This is a detailed report by the Department of State for the Interior into the shooting of Deyda Hydara, managing editor of The Point Newspaper.
The report is aimed at acquainting government and other interested parties with the outcome of the investigation so far.
The report covers the outcome of the investigation so far into Deyda’s shooting which occurred while he was driving a Mercedes Benz 190 on board which were two female members of his staff: Ida Jagne Joof and Nyansarang Jobe.
Pursuant to the directives of the Director General NIA, the investigating team embarked on the task by examining the information transmitted by the police before proceeding further to explore additional avenues.
Since the attacker or attackers of the trio were not caught red handed or with a smoking gun in the hand, the investigators have adopted the preliminary investigation procedures which enabled them obtain information from witnesses and looked at traces and marks left on the scene of crime and elsewhere (i.e.documents, like telephone print outs, bank accounts, contract documents and testaments).
Visits to the scene of crime, inspection of the vehicle in which the shooting occurred, reconstruction of the itinerary from the Point Newspaper office through Kairaba Avenue and them along Banjul Highway and finally Sankung Sillah Road to the incident spot, interview and questioning of persons including police personnel, journalists, family members of the victims, employees of Point Newspaper, friends of the victims and examination of newspapers and other documents yielded the following findings:-
Deyda Hadara was born in Barra, North Bank Division, son of Yahalima Faal and was brought up and educated at the Foyer Francais at Hill Street, Banjul before pursuing secondary and tertiary education in Senegal.
He worked for Radio Syd from 1970-1988 when he resigned and left to set up his own business. During the period working with Syd, he and Pap Saine set up a paper called The Senegambia Sun, which was sponsored by a Senegalese national in 1982 together with Baboucarr Gaye as the Editor. He married Miss Maria in the early 70s and they have five children.
Mrs Maria Hadara was in England with two of their children at the time of Deyda’s death and has since returned to The Gambia to mourn him.
At the time of his death, Deyda was living with some members of his family, his daughter Nelly and her younger brother at a house rented at Kanifing South.
After being shot, he seemingly died on the spot and was transported to the Royal Victoria Teaching Hospital where an autopsy was conducted on him and two bullets were removed from his head and stomach respectively.
The two ladies who were admitted at the same hospital were later evacuated by the journalist fraternity to the hospital in Dakar, Senegal for further treatment.
A bullet has been reportedly removed from Nyansarang Jobe’s foot. Ida who is said to have suffered from bruises was discharged and both of them are living with relatives in Dakar.
The two ladies who could have been treated in The Gambia were removed out of the country under the pretext of seeking treatment abroad (i.e Dakar).
They have since their evacuation sought refuge in Dakar. Consequent to the removal of the bullet from Nyansarang’s foot, the two decided to stay with relatives in Senegal under pretext of threats to their lives in The Gambia.
Their ploy to inspire sympathy for consideration for offer of asylum in Europe or America is the talk of the town. While they were at the Royal Victoria Teaching Hospital (RVTH) the two ladies could not be interviewed by the Police as the hospital authorities only allowed members of the media fraternity access to the former.
In fact, when the agents of the CID attempted to question the two injured ladies, following their recovery from the initial trauma of the incident, the Chief Medical Director (CMD) asked them to present a formal request from their Inspector General as a condition for access to the ladies. When the Police returned the next day with the formal request, the ladies had already been moved out to the airport bound for Senegal under the escort of Demba Jawo, the GPU President.
While Ida and Nyansarang were interned at a hospital in Dakar, The Gambia Police Investigation Unit made arrangements with the media fraternity and the Senegalese authorities through the latter’s High Commission in The Gambia to visit and interview them.
The Police had no easy time doing their work which was conducted under not very ideal conditions, (i.e. in the presence of Senegalese Security Personnel, Journalists and interpreters.)
At present, arrangements are under-way for the NIA investigators to travel to Dakar to meet and further question the two ladies, who are the most reliable eye witnesses to the incident. Meanwhile, a formal request to facilitate the above has been addressed to the Senegalese authorities via their High Commission in The Gambia and copied to Journalist Federation Headquarters in Dakar by fax and also copied to The Gambia Press Union (GPU).
Deyda had on December 16th, 1992 started The Point Newspaper with Pap Saine as partner on a fifty, fifty share-basis.
