Culled from the Independent
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The recent criticisms of journalists attributed to Major Momodou Bojang, the
former Interior Secretary at an APRC rally did not come as a surprise to
many people, knowing the type of person he is. His description of
journalists as people who have failed the nation is quite typical of him. He
is definitely not the type of person who would acknowledge any positive role
that journalists play in the society.

The entire Gambian society is quite aware of the role that Major Bojang
played in fuelling the bad blood that had existed between the independent
media and the authorities while he was in office. He was always known for
his short temper and intolerance which he was always ready to use against
anyone whose views did not agree with his own.

We all remember his invectives against Ebrima Sillah, the BBC reporter whom
he threatened to lock up if he challenged his authority, while several other
journalists were also arrested and detained by the police, apparently under
his orders.

Indeed, he was also connected with the closure of Citizen FM in 1997, for
which many people will never forgive him. Many of his comportment and
actions also manifested his unbridled hatred against journalists and those
who opposed his views on any issue.

Major Bojang may be looking for an opportunity to get rehabilitated after
being thrown out of office, but it is certainly not going to do him any good
to pitch himself against journalists, because we are not competing with him
for whatever post he may be vying for in the regime.

Major Bojang should remember that as a public figure and of course someone
who is no doubt still interested in holding public office (otherwise why
should he continue to follow the APRC like a tail after he was disgracefully
removed from office?), his every action is of interest to journalists. No
journalist has any personal interest in smearing his character, but the
issues that he gave as examples of journalists not telling the truth were
not the best of examples.

Everyone knows that those issues he mentioned were not as straight forward
as he would want us to believe, but instead there were elements of truth in
what was written. In the case of the UDP detainees from Gunjur for instance,
everyone knew that he only succeeded in getting them to deny the allegations
of torture on television, but the truth was quite different.

If anything untrue was written about him in the press, all that he should
have done was to deny it but he had no cause to castigate all journalists
for it



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