Bai
Emil Touray, president of the Gambia Press Union (GPU), has said that the
government of former President Yahya Jammeh amended the constitution to stifle
press freedom in The Gambia.
The
GPU president made this remark recently in a panel discussion at the just
concluded national stakeholders conference while outlining the state of media
freedom in The Gambia.
He
cited the strict censorship of journalists by the previous government, noting
that arbitrary arrest, torture and murder of journalists were hallmarks of the
erstwhile government.
He
mentioned the likes of the late Deyda Hydara, Chief Ebrima Manneh, Musa
Saidykhan and host of others who have been killed or tortured with impunity
during the previous regime.
Amie
Bensouda, a veteran legal practitioner, spoke on the challenges to media
freedom in The Gambia, noting that media bore the brunt of right abuses in the
previous government.
She
stressed the need for a paradigm shift as “journalists must realise that they
are now free”.
She
argued that most journalists are still too reticent to do their job effectively
and still rely heavily on social media.
The
senior lawyer commended the Ministry of Justice for organising the convergence.
Fatou
Jagne-Senghore, regional director of Article 19 West Africa, spoke on the
freedom of expression and international best practices.
She
pointed out that The Gambia is the only country without a truly independent
broadcaster.
“Freedom
of expression is a pillar of free society and government should support free
and independent media through legislative framework,” she said.
Madam
Jagne-Senghore said there are a wide range of jurisprudence and a wealth of
legal documents that could be used to develop a model for freedom of expression
that could be implemented in Africa.
On
criminal justice reform, a panel moderated by Hon. Justice Edrissa F. Mbye,
judge of the Court of Appeal, and lawyer Antouman A.B. Gaye, outlined the
current state of the criminal justice system.
Mrs
A. Adeyemi, principal state counsel at the Attorney General’s Chambers,
discussed the rights of the accused person and mentioned the right to a fair
and speedy trial, the right to counsel as well as the right to be presumed
innocent until proven guilty.
She
argued that it was the duty of all branches of government to uphold the rights
of the accused until proven guilty.