Over the years, The Point became prominent by its virulent unguarded attacks on all and sundry in the present government, prominent Gambians, public institutions, private enterprises, individual businessmen and groups, international organisations, security agents, and international figures etc.
Deyda has on several occasions since the days of the PPP government been invited to security institutions to be cautioned and advised to set records straight, particularly whenever he had erred and was way off the path upholding the canons and ethics of the journalism profession.
Since the advent of the Media Commission Bill, he had relentlessly and persistently criticised government and also attempted to challenge the bill in court though to no avail.
In his column Good Morning Mr President, he has since July 22 Revolution, been launching direct unprecedented attacks on the person of President Jammeh.
In his Bite Column, he hauled unpleasant remarks on the Government of The Gambia for the institution of laws and other steps taken by government to control the press from abuse of its freedom of expression; which he described draconian measures put in place to muzzle free press.
During the last trade season, his attacks were concentrated on GAMCO on their way of handling the trade season and matter relating to its funding and the purchasing price of groundnuts. Personnel of the GAMCO had been visiting Deyda to warn him against persistent campaign of malinformation.
The last such visit was on Thursday 16th December 2004, to advice him, to desist from making unconfirmed and irresponsible remarks that may unduly jeopardise the trade season arrangements.
During the course of the year 2004, he had bitter exchanges on publications of The Point with Wally Muhammed Hakim, a businessman of Lebanese origin, but of dual nationality (Gambian and American) residing in The Gambia.
Incidentally, or on purpose, at about 1700 hours, on Thursday 16th December 2004, while Deyda and his co-proprietor and staff were celebrating the 13 Anniversary of the establishment of the Point Newspaper, the American Ambassador and one Nana Grey-Johnson, employee of that Embassy, who were attendance that same day.
Mr Hakim sent his son, under a pretext to arrange for the preparation of an invoice for an advertisement for his Christmas programmes and had some telephone conversation with Deyda purportedly on that subject.
Strangely, between 0745 and 0815 Hrs on Friday 17th December 2004, while the death of Deyda was known by only a few, Mr Hakim’s wife, daughter and driver were already in front of the Point Office, under the pretext of being there to pay for the afore-mentioned invoice. Ostensibly, having learnt of the shooting incident, the Hakim family hastened to use the invoice money to pay for condolence message at the Observer Newspaper giving the impression of being sorry for the incident.
Elicitation, during questioning at the NIA led to the information that Mr Hakim had at his residence in Kerr Serign Njagga, Kombo North, Western Division, a cache of weapons including hunting rifles, a 357 Magnum Revolver and large quantity of cartridges and various sorts of ammunition.
Due to his (Mr Hakim) inability to quantify the lot of ammunition he brought into the country and lack of proof of the lawful entry of weapons and ammunition into The Gambia, the investigators conducted a second search at his residence.
The search yielded more hunting cartridges, two (22) bullets, pellets and 357 Magnum Revolver bullets for which he was re-arrested, detained and further questioned.
Enquiries carried out with the help of the Police Gun Licensing Department and the Customs and Excise did not lead to any documentary evidence of the arms being cleared through the Customs.
Mr Hakim’s passports, weapons and ammunition have been impounded pending the conclusion of the investigation. He has meanwhile sent his entire family, including his grown up sons and grand children out of The Gambia and is putting up his compound, restaurant and five vehicles and impounded arsenal for sale.
In an issue of The Point 27th February 2004, Deyda attacked Captain Bunja Darboe; Former Army PRO following the latter’s expression of his idea about a subject on debate at a conference held at an earlier date. The Captain could not be heard as he had since April 2004 been on peace-keeping assignment in Sudan. In that the shooting happened in his absence.
He had however reacted by writing back to Deyda’s criticism. Deyda had pointed fingers at the Green Boys as being at the origin of arson attack on Radio One FM some years ago. The Green Boys, whom some individuals use to refer to as members of the defunct July 22 supporters or followers of Baba Jobe, and who have been in total disarray since the July 22 Movement was disbanded in 2000.
