The Gambia Press Union (GPU) welcomes today’s verdict and sentencing of Bai Lowe, a former death squad member under ex-dictator Yahya Jammeh, to life imprisonment for his role in the murder of journalist Deyda Hydara.

The Higher Regional Court of Celle, a northern town in Germany, found Lowe guilty on all charges of crimes against humanity on Thursday, November 30, 2023, and sentenced him to life imprisonment for the assassination of Deyda Hydara in 2004, the murder of a former soldier in 2006, and the attempted assassination of a lawyer.

Deyda was co-founder of The Point newspaper, and a correspondent of Agence France-Presse, AFP and Reporters Without Borders, RSF. He was known to be a fierce critic of Jammeh and his tyranny and had questioned Jammeh’s desire to prolong his stay in power. Jammeh had ruled The Gambia with an iron fist for 10 years when he ordered Deyda’s killing, according to testimonies, and for 12 more years after his assassination.

Lowe, 41, who denied the charges, was a driver for Jammeh’s death squad known as the “Junglers”. Evidence of Lowe’s involvement in gross human rights violations were mainly collected from confessions he made in interviews with the US-based Freedom Newspaper in 2013 after he fled the country. In it, Lowe explained how he drove the Junglers to kill people considered opponents of the dictator in several operations – thanks to the late journalist Pa Nderry M’Bai whose bravery and commendable work helped revealed the atrocious activities of the Junglers. Lowe had tried to change that narrative during the Celle trial by claiming in one occasion that he pretended to be a Jungler and that interviews he gave were based on accounts he heard.

“The GPU has longed for the killers of Deyda Hydara to face justice for 19 years since his death. Therefore, Lowe’s sentencing by the Higher Regional Court of Celle is a remarkable feat in fight to end impunity for crimes against journalists,” GPU Secretary General, Modou S. Joof, said.

“This is a first step. Our ultimate wish is to see Yahaya Jammeh and the soldiers who actually pulled the trigger in the drive by shooting of Deyda Hydara on 16^th December, 2004 held accountable for this atrocious crime against a journalist,” Joof said.

The Junglers military unit was “used by the then-president of The Gambia to carry out illegal killing orders, among other things” with the aim of “intimidating the Gambian population and suppressing the opposition”, according to federal prosecutors.

“Bai Lowe’s conviction and sentencing in Germany is a crucial step forward in Gambia’s transitional justice journey,” GPU President, Muhammed S. Bah, said.

“It serves as a valuable lesson for the government of the Gambia to expedite justice for Jammeh’s victims, many of them journalists, who anxiously await the fairness they deserve. With this precedent, the stage is set— there is no time to waste,” Bah said.

Lowe’s sentencing is the first for post-Jammeh era crimes prosecuted under universal jurisdiction. Two other Gambians, a former minister of interior, Ousman Sonko and a former death squad member, Michael Sang Correa, are being held in pre-trial detention in Switzerland and the USA for their alleged involvement in dictatorship-era atrocities similar to those Lowe is to serve jail time for.

Pap Saine, who founded The Point newspaper with Deyda Hydara, welcomes the decision of the German court for sentencing Bai Lowe to life in jail.

“It paved the way for ex-president Yahya Jammeh and all perpetrators to be tried and to be punished accordingly,” Saine said. “Gambia government should not waste time in bringing to book all culprits involved in killings during Jammeh’s time.”

In The Gambia, Jammeh’s former junta ally, Yankuba Touray, is currently on death row after he was sentenced to death for the murder of a former finance minister. In December 2021, Gambia’s truth commission found Yahya Jammeh, who now lives in exile in Equatorial Guinea, responsible for murder, rape and torture during his 22-year rule.

“Be it universal jurisdiction or local jurisdiction, justice shall prevail for the Jammeh-era victims. Most of the crimes committed during this era are heinous and they must not go in thin air without justice being served,” Deyda’s son, Baba Hydara, said.

“Impunity in The Gambia will never go unpunished. We want justice to prevail under any circumstances, and like Bai Lowe, we want all his accomplices to face justice and get punished,” he said.

