The training currently underway at the Judiciary Training Institute in Banjul, is designed to expose participants to the country’s law, legal systems, court processes and procedures, crime reporting, ethics of reporting crime, rules of court reporting, reporting on children, and understanding media laws, and writing court stories. It also seeks to enhance quality and accuracy in court reporting.
The three-week training is being funded by the United States government through USAID’s Promoting Rights and Justice in The Gambia Activity (PRJ).
At the opening ceremony, Muhammed S. Bah, president of The Gambia Press Union (GPU) reminded that journalists continue to face challenges in their daily reporting on court proceedings in The Gambia.
"It is largely due to limited availability of opportunities for training on court reporting. The last major court reporting training organized by the GPU was held 5 years ago and with an increasing number of newcomers in the media being sent to report from the courts with little or no understanding of the procedures and ethics.”
Bah revealed that court reporting requires specialised knowledge of certain legal terms which, he said, are frequently used in court proceedings.
"It also requires good writing skills and knowledge of media laws and journalism ethics."
He recalled that in July 2022, GPU and the Media Council of The Gambia (MCG) had to issue a statement warning journalists and media houses that repeatedly violated their professional ethics to refrain from exposing the identity of minors involved in rape and manslaughter cases.
For his part, Alhagie Nyang, a representative of Deputy Chief of Party at Freedom House, recalled that the five-year project is meant to promote rights and justice in The Gambia.
Proper and accurate reporting on court proceedings, he added, helps the public to understand the status of ongoing cases by avoiding the chances of misconstruing decisions or orders of the court.
Counsel Dawda Sowe, described the training as ‘timely and that it will greatly help journalists in deepening their understanding of legal terminologies and be able to simplify them for the benefit of their audience.
“Journalists should understand court terminologies because just one statement can change a whole court story and this can lead journalists to legal issues and problems.” he stated.