An employee of The Point, one Mrs Ida Jagne Joof, is married to one Mr Joof presently residing in Sweden. Ida Jagne Joof had been employed at the Point Newspaper since around 1993, initially as a typist and had over the years risen to the position of layout assistant. There is a lot of speculation among the employees of the Point that there is a love affair between her and Deyda.
Ida’s Sister-in-Law has persistently complained about the special way in which Ida dresses when going to work and about the frequent of her rides in Deyda’s vehicle. Mr Joof has frequently verbally attacked and accused Ida about her affairs with Deyda, and he has of later stopped calling Ida and insulted her whenever she did.
Many of the employees had during their interviews with the investigators confirmed that they often observer and have been talking about an unusually very close relationship between Deyda and Ida.
A few months before the shooting incident, Ida’s husband had been calling her and complaining and protesting about the way Ida dressed when went to work and the amount of time she spent with Deyda. He complained especially against riding in Deyda’s mercedes Benz till late in the night.
Apparently, Ida’s sisters in law, was a valuable source of information on the activities on Deyda and Ida. Mr Joof on some occasions hauled threats and insults at Ida who did not do away with the habit which her jealous husband has been complaining about.
Ida become fed up and had wanted to ask for a divorce but was encouraged by her mother-i- law to try to put up with the husbands harassment promising that she would prevail on her son to stop all the problems and to send Ida a ticket to join him in Sweden. For several months the harassment continued in there suspicious relationship and threats flared up.
While the Point Newspaper flourished under Deyda’s pen, Pap Saine the Co-Proprietor manages the funds and marketing aspect. The duo, have co-founded the paper-agreeing on fifty fifty share basis.
The firm was duly registered and a bond entered into between Pap and the state on the following conditions:-
By this bond, I Deyda Hadara of Kanifing South, Kombo St Mary’s Division, The Gambia of Gambian nationality, in the Republic of The Gambia, do execute this bond with my surety, Pap Saine of 13 Stanley Street, Banjul, aforesaid, in the Republic of The Gambia in the sum of a hundred thousand dalasis (D100,000.00) to be paid to His Excellency, the Chairman of the AFPRC of The Gambia, his heirs, and successors as required by Section of the Newspaper Act of Cap 33.04 as amended by the Newspaper Amendment Decree Number 71 of the Republic of The Gambia.
As guarantee for the bond, Pap Saine has submitted his title deed to the state.
Immediately after the death of Deyda, Pap Saine took sole responsibility for the conduct of funeral rites and entered into a new partnership with Mr. Maria Hydara for the management of The Point.
The Late Co-proprietor’s brother and his siblings have bitterly complained about the state of affairs especially the total ostracisation of the lager family, but do not know what recourse to take.
When questioned about the accounts and the bank statements of The Point and his late co-proprietor’s will, Pap Saine sounded very jittery and went on to protest in The Point publication dated March 2005.
Information relating to an unknown Nigeria supplier who would have been at daggers drawn with the late Deyda over the non settlement of debts could not be confirmed nor substantiated.
Conclusion
In the absence of any eye witness or identification traces and marks leading to the identity of the assailant or assailants of Deyda and the two ladies on board his vehicle on the night of 16th December 2004, the investigators have elected to draw conclusions based on hypotheses premised on the character of the victim, the nature of his profession and his relationships in business, family life, and his social and economic interactions and the inevitable unsavoury encounters, frictions and conflicts inherent thereto.
What could be the motive for anyone to kill Deyda?
Hypotheses- A) Passion/ jealousy; B) Settling scores; C) Vengeance; D) Riding oneself of a thorn in ones flesh; E) Silencing someone in possession of compromising information lest he divulged such; F) Circumventing a process which could lead to irreparable socio-economic disaster if not nipped in its infancy.
In view of the foregoing findings, and taking cognisance of the fact the late Deyda, was least circumspect by nature, he was however an individual who had led a professional life of a journalist, a private led life of a family man and a life of a man striving to eke out a living in a world of economic uncertainties; it can further be logically concluded that:
Late Deyda Hydara had offended many to the extend he could have been eliminated for any or several of the above enumerated motives as he:
A) Was a journalist who used his pen to indiscriminately attack or pass judgment on individuals, groups, government, private and public enterprises, international organisations and very prominent international personalities.