Deyda was not only a doyen in Gambian journalism, he was also a trade unionist who led the Gambia Press Union between 1989 to 1998.

He spent much of his life molding younger journalist during his time and fighting for their welfare, and as well, fighting for press freedom and freedom of expression – including against repressive media laws.

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The Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA), joins its partner organisation, the Gambia Press Union (GPU), to condemn the detention of Gambian journalist Bakary Mankajang and demands his immediate release.

Mankajang, founder of Mankajang Daily, an online news platform, received a call to report to the Police station in Banjulinding. However, upon his arrival at the station on September 20, 2023, he was detained by the Police Anti-Crime Unit.

The journalist informed the public in a Facebook post that he had received a call from a police officer instructing him to report to Fajikunda police station. He wasn’t sure about the reason for this call but believed it was connected to his trip to Jululung, Casamance in Southern Senegal. That trip was related to his work as a journalist, covering the arrest of a suspect in the killing of two police officers. However, the police are yet to provide any reason for the detention of the journalist or formally charge him.

His family visited him on September 21, 2023 at the Banjulinding police station and spoke to him briefly, but a family member said they were refused access to him and sent away by the police when they returned later that day to bring him fruits.

The GPU has called on the police to either charge the journalist or release him unconditionally, stressing the importance of adhering to the legal limit of 72 hours allowed by law for detention of suspects.

Furthermore, the GPU has urged the police to uphold the rights of Gambian citizens to freely receive, impart, and express themselves, as guaranteed by the 1997 Constitution and various regional and international human rights laws ratified by The Gambia.

The MFWA strongly condemns the arbitrary arrest and detention of Bakary Mankajang, and joins the GPU to demand his unconditional release. The arrest of Bakary puts into perspective the concerning state of press freedom and freedom of expression in The Gambia, highlighting broader challenges faced by journalists in the region.

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The Gambia Press Union (GPU) facilitated a daylong Workshop conducted by Reporters sans frontières (RSF) / Reporters Without Borders (RWB) on Journalism Trust Initiative (JTI) for Media Publishers and Managers in The Gambia.

The workshop, coordinated by the GPU, is intended to promote a healthier information space with the development and implementation of indicators for trustworthiness of journalism, and to promotes and reward compliance with professional norms and ethics.

The Journalism Trust Initiative (JTI) is a market-driven solution aimed at promoting the credibility of quality journalism and transforming it into a tangible competitive advantage.
The workshop highlighted the importance of adopting the JTI for media publishers and managers in The Gambia and outline the incentives and benefits it offers. The JTI provides an inclusive transparency and compliance tool applicable to newsrooms of all sizes and types worldwide.

By conforming to the JTI standards, media outlets can optimize their editorial processes, performance and ethical conduct – giving them a competitive edge. The initiative allows media houses to engage in trustworthy journalism, to stand out from the competition, and to be recognized as one of the most credible media sources globally.

“The Journalism Trust Initiative (JTI) is about our self-regulatory solution,” RSF’s Sub-Saharan Africa Head, Sadibou Marong, said. “The JTI is a market-driven solution to promote the credibility of quality journalism – and to turn it into a tangible, competitive advantage.”

The JTI is being implemented since 2018 around the world and since 2021 in Africa but mostly French-speaking Africa. Gambia is the first English-speaking country where RSF is engaging publishers and media managers to bring them on-board. JTI has one media certified in Niger and RSF is expecting more than 15 others in different countries such as the DRC, Côte d’Ivoire, Togo and Tunisia – out of a total of over 300 media outlets involved across the continent.

Gambia’s Minister of Information, Lamin Queen Jammeh, commends the initiative. He said that promoting trustworthy journalism is necessary and important because the media are change agents.

“What is very important is the quality of service the media provides to the public,” he said. “The more quality reports, the more professional you are, the more you gain the trust and confidence of the public.”

The GPU Secretary General, Modou S. Joof, said his institution was happy to be associated with the activity because it relates to the numerous efforts of the Gambia Press Union to enhance professionalism in the Gambian media.

