumata Jahumpa-Ceesay, our Banjul correspondent says. Speaker Jahumpa-Ceesay is reportedly out of the country when the president terminated her services.

According to our correspondent, finance minister Musa Gibril Bala-Gaye, sports minister Sheriff Gomez, local government minister Ismaila Sambou and deputy inspector general of police, Modou Gaye have been removed with immediate effect.

And as usual, no official reasons were given for these removals, other than those reported Monday by the president in a press release, which decried low performance of some cabinet members.

In a surprise move, former information minister Mrs Fatim Janneh-Sanneh has been brought back to the communications ministry, a portfolio that was brought under the president's office following the dismissal of Omar Ndow.

Senegambia News has also confirmed the appointment of Mrs Asta Awoh Otta as president of the Court of Appeals, replacing Justice Emmanuel Agim who replaced Chief Justice Savage in Monday's shake-up. Ms Otta was a fisrt class magistrate at Bundung court.

The new Chief Justice Agim was the Judge Advocate during the trial of mercenaries who attacked Farafenni military barracks. Agim was also the state prosecutor during the trial of Dumo Saho, Ebrima Yaboe, Lieutenant Lalo Kinteh and Lieutenant Omar Darboe in 2000, shortly after the massacre of 14 unarmed students.

Also, Solicitor general Henry D. Carrol has again been moved to the Law Reform Commission, and deputy solicitor general Awa Bah has been re-appointed as solicitor general.