B) Recklessly provoked above-mentioned persons and bodies, persistently inspite of all warnings and threats of legal actions from aggrieved parties. He also made himself an object of anger and a thorn in the flesh of many who have been exposed to his journalistic attacks.
C) As a serial womaniser, he had offended more than a husband and his own wife as his activities with Mrs Jagne Joof and Janet Cole among other women including wife women. He did not only arouse jealousy of husbands offended, but also that of his own wife particularly as his planned marriage to Janet would make her fearful of being abandoned for the sake of another woman.
D) He was a partner in a business with an unidentified Nigerian supplier and ended up unsettled contracted debts and unhealthy financial transactions which would have made him prey to the greed of the latter.
E) Pap Saine’s reluctance to render the accounts and swift seizures of the opportunity on the heat of the tragic event of Deyda’s demise leads to suspicion of financial misappropriation and the desire to conceal such.
Recommendation
Having come to the above conclusions, the investigators hereby recommended the following follow-up action:-
A)Arrangements to further interview the two ladies, Mrs Ida Jagne-Joof and Mrs Nyangsarang Jobe should be pursued to help investigators as they are the only eyewitnesses to the shooting in the death of Hydara.
B) The investigations be allowed to continue rather than be completely closed.
C) Mr Wally Muhammed Hakim should be pursued in a court of justice because the evidence already available so far indicate that the weapons found on him did not come into the country lawfully.
D) The totality of Mr Hakim’s arsenal except for single hunting weapon and a reasonable quantity of of cartridges should be confiscated to the state.
E) His passport should be held by the NIA pending conclusion of judiciary pursuits.
F) The Mercedes Benz 190 in which Deyda and others were riding should be released to the Mr Maria Hydara whose claimed of ownership has been confirmed by the office of the Inspector General of Police.”
Rubbish Report, if one can even call it that. Most vital pieces of evidence completely left out. Why no mention of the bullets recovered from the victim? Why no mention of the threatening calls he’s been receiving from anonymous sources? Wasn’t that reported to the investigators? How difficult would it be to trace the origins of those calls? Surely, the phone company that provided the service must have records somewhere.
A host of other question marks can be raised against this so called REPORT.
These investigators should appear before the TRRC to tell the nation the truth about that investigation because it is either a botched one or an exposure of the woeful incompetence of our Crime Investigations Department.
I mean, a detailed report on the bullets recovered, ie, the type of bullets, likely weapon(s) used, were they fired from the same weapon(s), were the weapons military/civilian types, have records of people in legal possession of such weapons examined (If civilian), etc?
The report only mentioned the recovery of bullets. FULL STOP. That’s simply inadequate.
The nature of this report – a recurrent theme throughout Jammeh – is deception and contempt for victims. No amount of seriousness can be induced from the report. It reads more like a boulevard reporting of a socialite killed during a casual dispute at a wedding ceremony.
With Jammeh is always denial, distortion, deception, character assassinations of victims.
I think the writing deserves a dub bit more serious than “Rubbish Report”. I would think the publication is literally Jammeh’s actual “charge sheet” on which he ordered the extrajudicial killing of the renowned journalist and his coworkers.
Would anyone grown up before ’94 think Gambia could become a nation with such very cold-blooded cretins. Just look at a few hateful lines of the c*** that was meant to be a report on one of their most harrowing cold-blooded daylight murders of that 22yrs period turmoil. What a revealing publication, a great shame though that, what was referred to as the state of Gambia could be killing citizens and having the guts to tell the world, they got the guts to do it. That was no “doggy dossier”. That was a publication of Jammeh’s personal charges against Deyda Hydara and his newspaper.
Is there one good reason that a fellow citizen should trust me and rely on me as a citizen after all we learned about us and our country? Wouldn’t you think I could be one of those cretins who would dare shoot and kill state perceived enemies for food? Would I be that red-eyed jealous relative who could be capable of poisoning your food or who would tell some witch hunters that you are a Buwa?
Hey, let’s check things out about ourselves. If the offer of the day in our society is superstition, gossip, ethnocentricism, myth, voodoo and even predestination, so our abilities to rightfully, progressively, peacefully and rationally think, in the interest of our communities, region and the country would tend to weaken.
I think there should be a great deal of difference between Smiling Coast and a Fishy Coast.