“Most of our activities in recent years, the trainings on ethical journalism and the engagements with media managers, editors and reporters, through the Media Council of The Gambia (MCG), are meant to enhance professionalism and create public trust in the media,” he said.

“The GPU also set up the MCG, a self-regulatory mechanism, for members of the public to hold journalists and media houses to account on ethical violations.”

The Director of Press and Public Relations, Amie Bojang-Sissoho, highlighted the various roles that the media plays, such as sharing information to educate both society and the government on policies and programmes and how they impact on the lives of the people, and by promoting the democratic processes, allowing all views to be fairly represented to advance society and influence policy decisions.

“Therefore, our affinity as media publishers, editors, reporters and commentators should not blur our professionalism and the core principles of informing, educating and communicating with society and media stakeholders. This would build trust, the main talking point of this workshop,” she said.

Pap Saine, the Dean of RSF Correspondents in West Africa, commended the Gambia government for creating a friendlier environment for journalists that have seen improved rankings year-on-year of the Gambia in the RSF World Press Freedom Index.

Saine, who is also a Co-founder of The Point Newspaper, commended RSF for bringing the JTI to the Gambia and the GPU for coordinating the workshop.

As a one-of-a-kind official ISO-type Standard, the JTI is certifiable by means of optional third-party audits, and it is machine-readable to feed into algorithmic indexation and recommender systems (social media feeds, search ranks, programmatic advertising) to enhance visibility, and eventually sustainability, of trustworthy sources of information.

The 18 standard clauses cover the institutional and process level of journalistic production, including specifications on ownership transparency and editorial guidelines, covering independence, accuracy and correction policies for example.

Currently 100+ media outlets are implementing this instrument along the different stages, including RTÉ News, Exit News Albania, SWI swissinfo.ch, France Télévisions or CBC/Radio-Canada.

During a presentation, Marc Aboflan, RSF’s Africa Regional Manager of the Journalism Trust Initiative, introduces the Initiative to Gambian media publishers and managers and provided guidance on aligning existing editorial processes, performance, and ethical conduct with JTI requirements.

It is expected that media publishers and managers will adopt and implement the JTI standards to encourage trustworthy journalism.

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The Gambia Press Union (GPU) on Tuesday (Feb. 14) presented a position paper on the Criminal Offences Bill, 2022 to the National Assembly Committee on Human Rights and Constitutional Matters as part of the Committee’s public consultations on the Bill.

The Committee is tasked with reviewing and making consultations on the Bill and would later report to the National Assembly plenary on its findings and recommendations.

The GPU’s submissions relate to provisions of the Bill that are seen to restrict press freedom and freedom of expression.

The GPU Secretary General, Modou S. Joof, said it was important for the Committee to consider its position on some of the provisions of the Bill that deal with sedition and false publication and broadcasting.

“These provisions have a chilling effect on journalism practice leading to self-censorship on the part of journalists to avoid being arrested, detained, or prosecuted and convicted,” he said.

“These provisions also restrict the public and journalists from seeking, receiving and imparting information and ideas which are rights provided for under international human rights laws, and as well, affect constitutional guarantees of press freedom, freedom of expression and the media’s mandate of holding the government to account.”

GPU President, Muhammed S. Bah, said while some media laws found in the Criminal Code have not been replicated in the Criminal Offences Bill, 2022 – which seeks to repeal the former, the GPU made some recommendations for sections dealing with incitement to sedition and false publication to be removed.

“It has always been the position of the GPU in pursuit of a media law reform agenda that we bring our laws regulating the media in line with the constitution, international treaties and conventions that the Gambia has ratified, as well as the judgement of the ECOWAS Court on Gambian media laws,” he said.

The GPU welcomes the drafting of a new Criminal Offences Bill which will go some way in addressing the media law reform agenda of members of the media fraternity in The Gambia.

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Today we mark the International Day to End Impunity for Crimes committed against Journalists.

The Gambia Press Union joins calls by the IFJ – International Federation of Journalists and 600,000 media professionals from 187 trade unions and associations in more than 140 countries worldwide, for governments, journalists and media groups to support the adoption of a UN Convention on the Safety and Independence of Journalists and Other Media Professionals.

