The Daily News boss articulates anguish of journalists under Jammeh
By AMADOU MANJANG
Madi Ceesay, National Assembly member for Serekunda West has told the TRRC that journalists have been tortured, prosecuted, and murdered for doing their work.
He added that he felt bad about how journalists were attacked by people who were never prosecuted.
The former Gambia Press Union (GPU) president and current proprietor of The Daily News said Jammeh murdered Dayda Hydara as proven by his (Jammeh’s) words that journalists “should go six deep” in the ground.
He said Jammeh portrayed journalists as illegitimate sons of Africa, that they should be jobless and go six feet deep in the ground.
The 62-years-old veteran journalist said Jammeh tried to silence journalists in order to keep the Gambian public in darkness of his cruelty.
He pointed out that the citizen would not know what was going on if the media wasn’t there to inform them which was why Jammeh wanted to eliminate the media.
He said at one point his car was shot and the rear glass was broken at Tabokoto when the then first lady Tuti Faal’s convoy was passing.
Madi said as soon as the last vehicle in the convoy passed, he asked his driver to follow and a soldier pointed a pistol at them and fired it.
“The soldier attempted to kill me,” he told the Commission.
He explained that he reported the matter to Bundung police station where the car was examined and a mechanic was called to remove the bullet from the door.
He said he gave a statement to the police as to how the incident unfolded at the scene but the matter was swept under the carpet.
The former manager of The Independent said he was arrested along side with all the staffs of the paper and taken to the Police Intervention Unit in Kanifing.
He further said that they were later taken to the National Intelligent Agency (NIA) headquarters in Banjul where they are detained and tortured by “Junglers.”
He said his arrest was in connection with a publication regarding the 2006 attempted coup where it was stated that one Samba Bah, then Minister of Interior was involved which wasn’t true.
He said it was a mistaken identity and the error was corrected in their subsequent publication indicating that it wasn’t minister Samba Bah, rather it was Samba Bah the soldier and the minister was happy with the correction.
According to Madi, even though Samba Bah who was mentioned in the mistaken identity publication was happy with the correction, former president Jammeh arrested the entire staff of The Independent.
He said The Independent newspaper was close and put under 24 hours surveillance by the police force for two years.
He revealed that he was tortured on two occasions by a group of 7 to 8 soldiers led by Musa Jammeh and Tumbul Tamba.
“You stupid journalists, we will teach you a lesson,” he said Musa Jammeh told them when he visited every morning.
He told the Commission that every night they would heard cries of someone calling the name of Musa Jammeh.
Ceesay said after four days, it was there turn be taken to the ‘torture chamber’ where they were kicked, slapped, and beaten with cables, belt, and sticks.
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