Who would care what happened during the Jammeh era alone without digging deep into the horrendous events of his predecessors from 1959 to 1994?
Only HYPOCRITES with the usual predatory (NEO)COLONIAL attitude of burying history to wipe out nasty occurences will behave like that.
The Gambia has a very NASTY past before President Jammeh, and again NASTIER after him.
Why deliberately close your eyes to the HARD facts?
Babu cares less about the fairy tales of the day.
Let’s get back to the past and sincerely engage the USELESS TRRC to that role.
Yaya Jammeh had the opportunity to dig into the past, since he succeeded Jawara. He didn’t and no one asked him to, not even Babu Soli, with all the “knowledge” and “facts” of genocide you possess. Why didn’t you prevail on Jammeh to investigate Jawara’s crimes? For 22 long years, no one was aware of calls by any group, home or abroad, to investigate Jawara’s crimes. Why now Babu?
Barrow succeeded Jammeh and despite the fact that his pre-election reform programmes included the establishment of the TRRC, his administration was instantly inundated with calls to investigate Jammeh’s crimes.
We are not hypocrites, but citizens who recognise the urgency and importance of unearthing Jammeh’s dark secrets to ease the nation’s healing process and apportion responsibility, amongst others.
Bax,
If President Jammeh didn’t investigate Ex-President Jawara, he(Jammeh) must have had his reasons. If the citizenry didn’t demand it, it was simply the “good” Gambian behaviour of burying the hatchet, heal old wounds, forgive and if possible forget; that profound religious leaning. And just go ahead.
That way we saved money, time and maintained good relationship which culminated in bringing back Old Pa Jawara with red-carpet honours to tell the HYPOCRITE British that we honour our leaders, past and present. The British who dumped him in his difficult times after all the “good Bobby” relationship in 33 years!!
Some of us didn’t agree with Jammeh’s magnanimity, which was never done to appease the West, but to honour an Ex-President.
I had to accept that reality. Jammeh went ahead with his national plans and provided for The Gambia some of the most outstanding development tenets ever seen in our life.
The opposite is what we’re experiencing today. The constitution of the Neocolonial TRRC funded by Western money is bloody IDIOTIC. Time consuming, money squandering, ethnic and individual separation/division..
Now, if that is to continue, unabated, it must start with the first atrocities ever committed; the genocide against our people at the aftermath of the 1981 rebellion.
“The good Gambian behaviour to bury the hatchet”, you said? Probably so, or may be there just wasn’t anything to investigate. Jammeh certainly showed his desire to incriminate Jawara and justify the coup by setting up Commissions of Enquiry. He would not have cared about our “forget and forgive behaviour” if he believed there was something to use against the old man.
Look, ministers like OJ lost properties when the commission, it is often claimed, found nothing against them. This is believable because of the regime’s refusal to make the Commission’s Report Public or even provide it to the affected persons, a requirement of the Commission’s Degree (according to OJ, if I’m not misquoting him).
The old man was eventually allowed to come home, but for how long after he was deposed, his character assassinated and his political potential completely nullified. There’s nothing to pound your chest in there for Jammeh. The old man was not found culpable for any wrongs, so there was nothing to “forgive and forget” and no amnesty, as he once said himself.
Jammeh brought development you claim! Yes, there were several shiny new projects to woe the nation and enhance his quest and profile for the presidency. Some of these were built on the successes of the PPP, though you refuse to acknowledge this FACT. Here’s a few:
UTG developed from the UEP (university extention programme), which relied on two things:
1. An already existing relationship/partnership between St Mary’s University and Gambia;
2. Well established educational Institutions like School of Education (Brikama campus), School of Nursing, Public Health & Midwifery (Banjul campuses), MDI, GTTI etc. (ALL built by the PPP)
One could also add the already existing administrative structures and human resources at the Ministry of Education and Regional Education Centres across the country. Not to mention a well trained, well equipped Civil Service (by African standards) and highly experienced civil servants. Again, legacies of the PPP, though you refuse to give them credit for anything.
But Jammeh’s shiny projects came at a cost to the Gambian Economy and Gambian standards and cost of living because he relied entirely on borrowing.
