The Independent Published Friday, 30 June, 2000
Arrests, disappearances cause widespread concern
A spate of unexplained disappearances and detentions of several civilians and security personnel is causing widespread concern in The Gambia.
The Independent has learned of at least eight reported disappearances or detentions last week.
Former sergeant of the Gambia National Army, Ebrima Fatty was the latest reported missing after his family said unknown men took him from his home at 3am on Sunday morning.
Ex-Sergeant Fatty, who had been working as a security officer for the American Embassy, had just returned from Basse after escorting the American Embassy's Deputy Chief of Mission Brian Browne to the town during the detention of UDP leader Ousainou Darboe. Mr Browne could not be reached for comments but
family sources told The Independent that during his visit to Basse, Mr Fatty had 'a slight confrontation with a senior official of the defunct July 22nd Movement and was later threatened with arrest.'
Mohammed Sillah, an uncle to Ebrima Fatty, confirmed the ex-sergeant's disappearance and said the family was very concerned about his 'whereabouts and fate.'
Mr Sillah said their concern increased after 72 hours had expired and they had heard nothing from the authorities. He said however that the family had heard from military sources that Mr Fatty was being held at the Yundum military barracks. Army chief-of-staff Lt. Colonel Baboucarr Jatta was not available for comment on the allegation.
Ebrima Fatty's disappearance follows the alleged abduction of former political activist and founder of the Boka Loho Skills Training Centre, Momadou (Dumo) Sarho on Saturday by three men in civilian clothes.
Mr Sarho's wife, Annika Maria Renberg told The Independent on Tuesday that she had reported the abduction to the police on Monday and inquired with the National Intelligence Agency (NIA) who refused to give her any information.
Ms Renberg said she and the Boka Loho organisation were very worried about his condition. Boka Loho's project co-ordinator Mr Momodou Lamin Jagne, said the NGO has now suspended their projects.
Dumo Sarho was a prominent member of the Movement for Justice in Africa-Gambia (MOJA-G), a group that was banned under the PPP regime. He was detained without trial for one year in 1981-82 and later fled to Sweden where he received political asylum.
After his return in 1995, Ms Renberg said her husband was not politically active but did not hide his political views among friends. She said most of his former colleagues from MOJA-G joined the APRC but Mr Sarho was not interested in doing the same and 'never hesitated to say he would not do that.'
A number of other people have in the last week been reportedly arrested on suspicion of attempting to violate state security. Lt. Lalo Jaiteh, former ADC to President Jammeh, Lt. Omar Darboe, deputy commander of the State Guard, and three civilians Ebrima Yabo, Ebrima Barrow and Modou Marena have reportedly been detained by the NIA since Saturday morning. Also detained several weeks ago was Paul Sambou, personal bodyguard to President Jammeh's wife Zeinab Jammeh.
Lawyer Ousman Sillah, representing Ebrima Yabo, has reportedly filed an application with the High Court for his client's release.
I ran for my life
Kanteh tells The Independent
The former commissioner of North Bank Division, Alhagie Kanteh has told The Independent that he fled the country not because he feared to be arrested but because he feared for his life. 'My life was threatened by the NIA officers who came to arrest me. They were emphasising the severity of the offence I had purportedly committed and were all armed, and I did not remember committing any offence,' Kanteh said.
Speaking to The Independent on telephone from a neighbouring country, Kanteh said on Thursday afternoon, he received a phone call from 'a familiar voice' informing him that he had been removed from office. 'In just less than thirty minutes after receiving the call, NIA officers stormed my office. They told me that I had some linkages with Lalo Jaiteh, (the just arrested ADC to President Jammeh). The NIA officers told me that the crime I had committed with Jaiteh was a grave one. So for my safety, I decided to escape,' Kanteh explained. However, he emphatically denied knowledge of any crime he was accused of having committed.
Kanteh identified the NIA officers who went to his office as one Bah and Hydara, led by NIA Operations director Foday Barry.
On how he managed to escape, Kanteh said he sought permission from the officers to visit the toilet at his residence and from there found his way away.