In order to “Break the Cycle of Impunity”, the Gambia Press Union (GPU) agrees that more safeguards and guarantees must be implemented beyond the United Nations Plan of Action on the Safety of Journalists and the Issue of Impunity, which has been unable to deliver the “free and safe environment for journalists and media workers it promised, according to the IFJ.

In The Gambia and elsewhere around the world, journalists continue to be harassed, attacked both physically and verbally, beaten, arrested, detained, threatened and killed for doing their job.

Attacks on journalists online, including hacking and attempts to take over social media accounts and emails of journalists and media organisations, online harassment, and surveillance also threaten the digital and physical safety of journalists.

This, therefore, made it even more urgent for the United Nations to adopt a Convention on the Safety and Independence of Journalists and Other Media Professionals – an instrument that would compel governments to address impunity for violence targeting journalists and media personnel.

In The Gambia, the failure to bring perpetrators of crimes against journalists to justice, has over several decades perpetuated a cycle of violence against journalists.

“The victims of the grave dictatorship-era crimes against journalists in the form of killings, enforced disappearance and torture have yet to see justice,” GPU President, Muhammed S. Bah, said. “Also promises of greater freedoms, the protection of journalists and media law reforms have yet to be fulfilled, six years after the dictatorship.”

In the last five years, more than 15 incidents of physical assault on journalists and media professionals occurred, with all these attacks being perpetrated either by the police or politicians, including supporters of the president and the opposition.

To date, not a single perpetrator has been prosecuted for these crimes committed against journalists in The Gambia.

“We call on the government to renew its commitment to press freedom and freedom of expression and ensure that journalists enjoy a safer environment to do their job without intimidation and attacks,” GPU Secretary General, Modou S. Joof, said. “To address impunity for crimes against journalists, there must be justice, and this can’t be achieved if perpetrators face no consequences for their actions, which has been the case in The Gambia in the last 28 years.”

The GPU is urging political parties to also take up their responsibilities to protect and ensure the safety of journalists covering their events such as press conferences and political rallies, and to stop their supporters from attending press conferences thereby creating an atmosphere of intimidation and possible assault, both physically and verbally.

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• The Gambia Press Union (GPU) has received official reports that on the 5^th of July 2022, Yusef Taylor, a journalist who is also the Editor-in-Chief of Gainako Online, was arbitrarily arrested and reportedly charged with “obstructing a police officer in the execution of his duty”.
• Mr. Taylor was detained at the Senegambia Police Station for four hours after attempting to report on the latest arrest of Neneh Freda Gomez and Lamin Sey of the medical charity, Global Home of Medical Mission (Global HoMM).

• Global HoMM is involved in a dispute with the Government of The Gambia over a plot of land for which the former has obtained court judgements in its favour as being the rightful owner of the land on which the government is said to earmarked for the construction of a hotel for the 2022 OIC Summit. He was released late Tuesday evening and said he was informed by the police that he is charged with “obstruction”. After initially trying to force him out of the station in a highhanded manner, leading to the tearing of his shirt, the officers then decided to drag Mr. Taylor into the station and locked him up in one of the cells, according to a colleague who witnessed the incident and a GPU Safety Officer who visited the police station where the journalist was held.  This incident is reminiscent of the events of June 2020, when Ebou N. Keita was arrested, detained, and later released without charge for photographing police officers arresting people protesting against the country’s COVID-19 restrictions.The GPU calls on the Gambia Police Force to exercise restraint and cease from the use of force on journalists who have a significant mandate of not only holding the government to account, but promoting the public’s right to know – a fundamental aspect of freedom of expression, access to information and the promotion of democracy and good governance.The alleged offence is considered assault under section 230(b) of the Gambian Criminal Code which carries a two-year prison term if one is found guilty, according to GPU research.“Journalists are not the enemy, and we believe that the principles of the Constitution can only be upheld when journalists are allowed to do their work without harassment, intimidation, and arbitrary arrests,” Joof said.
• The GPU is committed, ready and willing to continue engaging state authorities and security sector leaders with a view to promoting an enabling environment for press freedom, especially with regards to the safety of journalists.
• “We call on the police to drop the charge of ‘obstruction’ against Mr. Taylor without condition and stop the continuous harassment of the journalist by asking him to be reporting to the Senegambia Police Station,” GPU Secretary General, Modou S. Joof, said.
• This afternoon, July 7, 2022, Mr. Taylor informed the GPU that he was called by the police and asked to report to the same police station where he was held on Tuesday. He is also asked to report to the police tomorrow, July 8 at 1pm.
• “It is also a stark reminder that while the exercise of free speech and press freedom guaranteed under the 1997 Constitution has significantly improved since 2017, more needs to be done to better protect the rights of journalists who continue to come under attack from security forces for simply carrying out their constitutional duty of holding the government accountable,” Bah said.
• “The GPU condemns the actions of these officers in their entirety, and is dismayed by the unfortunate never-ending trend of journalists being assaulted by security personnel, especially the police,” GPU President, Muhammed S. Bah, said.
• Taylor was arrested after police officers forcibly tried to remove him from the station’s premises (thereby assaulting him) when he tried to enquire about the detention of the Global HoMM representatives Neneh Freda Gomez and Lamin Sey.
• Mr. Taylor has consistently reported on this case including fact-checking government statements and narratives on the matter, and had found some of these claims to be “false or misleading”.

