- "You are extremely talented, Zoë. Amongst the best I've ever trained. But, like I told you before, your heart's not in it. You can't get by on talent alone."
- ―Jama Mbaye[src]
Zoë Castillo's martial arts instructor, who runs a gym on the upper floors of a building in Casablanca. Jama is a brusque, no-nonsense trainer who values commitment and punctuality, so she finds training with Zoë frustrating at times. She has been working with Zoë for six years (since she opened her dojo), and now trains almost forty students. Zoë can spar with Jama as a combat tutorial.
If Zoë asks Jama about her past, she explains that before the Collapse she used to work in corporate security for Dragon Motors in Shanghai. After the Collapse (2209) the Syndicate sought her out to become a field operative for the EYE. Although based in Kinshasa, they travelled all over the world. She quit after four years (2213), however, because the work became more than she could stomach. Jama confesses that she did things she wasn't proud of, but won't elaborate save to say that the corporate world has its own rules (all focused on the Yuan).
She established her gym in Casablanca the same year she quit, teaching self-defence. Zoë was one of her first students.
Jama values Zoë's talent as a martial artist, but says that without passion for her training, Zoë will not progress beyond her current level, and until she has it, Jama is wasting her time. When Zoë misses her lessons due to her search for Reza Temiz, Jama sends her a message saying that there's no point keeping Zoë on her schedule until they can work out a consistent training programme.
When not sparring with Zoë, Jama runs through the short-yang t'ai chi form in her gym.
Jama Mbaye is voiced by Vanessa Jones.
Trivia
Both, her given name Jama and her family name Mbaye are (male) given names as well as family names in their respective countries (Somali and Senegal), that lay in totally opposite areas of their continent. So Jama may stand for the social mobility and developement of traditions, that seems to prosper in Dreamfall's futuristic Africa.
JAMA as an appreviation might also reference to the quarterly published "Journal of Asian Martial Arts", which was established by editor Michael DeMarco ( Olivia DeMarco ?) in 1991 and run until 2012.