Huge debt repayment obligations, in the absence of improved productivity, meant a continuous, uncontrolled depreciation of our currency, thus rendering the Dalasi virtually useless. At some point, even with risks of being arrested, natives in certain border villages rejected the Dalasi for the CFA. That’s how bad those shiny little projects impacted the economy and livelihoods, which is still being felt today.
So go tell some unsophisticated villager, with all due respect, about Jammeh’s development; not old Bax because I know better than that.
Bax,
Do you want me to take on your arguments one after the other to refute them? NO. That would be time consuming.
I have to register my disappointment with you for eulogizing/defending a 33- year administration that hacked on our social and economic activities and nullified our integrity as human beings.
You disappointingly defended the most corrupt, tribalist, inefficent, lakadaisical, womanizing and nepotic civil service that ever existed in the Gambia.
You disappointingly defended one of Ex-President Jawara’s most useless, illogic, partisan and womanizer ministers in the person of Omar Jallow,OJ. We lost everything with him as minister of Water Resources and later Agriculture.
Well, remember that The Gambia was hard hit by rising prices and shortages in most imported commodities which was followed by the most brutal retrenchment of government employees (mostly children of the poor) and removal of subsidies on fertilizers. There was a social upheaval with water being sold at public taps and long queues to buy a single bag of very dirty unedible imported rice.
Inspite of the economic hardship, which was then generic because of soaring oil prices; our country was enjoying a sharp boom in donors’ grants and loans in contrast to Jammeh’s period. But where were the grants and loans put? Maybe OJ and Saihou Sabally could help to answer this question.
Were the MDI and GTTI, private or government institutions when initially founded? I’m not sure about that.
The school of Education was however British molded before independence; the schools of Nursing & Midwifery and Public Health were established sometime in 1966/67 if I can fully recall. Some credit, but look Bax, those schools were then hubs for students who couldn’t secure a more lucrative employment at the time and would immediately resign(even after qualification) for their desired posts of employment. The schools gradually lost vitality and credibility.
RATS as Ex-President Jawara once addressed them at a Gambia College graduation ceremony. I was there. RATS(run away trainees).
Ex-President Jawara, I would say was somehow sincere with his plans but hand-tight and surrounded by very corrupt, egocentric, tribalist, regionalist and womanizing legislators and executive. He didn’t discard them. I blame him for that. Though I forgive him now as an Elderly Statesman.
The country was just DEAD with that batch of very SELFISH people.!!
@Babu, why are your propositions always so very hollow?
I thought your soul would by now be exorcised of all those stupefying spells cast on you by Yayah .. I thought your conditions might have improved lately ..
* … would have by now been …
Babu Soli,
1. I didn’t defend anyone. I just pointed out some FACTS.
2. GTTI and MDI are not private initiatives. They were established by Acts of Parliament.
3. Indeed, Gambia was hard hit by rising prices in the 1980’s, but this continued up to 2016 (and to date). Infact, the margin of price rises under Jammeh’s watch, compared to what was experienced under Jawara’s, is outrageously high. Under Jawara, a bag of rice was not up to D300, if I remember right. Certainly, not up to D1000, as was the case under Jammeh.
4. Public Services, like water and electricity, were a major failure of the PPP, hence the water crisis and attempts to sell water to the public (a legacy of privatization), but the APRC didn’t solve the water and electricity shortages either, as they are still a problem for many families. Where these services are available, they are almost unaffordable to many and without the generosity of diasporans, many will be without water and electricity, even if the pipes and poles were by them. Because they are simply too high for families that struggle to even provide 3 meals a day.
5. As far as I can remember, queues for rice only happened immediately after the 1981 Kukoi rebellion. I can’t remember any queuing for rice before that incident.
6. RATs: this phenomenon is not unique to the Jawara era. Teachers continued to leave the profession even in Jammeh’s era and I won’t be surprised if statistics were to show that the numbers were higher under Jammeh than Jawara.
Despite their conditions, teachers enjoyed the greatest upliftment (pay scale & salary) under Jawara than Jammeh. When I joined the profession in 1991, stories of huge back pays as a result of the (then) new pay scales were still being told.
7. I am not a fan of Jawara and his PPP Government, but if the country was dead under him, it was rotting and decaying under Jammeh because far too many were buried 6 feet deep.