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The Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) is deeply concerned about verbal attacks and threats issued on live television by President Adama Barrow against activist Madi Jobarteh and urges the Gambian leader to ensure Jobarteh’s safety and protection.

President Barrow won The Gambia’s 2021 presidential election to secure a second five-year after a shock 2016 victory against long-serving autocrat, Yahyah Jammeh. The country has since witnessed impressive improvements on the democracy and freedom of expression fronts.

However, in an incident that goes against the recent progressive trend, President Barrow verbally attacked and threatened Jobarteh, one of his government’s fiercest critics in a live broadcast. The president appeared irritated as he complained about the activist’s media activities. He was addressing leaders of various Muslim groups who had paid a courtesy call on him at the State House to wish him well during the Eid-ul-Fitr celebration.

Speaking in a local language, President Barrow accused the activist of seeking to set the country on fire, adding that media organisations that offer him their platforms are harming the country.

“There are people who are bent on tormenting the Government; to criticize the Government in order to bring violence in the country and one of them is Madi Jobarteh. He is among those who wish to set the country ablaze. He is a person who wants to bring violence into the country. Everyone should be careful of him. My Government should take a stand on him,” the President reportedly said.

The activist, who is a regular guest on several media platforms, particularly radio, issued a threat alert immediately after the President’s speech.

“I hereby put all Gambians and relevant national & international bodies on notice. My life is currently in danger, threatened by the President of the Republic Adama Barrow. From today, the safety or destruction of my life is in the hands of the President. I consider the President’s remark as a death threat,” Jobarteh said in the alert.

The activist followed the statement up with a petition to the UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression and Opinion, Mrs Irene Khan, over the threats and asked that President Barrow be held responsible for his safety.

“I wish to report that I feel threatened and unsafe anymore in the Gambia and hope your organization will take this alert with the attention it deserves to hold the President and the Government of the Gambia accountable and ensure the safety of my family and my life,” Jobarteh wrote in his petition dated May 2, 2022.

“I wish to submit to you a video and its translation (both attached) of part of the speech of the President of the Republic of the Gambia, Mr. Adama Barrow, as he directly and publicly directs verbal attacks against my person,” Jobarteh said in his petition to Mrs. Irene Khan, calling on her outfit to hold the President and the Government of the Gambia accountable for his safety and that of his family.

Speaking to the MFWA on phone, Jobarteh said he has been very critical of President Barrow’s government and outspoken in demanding accountability in respect of a number of public interest issues bordering on corruption. He added that the President’s accusations were intended to stigmatise, isolate and intimidate him.

President Barrow’s comments have been condemned by a number of organisations and individuals in The Gambia.

The Gambia Press Union, MFWA’s partner organisation in the country, was particularly worried about the President’s criticism of the media for granting Jobarteh space for his activism.

