The Gambia

Years of coordinated effort involving the government and CSOs such as the Gambia Press Union bears fruit as The Gambia passes Access to Information law.

With the access to information bill before parliament, the Gambia Press Union engages citizens about the importance of ATI legislation and media self-regulation.

The Gambia Press Union awaits adoption of the Access To Information draft bill 2019, recently tabled for consideration at the National Assembly.

The Gambian government’s excessive use of force against anti-Adama Barrow protesters is reminiscent of the brutal clampdown by former President Jammeh and his government.

After years of brutal repression, the 2016 elections allowed The Gambia to push the reset button. Reyhana Masters spoke with Saikou Jammeh of the Gambian Press Union about the country’s Truth, Reconciliation and Reparations Commission, which has had the nation riveted since commencement of the hearings.

Ahead of The Gambia’s Universal Periodic Review, IFEX’s Regional Editor Reyhana Masters asks: What issues are at the top of civil society’s agenda?

AFEX called on the government of The Gambia to refrain from granting any amnesty or immunity to any of those implicated in the killing of Mr. Hydara, including former President Jammeh.

Malick Jatta, a military personnel and a member of the hit-squad of then-president, Yahya Jammeh, told the Truth, Reconciliation and Reparations Commission (TRRC) that he participated in the killing of Mr. Hydara and confirmed that Jammeh ordered the assassination.

15 protestors have been arrested and detained for demonstrating to demand that the government of President Adama Barrow respect its pledge to limit its mandate to three years.

A directive requiring journalists in The Gambia to be screened for accreditation to cover the President was withdrawn followed by a discussion between The Gambia Press Union and the Director of Press and Public Relations.

The campaign to counter the culture of impunity, repression and brutality under the rule of former Gambian president Yahya Jammeh is a story of commitment, perseverance and ingenuity pitted against a brutally repressive regime. Here’s how the Media Foundation for West Africa and the Gambia Press Union worked to tackle impunity, both under the Jammeh regime and under the democratically-elected government of Adama Barrow.

Gambian journalists Musa Saidykhan and Ebrima Manneh were separately arrested and detained by state agents in Gambia. Saidykhan was subjected to brutal torture, while Manneh disappeared with little trace.

In a significant judgement the ECOWAS Court of Justice ruled that Gambian authorities violated the rights of four Gambian journalists. The judgement also called for the “immediate repeal or amendment” of existing legislation negatively impacting on media freedom.

Vivian Affoah, a senior progamme officer with the Media Foundation for West Africa, has been based in The Gambia since June 2017. On the first anniversary of the election that overthrew the Jammeh regime, she offers an assessment of how media freedom is faring under the new government, and shares what she’d like to see happen in 2018.

The MFWA and the Gambia Press Union are facilitating the process of engagements between the Gambian government and families of Deyda Hydara, Musa Saidykhan and Ebrima Manneh towards compliance with the judgments of the ECOWAS Court of Justice.

In a major breakthrough in the long fight against impunity in The Gambia, officials revealed the government will comply with the rulings of the ECOWAS Court in three infamous cases of attacks against journalists.