Observer reporter sacked
The Independent <http://www.qanet.gm/Independent/independent.html> (Banjul)
July 10, 2000
Banjul - Alieu Badara Sowe, a senior reporter with the Daily Observer has been
sacked. Following his sacking Mr. Sowe alleged to The Independent that his
recent sacking was the result of intense pressure on the managing director by
the newspaper's top management.
A letter dated 6th July was served to Mr. Sowe to the effect that his services
with the paper were no longer required. Although it did not advance reasons for
his termination, the letter stated that the move was for 'the benefit of both
parties.'
However, Mr. Sowe suggested that although the managing director may have been
reluctant to order his removal, he budged 'after intense pressure from above'.
'As a journalist I was seen as too hot for their comfort,' the embattled
journalist added.
Mr. Sowe said he saw himself as a victim of censorship, which he believed,
strongly indicates that the Gambia's only daily paper is finding it difficult to
'fight' and 'keep' its editorial independence.
'The management's aim was to silence me. But they will be in for a
disappointment because there are many mediums I can use,' Mr. Sowe posited. He
acknowledged that his principles and the paper's current editorial policy were
incompatible but hastened to add that 'its editors are working hard to maintain
their editorial independence but with difficulty.' He further argued that even
though he realised that it was difficult to continue working for the paper, it
would have been counterproductive for him to quit earlier. 'It was better to
stay and help keep the paper going until such a time that it was no longer
necessary to stay,' he maintained.
Alieu Badara Sowe's termination followed an indefinite suspension order served
on him in June, which he said was the direct consequence of a report he wrote
about one Ebou Taal being declared persona non-grata in the UK. The paper had to
publish a prompt retraction of the story. The controversy it generated, he
posited, might be one of the unexplained reasons for his termination. 'The only
way to satisfy certain people was to sacrifice me,' he claimed.
Mr. Sowe alleged that after the paper's 'top management' had realised that he
was 'just suspended', intense pressure was applied on the managing director for
his 'immediate' sacking.
Despite believing that he was victimised for wrong reasons, Mr. Sowe said he
would not hold any grudge against anybody perceived to have been either closely
or remotely involved in his dismissal. He observed that his sacking had come at
a time when the Gambian media is trying to reform. However, his recent
experience as an employee of one of the local newspapers had made him reflect on
the state of the Gambian media with apprehension. 'The media is under threat and
any move to compromise it will not augur well for the state,' he noted.
Mr. Sowe, who has since travelled to the UK, said he would return to face what
he called 'the endless challenges posed to African journalists.' He said the end
of his stint with the Daily Observer 'merely signalled' the beginning of another
phase in pursuing the profession. 'Its not the end of the road,' he said.
Meanwhile, when Observer managing director Sarriang Ceesay was contacted by
phone for a reaction, he said he had 'no comments to make.' Efforts to reach
Observer proprietor Amadou Samba to comment on the issue also failed.
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