“Giving voices to those who hold the government to account is fundamental to the media’s watchdog role which is guaranteed by the Gambian Constitution,” the GPU said in a statement signed by its President, Muhammed Bah.

“We are reminding the president to uphold his responsibility to protect press freedom and freedom of expression as guaranteed by the laws of the Gambia,” GPU advised.

The MFWA joins its partner in The Gambia in urging President Barrow to demonstrate tolerance for freedom of expression and appreciate the role of the media and outspoken citizens like Jobarteh play in fighting corruption. We find the President’s posture inappropriate and tantamount to an attempt at censoring both the activist and the media. We call on him to ensure the safety and security of Jobarteh and that no media house is victimised for offering its platform to the activist.

The post The Gambia: President Barrow publicly threatens critic appeared first on IFEX.

The Gambia Press Union is concerned by comments made by Ousainou Darboe, the leader of the UDP, describing a Star FM talk show host as someone who dislikes his party and members of the Mandinka ethnic group.

Mr. Darboe also accused the journalist, Pa Nderry Touray, of trying to cause divisions in his United Democratic Party, as he addressed new UDP National Assembly Members at his house along Kairaba Avenue on Friday, April 15, 2022.

The GPU condemns in the strongest terms the actions of the UDP leader. Darboe and all other politicians are being urged to desist from such rhetoric targeted at journalists because they incite their supporters to either physically or verbally assault journalists.

Over the last five years, a good number of physical and verbal assaults on journalists and media professionals recorded in more than 15 incidents were perpetrated by politicians and their supporters, with impunity.

The GPU is also urging journalists to respect and uphold their code of conduct, the Cherno Jallow Charter of Ethics for Journalists, remain apolitical and to avoid any form of bias or other unethical practices that may likely expose them to further risks.

“Political party leaders have a responsibility to protect journalists from attacks, and must not be seen to be the instigators of verbal or physical attacks against journalists.”

“The GPU is urging politicians to lead by example in promoting and protecting journalists from verbal attacks that are likely to expose them to further attacks, physically,” GPU President Muhammed S. Bah said.

The latest of these engagements was held just last month (on March 11) attended by participants from registered political parties and independent candidates.

To avoid these attacks on journalists, the GPU has been engaging politicians on an annual basis to discuss the safety of journalists covering and reporting on the activities of their political parties.

In recent years, the GPU has observed and documented a disturbing trend of political rhetoric from political leaders, with others accusing journalists or certain media houses of bias and unfavourable coverage – a stark reminder of how the dictatorship of Yahya Jammeh gradually started its onslaught against the media.

The post Attack on journalists by politicians on the rise in The Gambia appeared first on IFEX.

As the Gambia goes to the polls on December 4, 2021, the MFWA’s Senior Programme Officer for Freedom of Expression, Muheeb Saeed, throws light on the remarkable progress that the country has made in the freedom of expression space over the past five post-Yahyah Jammeh years.

For his personal involvement in, and endorsement of numerous outrages perpetrated against journalists, activists and outspoken opponents of his brutal regime, Yahya Jammeh was crowned West Africa’s King of Impunity by the MFWA in 2014.

Among Jammeh’s star victims was Deyda Hydara, editor of The Point newspaper and outspoken critic, who was shot and killed on December 16, 2004. Another emblematic victim was Chief Manneh, a journalist with the Daily Observer newspaper. Manneh was arrested and detained by then National Intelligence Agency (NIA) and eventually disappeared. Musa Saidykhan, editor-in-chief of the Independent newspaper, now defunct, was arrested and severely tortured in detention. The three became the dismal trademarks of Jammeh’s brutal crackdown on the media. Threats could not be taken lightly, and so several journalists fled the country after receiving death threats.

President Yahya Jammeh kept the justice system under his thumb and manipulated a largely partisan legislature to enact a raft of repressive legislation aimed at stifling dissent. In 2013, for instance, the National Assembly amended the Criminal Code to increase the penalty for “giving false information to public servants” (Section 114). The Prison term for breaches was increased from six months to up to five years.

