A Tribute: Sanna Ticks Manneh

He is older than me by one week - both of us August 1947-born.

He is the better proper of circumstances, spends money like it was going out of style.

His more enduring mentor, in matters of influence and style on the young Sanna's personality, the late M.E. Jallow, trained him in the finest labour college on the continent in Kampala Uganda in the heat of nationalist struggle for Africa's independence. That he ended up as publisher and most successful editorial producer on the most successful Gambian newspaper, the Torch, is a reflex.

The case of Torch versus the authorities is a legal landmark competently indexed by Gambia Law Reform office edited by Edward Sowe, a lawyer himself.

A second nature to Sanna, truth and outspokenness won it a seat at the Banjul City Council in 1980.

He further trained in cooperative development and specialized as an accountant in Lagos, Nigeria. He has an insatiable crave for law, and as a legal secretary to Mr. P.S.Njie's practice he built a knowledge and formidable reservoir of Unite Party politics. A ticket he was later to use to City Council and a witted seconder of Mayor Malick Lowe, of different party but of common inclinations of heart.

Competent men do oppose cronies. He in fact attempted to pursue further studies in law, in Malaysia, only to find the long hand of lawless law forced him to appeal to International Federation of Newspaper Publishers to pay his ticket back to The Gambia. This federation has an uncommon respect for Mr. Manneh.

He has been a founding member of the Windhoek Declaration for independent private press in Africa 1990.

He has left a void in the Gambian Press.

Mr. Manneh had gone through Gambia High School and Saint Mary's where he was captain to the school team that had men like Biri Biri on the squad.

Gambia mourns him, never in the best of circumstances, and at 62, survived by Sanna Kuloro's Manneh Kunda.

Please be informed that all prayers are to be observed in Kuloro Village, WR.