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Alleged Independent attackers ‘examined’
By DO
Jan 31, 2005, 12:19

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According to a press release from the Gambia Press Union (GPU), the police have given insights into the level of investigation with regards to the burning of The Independent newspaper's printing press. The police have also shed light on subsequent allegation by opposition leader, Hamat Bah, that certain members of the security forces were behind the attack on the The Independent newspaper.

Speaking during a recent courtesy call by the members of the press union, the Inspector General of Police, Landing Badjie, disclosed that the two men named in the allegations have been examined and no burns were found on them as alleged by the opposition leader. The IGP also addressed some pertinent security issues, together with ithe Interior secretary, Samba Bah, during the said meeting with the GPU’s delegation.

Reproduced below is the release from the GPU:
The president of The Gambia Press Union, Mr Demba A Jawo, was on 24th January, 2005 at the head of a delegation which called on the Secretary of State for Interior and Religious Affairs, Samba Bah, to follow up on the request to the authorities for “urgent intervention to end impunity.” The request, which was addressed to the SoS and to the Inspector General of Police, Mr Landing Badjie, was delivered on 22 December during the solemn procession made by journalists aggrieved by the assassination of Deyda Hydara, co-proprietor of The Point Newspaper, by unknown assailants.
Among other things, the submission asked for the following:
-Let the president set up a commission of inquiry to find out why the police are unable to conduct investigation and bring the culprits to justice and to urgently seek international assistance if the nation lacks the capacity to carry out the task.
-Take immediate action to arrest and charge those accused of the arson attacks against The Independent newspaper or give the nation the evidence why they are not culpable.
-Give an immediate order for an end to the utilisation of vehicles without number plates to carry out security duties.
-Set Up a mobile patrol team with mobile phone numbers that are accessible to the public so that they can be reached at any time of the night.”

Accompanied by Swaebou Conteh, Editor/Publisher of the News and Report weekly magazine and Sam Sarr, a member of the Editorial Board of Foroyaa newspaper, both members of the steering committee established to coordinate activities after the assassination, Jawo told the SoS in the presence of the IGP and Yaya Sireh Jallow, the Permanent Secretary, Department of State for the Interior and Religious Affairs, that the purpose of the visit was to follow up on developments since the letter’s submission.
He intimated that the visit was not to be seen as a one off affair, but a strategy adopted to be in regular dialogue with the authorities on such problems affecting journalists and their practice in the country.

Responding to the delegations statement,The SoS apologised for the fact that he was not in the country to receive in person the letter submitted at the end of the journalists’ procession. He agreed that dialogue was important and said the doors of his department of state were always open to members of the delegation.
He assured that that a reply had already been sent to the original submission adding that the concerns raised therein were forwarded to higher authorities. The SoS then spoke about the points noted above saying that the call for a commission of inquiry could not be dealt with by his department of state since the setting up of commissions was beyond his office.

With regard to the investigations, he said these were still on-going and included the latest move which was to arrange for the police to travel to Dakar in order to interview the two secretarial staff of The Point who happened to be the only living witnesses to the murder of Mr Hydara. He said the police could not have gone earlier because they had to handle the matter through the Senegalese authorities and the Senegalese journalists Union, whose President had traveled soon after the two members of staff were admitted in hospital.
With regard to the other unresolved cases affecting journalists, the SoS said they took place before he came to office.

On the request for international assistance to be sought if the police lacked the capacity to bring the investigations to an end, the SoS argued that; “We have the capacity, what we lack are the resources.” In that respect, he said 60% of police stations were without a vehicle. He said they are working hard on that and before long they would have the vehicles.

On his part, the the Inspector General of police also spoke of the heightened level of cooperation between the president of the Press Union and his office. He said Mr.Jawo had become his focal point and he had personally been bringing him up to date on the progress of the investigations.

Even though there was no public disclosure about the action taken against those members of the state guards accused of complicity in the burning of The Independent printing press, the IGP said he was personally involved in the investigation and they have examined those who were named and they found no burns on their bodies. He however admitted that there was no expert examination done to determine whether they had burns or not. He however said the weapon left at the scene had too many fingers prints to be of any use to the investigators.

With regard to Deyda’s case, the IGP said the bullets recovered from his body have been sent for analysis. He then updated members of the delegation on some aspects of the investigation. He reported on the steps being taken by his office to acquire vehicles from donors adding that after Deyda’s murder, those at the police intervention unit which was close by had to go on foot to the scene of the crime due to their lack of a vehicle.

The IGP indicated that as far as the use of vehicles without number plates was concerned, he had written to all service heads about it and instructions were given to the police to start parking and taking to court all those caught with vehicles without number plates. He cited recent cases concerning some prominent individuals. He said the customs were also requested not to release any imported vehicles unless they were provided with license plates.

In the discussions about the night patrol, reference was made to the police emergency number 112 dialing of which the IGP said take one to the nearest police station. The IGP however deplored the fact that some people had used the facility from telecentres to heap abuse on the police at the Kotu and Brikama. He appealed for more responsible use of the number by the general public and the SoS also stressed the need for the police not to be deterred by the abusive use of the number of its important in reporting real cases of crime or disaster.

For improved communications, the IGP reported on the progress being made in developing a radio network for all their police stations and added that consideration was being given to providing a special telephone line for journalists in distress. He underscored the fact that whatever affected the press tendered to have both a national and an international dimension.

The Permanent Secretary commended the journalists for the visit and the IGP for his detailed report on the situation. He said their problem was more of capacity and scarcity of resources but the commitment and will was there on the part of everybody. “If you have information, share it with us. Government’s goal is to make our society crime free, he added.

In conclusion, SoS Bah stressed that “That case is of concern to all of us we want to see it resolved as soon as possible.

© Copyright 2003 by Observer Company

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