The Deyda Hydara case - still waiting for justice

As we can recall, on 16th December 2004, some ‘Junglers’ (former President Yahya Jammeh’s death squad), alleged to have been acting on behalf of their principal, ambushed and killed in cold blood Deyda, who was then Managing Editor and co-proprietor of The Point newspaper. He was in the company of two of his staff; Ida Jagne and Nyangsara Jobe, whom he was, as a habit, dropping off at their various homes. 

The apparent reason for his killing was because President Jammeh was not happy with how he (Deyda) was handling news about the regime. 

It is almost three years since some of the ‘Junglers’ confessed to his killing before the Truth, Reconciliation and Reparations Commission (TRRC), and yet, no one has yet been charged or brought before the courts for it. 

When the government issued its White Paper on the TRRC report and recommendations in May 2022, accepting most of the recommendations, many people expressed the hope that justice was finally about to be served. However, it has been almost a year now since the TRRC submitted its final report to President Adama Barrow, and more than six months since the government White Paper was issued, no action seems to have been taken by the goverment. 

For instance, among the TRRC recommendations that the government White Paper accepted, was to remove from the public service certain people who were said to have borne the greatest responsibilities for some of the atrocities committed during the Jammeh regime. Yet, it is alleged that most of those whose names were included in that list are still serving in the public service. 

According to the TRRC report, the “Commission found that the killing of Deyda Hydara by the Junglers was ordered by former President Yahya Jammeh. The operation was conducted by two groups of Junglers, one headed by Tumbul Tamba and another by Kawsu Camara (Bombardier) who ambushed Mr. Hydara at Kanifing in December 2004 and shot him. Mr. Hydara died from the gunshot wounds and two of his staff members sustained serious injuries.” The report then went on to recommend an investigation to be carried out for the purpose of prosecuting the Junglers who participated in his murder. 

In its White Paper, the government accepted the recommendations of the Commission and promised to ensure that those responsible for Deyda’s murder are brought to Justice as well as promised to implement the ECOWAS court decision of 2018 which called for the repeal of harsh media laws including sedition, insult, false news and criminal defamation. 

However, there is so far very little movement towards implementing those undertakings. It is quite disappointing that those who confessed to Deyda’s murder are still roaming the streets as if his life or the feelings of his family and friends do not matter.