The Interim Report On Deyda - Setting The Records Straight
                      By Marie Pierre Hydara
This is an attempt to respond to the so called investigation into the death
of a champion of free expression, freedom of speech and press freedom MR
DEYDA HYDARA. Rather than tackle the pertinent issues of concern to the
people, the report and findings are based on malicious falsehood, betrayal,
and slander on the victim; the report is more or less an attempt to tarnish
his reputation due to the inability or unwillingness of the security forces
and the government to apprehend his cowardly killers and their accomplices. 
From the onset the government and the police showed no interest in the
circumstances leading to his untimely death or they always seemed to have
been unconcerned about it. According to available information, he was being
watched the whole day (16 of December) and followed from The Point office
to the Sankung Sillah Road where he was shot at close range by
professionals (since he was a moving target, it is only experienced killers
who would normally succeed in such situations). There is a mobile police
unit around the vicinity where he was brutally murdered, whose staff are
normally on duty all night; and it would have been impossible for them not
to have heard or seen anything (when the shooting took place). Indeed one
of them was quoted saying that they heard what sounded like gun shots but
which they thought it to be fireworks. When did fireworks start on the 16
December? 
When the police were called to the sight, what they did was take the two
members of staff who were with him in the car (whom he always took home)
away for questioning and left the poor man's body in the car (as if to
ascertain that he was dead by the time he got help). He was left there for
a long time before he was finally taken to the RVTH at the back of a range
rover with his legs dangling like an animal. 
An autopsy was performed on him which a member of the family signed as
required, however, when a member of the family attempted to obtain a copy
in order to give it to the Paris-based news agency; AFP for insurance
purpose, we could not believe the way both the police and the Medical and
Health Department reacted by flatly refusing to make a copy available. We
were sent back and forth like a yo-yo until we finally got really
frustrated and gave up. Even that was enough reason to indicate that the
authorities had something to hide, otherwise, it is hard to understand why
they would not release the report even to the family.
When we finally met with the then Inspector General of Police Landing 13
Badjie about the matter, he also expressed his reluctance to make it
available and he advised us to go back to the Medical and Health
Department, where we had been going for three days continuously without any
success. In fact we were later told that all the copies have been taken
away by the police, which was quite ridiculous. They seem to have
completely ignored the fact that the Hydara family who signed for the
autopsy were by law entitled to a copy. However, despite several requests,
the family are still denied a copy of the autopsy report. 
Everyone had hoped that giving the investigations to the NIA would make a
positive difference, but so far nothing seems to have changed. Instead of
coming up with credible leads as to who killed Deyda and for what reason,
they went on to castigate him and treat him more like the suspect of his
own murder than the victim. This has become more like a witch hunt than a
genuine attempt to track down and punish his killers. He was considered a
threat when he was alive, and now that he is dead, he is still considered a
much greater threat. Therefore, these cock and bull stories being paraded
around in the so called "confidential report" recently released by the
investigators is aimed at defaming his image rather than get to the bottom
of the truth. There are however several honest, trustworthy, and God
fearing Gambians who are capable of distinguishing a deliberate attempt
aimed at tarnishing the image of a great and decent Gambian who sacrificed
his life for the betterment of this country from the naked truth. 
Indeed even some of the facts about his life history given in the
'confidential report' were quite wrong, whether by design or by default.
For instance, even his place of birth was wrongly indicated as Barra
instead of him being born at 8 Dobson Street, Banjul to Halima Faal and
Baba Hydara who later moved to 8 Hagan Street where he grew up until he
left for Senegal to further his studies. We wonder where they got their
facts. It is also worth pointing out that the late Deyda chose to establish
The Point Newspaper on the 16 of December 1991 because it was his wife's
birthday and he invited Pap Saine and Baboucarr Gaye to join him. While Mr
Gaye later left, but Pap Saine stayed and became his partner and a
shareholder. As they have known each other for a long time and have worked
together at Radio Syd he regarded Pap Saine more as a brother than a
business partner. 