When Kanteh was nowhere to be found afterwards, his driver, Kassoum Keita, was reportedly arrested the same Thursday evening, when he surfaced 'after disappearing the whole day.' Keita was allegedly subjected to 'severe beatings' apparently to have him divulge Kanteh's whereabouts before being taken into custody by the NIA.
When contacted earlier on, Kanteh's second wife, Khaddy who was with him in Kerewan at the time of the incident, explained that she last saw her husband at the breakfast table last Thursday. 'After we had breakfast, he left for the office. Sometime later, I was informed that there were visitors at his office. This was around 1 p.m. Later two gentlemen - I don't know their names, came to search the house. I think they were from the NIA. They asked for my husband. I told them I had not seen him. After a vigorous search, they left. Since then I have not seen my husband. And you know this is frightening, considering my state,' Khaddy, who is expecting a baby anytime from now, remorsefully explained.
The first wife, Fatou Jaiteh-Kanteh, who was at Kanteh's Bundung Borehole/Sukuta Nema residence, said she last saw her husband the previous weekend. 'An anonymous caller informed me on that Thursday morning that my husband had been removed from office. I did not believe it. Then on Friday, I returned home after a short outing only to find Khaddy at home. I asked him where Kanteh was but she said she did not know his whereabouts. So you see, since then we are just sitting here, worried about his fate.'
It could be recalled that when President Jammeh came to power through a military coup in July 1994, Kanteh was the military government's first spokesperson. Shortly afterwards, he was arrested and placed in custody at the Mile 2 Central Prisons. No reasons were given ford his arrest. He was detained for several months before being released and re-appointed to public office.
He has since served as Army PRO and commissioner of two divisions in the country. When he was removed as commissioner Central River Division, again no reasons were given. He then went into private business until not long ago when he was re-appointed commissioner, this time for North Bank Division, the area he hailed from, where he served until this latest development.
Meanwhile, as at the time of going to press on Wednesday, no official announcement had been made regarding recent developments about him
He also revealed that ROC has been assisting the Gambia government since the transition days when according to him, many countries suspended their support to the country. It was necessary he said, to support The Gambia in order to carry on the development projects and to stabilise the Dalasi. He however stressed that he was not aware of the US $35 million Taiwan grant allegedly transferred into Swiss bank accounts by President Jammeh.
independent view
July 5, One year on
Eventually, the dice has come full circle. Come Wednesday, July 5, The Independent would be one year old. We thank God Almighty for that.
On Wednesday, July 5, 1999, our first issue hit the newsstands with the bold caption 'WE ARE NOT AT WAR.' The logic behind that caption was this: We knew we were going to be branded an opposition paper. We knew we were going to be harassed and intimidated. We knew we were going to be branded as a group of irresponsible and unpatriotic Gambians out to fight the government and to create an atmosphere of disorder in the country. And in spite of our loud protestations, we were, and continue to be so branded.
Three weeks after we hit the newsstands, we were pounced upon and banned from publishing for another three weeks. About a week before that, our reporter NB Daffeh had been pounced upon and detained by the NIA stationed at Bundung Police station. A few months later, we were again pounced upon, this time by officers of the Police Serious Crimes Unit, detained and charged with libel against the president. Again in recent days, the nationality of our managing editor and editor-in-chief is being questioned with a view, presumably, to deport or exile them to God knows where. Also, we are told that the State is planning to sue us for God knows what crime. So our declaration that we are not at war has failed to sink in with the APRC government - thus the sustained pattern of harassment and intimidation.
This time last year, many skeptics and cynics had predicted that we were not going to last long in this country. But we knew if we did not last long, it would not be for reasons of inefficiency or lack of professional muscle. It would rather be that the APRC authorities could pounce on us and close the paper down for some excuse or the other. We do not doubt for one moment that this government is capable of such a thing.
Our problems aside, we think that we have been able to make a significant impact on our community. We have been able to establish a reputation as a credible newspaper, in spite of our shortcomings. We are determined, as long as we survive, to continue building on our reputation for credibility and sticking on to our declared principle.
We take note of comments and observations on our performance by members of the general public. We thank you all for your generous felicitations and words of encouragement. Also, we promise to look seriously into all the areas identified as our weak points and shortcomings and take appropriate action. Needless to say we, or no one else is perfect. We know that the only sure way to positive growth and development is through self-examination and self-renewal. We are committed to this course of action.