In July 2001 the Gambian Parliament passed the highly-controversial and liberticidal National Media Commission Act. Among other ludicrous provisions, the Act imposed annual licensing on journalists, with the Commission clothed with discretionary powers to renew or refuse applications from journalists and media houses. The Commission was also granted the power to force journalists to reveal their sources. Curiously, all these new regulations were not to apply to the government-owned or controlled media. Driving the final nail into the press freedom coffin was a provision insulating all decisions of the Commission from being contested in court.

In a country where the average salary currently stands at Dalasi 16,000 (about US$310), Parliament in July 2013, passed the Information and Communication (Amendment) Act which imposed a fine of US$74,690 for spreading false news. The law was perceived to be aimed at stifling dissenting opinions and especially targeted at journalists, bloggers, human rights activists and critical citizens.

New Dawn

In December 2016, Jammeh was voted out and forced into exile, ending 22 years of one of Africa’s most brutal dictatorships. Four years after his exit, a new era is emerging. From the notoriety of being among the countries with the worst freedom of expression (FOE) environment in West Africa, The Gambia is gradually shedding that unenviable image, and fast establishing itself among the superstars of the sub-region.

Since the news administration took over, The Gambia has been making impressive strides on the political and freedom of expression (FOE) fronts that have seen it competing favourably with Ghana and Senegal, two of the region’s shining lights in democracy and press freedom. The Afrobarometer Report 2021 affirms that “An overwhelming majority of Gambians say the media is in fact free to do its work without government interference.”

The Media Foundation for West Africa’s (MFWA) monitoring recorded a total of five violations in 2017, a significant improvement over the 13 violations bequeathed by the Jammeh regime in its final year. With only four violations, 2019 was the least repressive of the past four years under President Adama Barrow’s stewardship.

The country in 2018 recorded eight violations, the country’s worst record since Jammeh’s departure. The total number of violations recorded in The Gambia over the past four years, therefore comes to 25, same as Senegal’s for that period, and much better than that of Ghana which stands at 79 violations over the same space of time. Additionally, violations recorded in The Gambia in the three worst years of the Barrow regime – 2017 (five) 2018 (eight) and 2020 (eight) – stand at 21, same as Ghana’s total for 2020 alone.

The Gambia ended the first quarter of 2020 (January-March) with 7 violations and recorded a single violation in the second quarter (April-June, 2020), eventually rounding up the year with eight violations, having remarkably gone incident-free during the entire second half of the year.

What is even more significant, the single violation recorded on June 21, 2020, stood for ten months – that is until April 19, 2021. In that incident, the police detained Ebou N. Keita, an editor and camera operator with the privately-owned Gambian Talents Television. The journalist was covering a protest against COVID-19 restrictions when the security officers arrested him for filming their operations.

On April 19, 2021, a group of prison wardens manhandled Yankuba Jallow of the Foroyaa newspaper at a court premises in Banjul after he refused an order to surrender his phone. He had been accosted for filming a group of remand prisoners after court proceedings. The ten months’ interval is the longest respite and a remarkable milestone in a country where press freedom violations was a daily nightmare for journalists during the Jammeh era.

President Adama Barrow’s four-year-old regime is putting The Gambia through effective press freedom rehabilitation with encouraging results so far. It is carrying out reforms to the legal frameworks to guarantee freedom of expression and access to information. The attitude of government officials and security agents towards the media and public criticism has greatly improved. For example, following the last incident mentioned above, the director of prisons met the aggrieved journalist and rendered an apology. Under Jammeh’s rule, the journalist would not have dared defy a security officer’s orders, albeit unlawful, to surrender his phone. Such resistance would have been judged foolhardy and would most probably have attracted a few hefty slaps, kicks and/or detention.

The notorious National Intelligence Agency (NIA), Yahya Jammeh’s pet instrument of repression, has been renamed State Intelligence Service and stripped of its extensive powers of coercion. Additionally, several former NIA officials have been arrested and are facing trial for their roles in human rights abuses, including press freedom violations, and media houses arbitrarily shut down by the previous government have been reopened.

