(MFWA/IFEX) – Dodou Sanneh, a journalist working with the public broadcaster Gambia Radio and Television Services (GRTS), was sacked on 20 November 2006 by the management, which offered no explanation for his dismissal. A source told MFWA that the decision was communicated to Sanneh in a letter signed by Momodou Sanyang, the GRTS managing director, […]
(MFWA/IFEX) – Dodou Sanneh, a journalist working with the public broadcaster Gambia Radio and Television Services (GRTS), was sacked on 20 November 2006 by the management, which offered no explanation for his dismissal.
A source told MFWA that the decision was communicated to Sanneh in a letter signed by Momodou Sanyang, the GRTS managing director, upon his arrival at work on 20 November.
“I am directed to inform you that your services with GRTS are terminated with immediate effect. In this connection you are requested to hand over all GRTS property that may be under your custody to your supervisor or head of unit,” the letter read.
This is not the first time Sanneh has been relieved of his duties at the GRTS. On 7 September, he was sacked after he was arrested and detained for a week at a secret location by the National Intelligence Agency (NIA) for alleged biased reporting.
He was arrested while covering the campaigns of the opposition during the run up to the September presidential election. Following several protests from media rights activists and organisations, he was reinstated a few weeks later.
MFWA is seriously concerned about this distressing trend of government harassment of journalists and abuses of media freedom in The Gambia.
MFWA views this latest dismissal as a blatant affront to the independence of journalists working in publicly-owned media outlets, and notes that it undermines their job security. We call on the GRTS management to reinstate Sanneh immediately.