In establishing The Point, Deyda manifested his belief in the letter and
spirit of free expression and press freedom for which he no doubt made some
enemies in the ensuing years of his life. He upheld the good ethics of
journalism even though not everyone was happy with what he was doing, just
as it was mentioned in the 'confidential report' when it described his
"unguarded attacks" which sounded like he was a wild cat on the loose. For
God's sake, we are in the 21st Century when everyone should be accountable
for their actions. If certain individuals and institutions do not like
their activities to be written about, they should simply not take public
office or stay out of the limelight. He was a professional journalist and
that was what he was trained to do; to write accurately and freely and his
duty was to inform the public, and he did it according to his conscience
without any fear or favour, affection or ill-will, and he was even prepared
to die for it. However, it appears that those who prepared that
'confidential report' thought that what he was doing was wrong and
therefore it was why someone killed him.
It is also quite evident that there is some inconsistence in the way and
manner suspects have been treated. While some have been arrested and
detained, and their names mentioned, others have not only had their names
omitted but they have also been spared of being arrested.  We have for
instance been told about some personnel of Gamco visiting Deyda on the very
day he was killed to warn him against writing bad things against Gamco and
yet, there is no mention of any member of Gamco being arrested or even
questioned. Why the apparent inconsistency in the treatment of suspects? 
It is also quite interesting for the 'confidential report' to attempt to
link Deyda's criticisms of the UN Secretary General Kofi Annan to the
possible reasons why he was killed. Is anyone suggesting that Kofi Annan
could have ordered his killing?
On the question of getting international assistance to investigate the
murder since all the efforts have so far got us nowhere; it is quite
surprising to hear it being dismissed outright as "too premature for
international assistance." It has been six months since the killing and yet
there is no credible lead. Therefore, everyone would have expected that
there is enough demonstration that our security forces do not have the
capacity and resources to resolve such a complicated murder case and they
should invite other more experienced institutions to assist them rather
than resort to engage in a smearing campaign at vilifying an innocent
victim, apparently to shift the onus of his death to his 'reckless'
lifestyle.
It is an undeniable fact that everyone has a private life and as a Muslim,
Deyda was entitled to more than one wife. In fact everything Deyda has been
accused of in that 'confidential report' has not been a strange phenomenon
in this country. There is no doubt that even those who prepared that report
have been engaged in far worse lifestyles. Therefore, it is wrong for
anyone to attempt to use his private life as an excuse to endorse his
killing. We are glad that he was never described as a serial killer or a
murderer.   
In the 'confidential report' we have been given several possible reasons
why anyone would want to kill Deyda, and yet we have not been told why the
government failed to protect him as it is their duty to protect all Gambian
citizens. All we have been told is about his reckless lifestyle, his
business dealings with some 'ghost' Nigerian businessman and how he
frequently offended the government, President Jammeh, Kofi Annan, Gamco and
several other public and private individuals and institutions, which we are
told were all possible reasons for his murder. While we all know that The
Point got all its stationery supplies from a Gambian businessman, we wonder
what benefit it would have been to his 'ghost' Nigerian business partner to
kill him for failing to meet his financial obligations.
I wish to take this opportunity to emphasize to those entrusted with the
investigations into the brutal murder of Deyda Hydara that the whole nation
expects them to find out who his murderers were and what had been their
motive for killing him, but certainly not to unnecessarily focus on his
personal lifestyle which is not only an infringement of his human rights
and that of his family, but it has also absolutely nothing to do with his
killing.
If by painting Deyda black, the investigators think that they have
succeeded in warding off any calls for an independent investigation into
his murder, then they need to think again. There is absolutely nothing
short of an independent and an impartial investigation into this heinous
murder of a patriotic Gambian that would satisfy the people's crave to see
justice done on this matter. 


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