On a final note, we wish to re-affirm our commitment to the struggle for an equitable society characterised by respect for human rights, the rule of law, good governance and all that we could wish for. We shall continue doing so as long as is humanly possible.
Journalists brainstorm on responsible journalism
In a bid to equip Gambian journalists with the basics of the profession, the Media Foundation for West Africa in collaboration with The Independent newspaper and the Gambia Press Union Saturday organised a workshop on responsible journalism and objective reporting.
The workshop, which took place at the Gambia Press Union secretariat, drew participants from a cross section of the Gambian media.
In his opening remarks, the Media Law and Ethics programme coordinator and editor-in-chief of The Independent Baba Galleh Jallow observed that very often Gambian journalists are accused of practicing irresponsible journalism.
'I have no doubt that Nana Grey-Johnson will move away from conventional modes of presentation and into a mode of presentation that could make some of us rather uneasy,' he said of the guest speaker, a veteran Gambian journalist who has been described as a 'dinosaur' of Gambian journalism.
Mr. Jallow also said the workshop, the third in a series of monthly forums, was meant to be an 'exercise in critical self-examination and self-renewal.'
'No person or institution can experience positive growth or development without being involved in a continuous process of critical self-examination and self-renewal,' he said.
In his presentation, Guest Speaker Nana-Grey Johnson dwelled at length on the merits of objectivity and the science of objectivity in journalism.
Dilating on Ethical Standards, Mr. Grey-Johnson introduced and dilated at length on the code of Ethics known as 'The Seven Canons of Journalism' 'whose general principles allow us a litmus test that the facts and the attitude of their presentation had passed the empirical analysis for the best public interest and therefore worth publishing.' He listed the Seven Canons as Responsibility; Freedom of the Press; Independence; Sincerity, Truthfulness and Accuracy; Impartiality; Fairplay and Decency. He also spoke at length on how to apply these canons in the day to day work of journalists.
On a final note, he called for a stronger Gambia Press Union which could serve as a de facto training centre for journalists.
In his contribution, Gambia Press Union chairman Demba Jawo advised journalists to take note of the way peoples' names are spelt, added that names, whether of people, places or things are central to the work of the journalist who should always spell to verify their facts and not to engage in assumptions.
different print and electronic media houses in the country.
The workshop was the third in a series of monthly forums on media law and ethics co-organized by the Media Foundation for West Africa, The Independent and the Gambia Press Union. In April, there was a similar workshop on libel and in May one on privacy laws. The basic aim of the media law and ethics programme is to help Gambian journalists adhere to high standards of professional journalism. The programme is being sponsored by the Media Foundation for an initial period of six months.
Human rights coalition expresses concern over Basse incident
Various concerns across the country have reacted to recent happenings involving the APRC and UDP supporters, which resulted at least in one death. The Coalition of Human Rights Activists is the latest to release a statement on the crisis reproduced below.
The Coalition of Human Rights Activists wishes to express its great concern over events that took place on 17th June near Chamoi Bridge approaching Kundam in the Upper River Division in which it was reported that members of the defunct July 22nd Movement/APRC supporters set up a road block and then ambushed a convoy of the opposition UDP supporters on their way to a political rally. In the ensuing battle one man Alieu Njie belonging to the ruling APRC was killed and several people injured. The UDP Leader Ousainou Darboe and 25 among his entourage were detained and charged with the murder but later granted bail when their lawyers filed in an application in the High Court.
The coalition condemns the violence and urges all sides to refrain from using force or threats of force to achieve their political aims. Article 25 and 26 of the 1997 constitution guarantees to all Gambians the right to join any political party of one's choice and to freely take part in political activities; the same is echoed in the African Charter of Human and Peoples' Rights and other international conventions and treaties that The Gambia has ratified.
The coalition expresses dissatisfaction that only members belonging to the main opposition party were charged and urges the authorities to carry out an immediate impartial investigation into the whole affair with a view to bringing to book those responsible for fueling and instigating the violence.
It is important that in a democratic society and for the image of The Gambia that the rule of law is upheld and that justice must not only be seen to be done but that it must be done to all manner of persons despite their political, religious, ethnic and socio-economic status.
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