In June 2018, the Adama Barrow-led government paid some compensations to the families of the Ebrimah Manneh and Deyda Hydara, who, together with Musa Saidykhan, became the symbols of former President Yahya Jammeh’s brutal crackdown on critical journalists. The deal was struck through the mediation of the MFWA and its national partner organisation, the Gambia Press Union (GPU), with support from IFEX.

The facilitation role played by the MFWA and GPU was part of engagements with the Gambian government to support and strengthen the Gambian media sector to contribute effectively to the democratic transition processes in the country after the fall of Jammeh.

The MFWA and its partner organisation, the Gambia Press Union, are proud to have contributed to the remarkable improvement in press freedom in The Gambia.

Media Law Reforms

On July 1, 2021, Gambia’s National Assembly approved the Access to Information Bill 2021 in a major milestone in the country’s march towards genuine democracy in the post-Yahyah Jammeh era. President Adama Barrow subsequently signed the bill into law in August to give Gambians, for the first time in the country’s history, the legal right to demand public information. The adoption of the law crowned five years of advocacy and stakeholder engagements and was hailed as a major boost for fact-based and investigative journalism.

On May 9, 2018, the Gambian Supreme Court’s declared as unconstitutional the country’s law on criminal defamation. The ruling followed an April 2017 civil suit filed by the MFWA’s national partner organisation, Gambia Press Union (GPU). With regard to sedition, the Court said that sedition could be established if the alleged defamatory material targets the person of the complainant. However, it said there is no sedition when the target is the government as an institution.

The improved press freedom environment has encouraged the proliferation of private broadcasters and online media outlets with media pluralism on full display.

Read the full analysis on MFWA’s site.

The post The Gambia’s transformative FoE journey appeared first on IFEX.

The Media Council of The Gambia (MCG) on October 11, 2021, welcomed its new Executive Secretary, Bai Emil Touray, at a handing over ceremony, held at the premises of the Gambia Press Union where the Secretariat of the MCG is housed.

Mr. Touray, a former President of the GPU, takes over from the outgoing Executive Secretary of the MCG, Junkung Jobarteh, who was appointed in April 2020 and began his tenure of service after he was sworn in office in May.

The MCG was established by the GPU in December 2018 as an independent self-regulatory mechanism for addressing public complaints against the conduct of journalists.

Speaking at the handing over ceremony on Monday, the MCG Chairperson, Bubabacarr Cham, expressed gratitude for the services that Mr. Jobarteh had rendered in his time as Executive Secretary, and congratulated him on the successes he registered at the MCG.

In May 2020, the MCG, which is tasked with arbitrating complaints about media reports without relying on state intervention, began presiding over cases of ethical violation by journalists and media houses.

Within a year and five months, the MCG received nine (9) complaints of ethical violations, five (5) of which were resolved, three (3) were withdrawn, and one (1) case is ongoing.

Mr. Cham also welcomed the new MCG new Executive Secretary, Mr. Touray, who possesses a distinguished record of advocating for the rights and interests of journalists in The Gambia.

He also thanked the GPU for its continuous support to the Council. He said the self-regulatory body needs more support to achieve its aims and objectives and to effectively execute its mandate.

Also speaking at the MCG Office on Monday, the outgoing executive secretary Mr. Jobarteh said he was emotional about leaving the Council, but was sure his successor would be up to the task. “I strongly believe that the MCG will be in great hands under the leadership of Mr. Touray,” he said.

Upon assuming his new role, Mr. Touray thanked the outgoing Executive Secretary and called for his support in the time of transition. He also “pledged to do his best to achieve the short-term and long-term goals of the Council.”

The MCG was formed as a result of collaborative efforts between government and civil society actors working for media reform following the end of the Jammeh-era dictatorship.

The Council is a one-stop-shop mechanism that regulates editorial content across all media platforms – print, radio, television and online – by monitoring compliance of, and implementing the industry-wide code of conduct that establishes ethical standards for journalism in The Gambia.

The Council is governed by an 11-member Governing Council, comprising representatives from the government, media, civil society, private sector, women rights activists and differently able groups.

The Governing Council has a dual role of exercising oversight over the Secretariat and serving as an Appeals Panel, while the Ethics Panel presides over public complaints with respect to media publications.

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